ATHENS, Ohio — Marietta College gave NCAA Division I Ohio University all it could handle in a men's basketball exhibition game Saturday (Nov. 8) afternoon in the Convocation Center. The Bobcats had to overcome a 14-point Pioneer lead to come away with the 82-69 victory.
Marietta junior
Luis Garcia (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) led all scorers with 20 points. Garcia hit five of the Pioneers' 10 three-pointers in the game.
A.J. Ireland (Carroll/Bloom-Carroll) finished with 19 points, while
Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union) and
Keith Richardson (Englewood/Northmont) each chipped in with 10 points.
Stephenson and
Eddy Grenert (Wooster/Triway) each pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Ireland and Richardson recorded three assists apiece.
Ohio jumped out to the early lead. A three-pointer from Stevie Taylor and a dunk from Maurice Ndour put the Bobcats in front 5-2 in the early going. Garcia completed an old-fashioned three-point play at the 15:44 mark to knot the game at 11.
Garcia drained a three-pointer on Marietta's next possession to put the Pioneers in front 14-11. Marietta pushed the lead to double digits and lead by as many as 14 points, 38-24, when Grenert nailed a three-pointer with 6:52 left in the first half.
The Bobcats responded and finished the opening period on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to three at 40-37.
Ohio took the lead for good with 13:41 left in the game when Javarez Willis hit a three-pointer to make it 52-51 in favor of the Bobcats. Marietta tied the game at 56 on a layup from Garcia midway through the period only to see Ohio gradually pull away in final minutes.
Ndour led five Bobcats in double figures with 18 points. He also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Willis, Taylor and Treg Setty each scored 15 points, while Mike Laster notched 11.
Marietta shot 35.1% (26-of-74) from the floor, 27.8% (10-of-36) behind the arc and 53.8% (7-of-13) at the free throw line. Ohio was 29-of-61 (47.5%) from the floor, 6-of-24 (25.0%) from three-point range and 18-of-27 (66.7%) at the line.
The Bobcats edged Marietta on the glass 47-42. Ohio turned the ball over 14 times, while the Pioneers committed 12 turnovers.
Marietta opens the 2014-15 regular season next weekend in the 44th annual Marietta Shrine Tournament. The Pioneers play Hanover College (Ind.) on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 8:00 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 and Instagram.
