Box Score ALLIANCE, Ohio – In a rematch of last year's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, the University of Mount Union managed a measure of revenge as the Purple Raiders defeated Marietta College 73-72 Wednesday (Jan. 15) evening.
Mount Union takes control of the OAC standings with a 6-0 league mark. The Purple Raiders are 11-2 overall. Marietta falls to 10-4 on the season and 5-2 in the OAC.
Marietta jumped in front early and led by 10, 28-18, with 7:43 left in the first half. But, Mount Union finished the period on a 16-4 run to lead 34-32 at the half.
The Purple Raiders opened the second half with a 19-9 run to push their lead to 53-41 with 10:57 left in the game. Mount Union still led by 10 points, 60-50, at the 6:22 mark when the Pioneers made a final push. Marietta put together a 17-7 run to knot the game at 67 with 1:10 left on the clock.
A three-pointer from Cody Dillon put the Raiders back in front, but a foul sent Marietta's
Luis Garcia (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) to the line where he sank both free throws with 41 seconds remaining.
Following a Marietta timeout with 21 seconds left, the Pioneers were forced to foul. Dillon made two free throws extending the lead to three, 72-69.
Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union) drained a three-pointer to tie the game with 13 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, TJ Gillespie drove the lane and drew a foul with 0.8 seconds left in the game. Gillespie hit the first free throw and intentionally missed the second to end the game.
Junior
Andy Dollman (Vienna, W.Va./Parkersburg) scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Pioneers. Stephenson finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Garcia chipped in with 11 points, while
RaNeal Ewing (Westerville/Dublin Scioto) added 10.
Gillespie led all scorers with 21 points. Dillon scored 15 points, while Jimmy Darnley grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
Marietta travels to John Carroll University Saturday (Jan. 18) for a 3:00 p.m. tip. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
