MARIETTA, Ohio – For the second time in three seasons the Marietta College men's basketball team will play for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship on its home court. The Pioneers will host the University of Mount Union Saturday (Feb. 23) for the title game at 7:30 p.m. in a sold-out Ban Johnson Arena. [
Game Notes (PDF)]
The winner of Saturday's match-up will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament.
No. 2 seed Marietta (19-7 overall) defeated third seeded Wilmington College 111-106 in triple overtime to advance into the championship game. The Pioneers are making their fourth appearance in the title game (1986, 1996, 2011, 2013). Marietta won the championship in 2011.
No. 4 seed Mount Union (13-14 overall) downed Otterbein 66-60 in the quarterfinals and upset top-seeded Capital 63-59 in the semifinals. This will be the Purple Raiders fourth trip to the championship game (1971, 1997, 2004, 2013). Mount Union won the 1997 title.
Leading the way for the Pioneers is senior first team All-OAC selection
J.J. Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington). Martin is averaging 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, both tops on the squad. He is tied for first place in the OAC in scoring and ranks fourth in rebounding.
Junior point guard
Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius), an honorable mention All-OAC selection, averages 10.6 points per game and has a team-leading 77 assists. Senior guard
Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield) averages 9.1 points and ranks second in the OAC with a 47.2% three-point field goal percentage. Owens was also an All-OAC honorable mention pick.
Second team All-OAC guard Nate Jacubec leads the Purple Raiders averaging 15.0 points per game. The OAC Freshman of the Year last season, Jacubec ranks first in the conference with 2.8 three-point field goals per game.
Sophomore forward Steve Griffin, an honorable mention All-OAC pick is averaging 12.4 points, while rookie forward Jarrett Ruffin earned the 2013 Freshman of the Year award after averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing.
Marietta and Mount Union have met three times previously in the OAC Tournament with the Purple Raiders winning all three match-ups. The Purple raiders defeated Marietta 84-72 in 2002, 60-52 in 1995 and 93-83 in 1992.
Saturday will be the 109th meeting all-time between the two schools. Mount Union holds a 64-44 advantage in the series, but Marietta has won the last six meetings including both games this season. The Pioneers defeated Mount Union 97-90 in Ban Johnson and 93-81 in Alliance.
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.
