Box Score MARIETTA, Ohio – In what may be the greatest game ever played in Ban Johnson Arena, Marietta College defeated Wilmington College by the score of 111-106 in triple overtime Thursday (Feb. 21) evening in the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. [
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The second seeded Pioneers (19-7 overall) advance to the championship game for the second time in three years and will host the University of Mount Union (13-14 overall) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The No. 4-seeded Purple Raiders upset top seed Capital University 63-59 in Columbus.
Wilmington, who was the No. 3 seed in the tournament, finishes its season with a 14-13 overall record.
The Quakers had Marietta on the ropes several times but the senior-laden Pioneers refused to see their season end.
Senior
Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield) drained a three-pointer with seconds left on the clock in the first overtime to keep the Pioneers alive. Fellow senior,
J.J. Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington), repeated the feat with one second on the clock in the second overtime sending the game into a third extra period.
Junior
Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) hit a three-pointer to start the final period giving Marietta a 99-96 lead. The Pioneers would not relinquish the lead again outscoring Wilmington 15-10 in the final overtime for the win.
Owens led the Pioneers with a career-high 29 points. He hit 6-of-8 from behind the arc and was 10-of-16 from the floor. Hammond scored a career-high 27 points and dished our five assists.
Martin finished with 27 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore
Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union) chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Wilmington had things going its way early. The Quakers jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed in the first half. Wilmington took a 36-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Pioneers took their first lead of the game, 42-40, when Martin hit a layup with 15:14 left in regulation. Marietta maintained the lead until Brandon Candella hit a layup with 1:05 left in the second half to give the Quakers a 73-72 lead.
Hammond put Marietta back in front, 74-73, with a layup of his own with 47 seconds on the clock. Wilmington scored on its next possession for a 75-74 lead and then was fouled on the rebound after the Pioneers missed a jumper.
The Quakers missed the front end of the bonus with two seconds remaining. After taking a timeout, Marietta threw the ball the length of the court and Wilmington was whistled for a foul.
Stephenson hit the front end of the one-and-one to tie the game at 75-75. His second attempt was off the mark sending the game into overtime.
Marietta scored first in overtime and built a five-point lead, 80-75, with 3:47 left. Wilmington answered right back with an 8-0 run to lead 83-80 with 24 seconds on the clock.
Following a timeout, the Pioneers inbounded the ball with 11 seconds and worked the ball around the perimeter to Owens who nailed the trifecta to force the second overtime.
The Pioneers scored first again in the second overtime, but Wilmington quickly took control. Malcolm Heard tied the game, 85-85, with a dunk just under a minute into the period.
A jumper from Candella gave the Quakers the lead, which they would keep until Martin's heroics with one second left. Martin's three-pointer knotted the score at 96-96 heading into the third and final overtime.
Heard led Wilmington with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He was 11-of-18 from the floor including 4-of-8 from three-point range. Candella finished with 22 points, while Dwight Johnson added 16 points and seven assists.
Miles Bankston had a double-double for the Quakers with 12 points and 10 boards. Jordan Berlin chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
For the game, Marietta shot 45.7% (37-of-81) from the floor, 51.7% (15-of-29) behind the arc and 81.5% (22-of-27) at the line. Wilmington hit 37-of-82 (45.1%) from the floor, 11-of-32 (34.4%) from three-point range and 21-of-35 (60.0%) at the free throw line.
The Quakers pulled down 54 rebounds to Marietta's 46 boards. Each team committed just 10 turnovers.
Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
