Box Score MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's basketball team closed out the first half of its Ohio Athletic Conference schedule with an 82-72 win over visiting Capital University Wednesday (Jan. 22) evening. The Pioneers are 12-4 overall and one game behind OAC leader Mount Union with a 7-2 league record.
Capital (7-9 overall, 4-5 OAC) shot 55.2 % (16-of-29) from the floor in the first half to stay close to the Pioneers. But the Crusaders went cold in the second half making just 35.5% (11-of-31) of their shots.
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville/Northwestern) drained a three-pointer as time expired in the first half to give the Pioneers a 41-40 lead heading into the locker room. Marietta shot an even 50% (18-of-36) in the first 20 minutes and turned the ball over just three times.
Marietta quickly pushed the led to eight points, 52-44, early in the second half. The Crusaders cut the deficit to four points on two occasions but the Pioneers responded with a bucket on the ensuing possession each time.
Any hopes of a Capital comeback were thwarted by the Pioneers' free throw shooting. Marietta missed its first free throw of the second half and then made 21 straight to secure the victory.
Junior
A.J. Davis (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge) led four Pioneers in double figures with 13 points off the bench. Davis scored 10 of his points in the first half. Sophomore
RaNeal Ewing (Westerville/Dublin Scioto) had 11 points, while McKean and
Andy Dollman (Vienna, W.Va./Parkersburg) finished with 10 points.
Dollman was on fire in the early going making 5-of-6 from the floor before leaving the game with an injury.
Andrew Bolka, Charles English and Curt Geise each scored 13 points for the Crusaders. Mike Augustine pulled down six rebounds, while Bolka and Jared Cashen each had five boards.
Capital won the battle of the boards, 37-31. However, Marietta took great care of the basketball committing only five turnovers. The Crusaders turned the ball over 12 times.
For the game, Marietta shot 47.4% (27-of-57) from the floor, 30.0% (6-of-20) behind the arc and an impressive 88.0% (22-of-25) at the free throw line. Capital was 27-of-60 (45.0%) from the floor, 7-of-20 (35.0%) from three-point range and 11-of-16 (68.8%) at the line.
Marietta plays at Wilmington College Saturday (Jan. 25) at 3:00 p.m. 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.
