Box Score BEREA, Ohio – Six Pioneers scored in double figures as Marietta College defeated Baldwin Wallace University 91-80 Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. With the win, Marietta improves to 18-5 on the season and 13-3 in the OAC.
The Pioneer win, coupled with Ohio Northern's win over league-leading Mount Union this afternoon, sets up a battle for first place in the OAC on Wednesday. The Purple Raiders visit Ban Johnson Arena for a 7:30 p.m. match-up. Mount holds a game lead over the Pioneers with a 14-2 OAC mark.
Baldwin Wallace, the preseason favorite to win the OAC, gave the Pioneers all they could handle battling back from double-digit deficits several times. A layup from
A.J. Edwards (Aurora/Twinsburg) with 3:17 left in the first half gave Marietta an 11-point lead, 37-26.
The Yellow Jackets answered with a 14-2 run to reclaim the lead, 40-39, with 58 seconds left in the half. An old-fashioned three-point play from Marietta's
RaNeal Ewing (Westerville/Dublin Scioto) and a layup by BW's Skyler Simpson left the score tied, 42-42, at halftime.
BW scored first in the second half and held a slim lead through the first four minutes. A jumper from Kevin Krakowiak with 15:52 remaining gave the Yellow Jackets a 49-46 advantage.
Marietta hit three straight three-pointers in just over a minute to retake the lead, 55-49. Junior
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville/Northwestern) nailed back-to-back treys and sophomore
Luis Garcia (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) hit the third. The Pioneers gradually pulled away building its biggest lead of the game, 87-75, on a McKean layup with 44 seconds left on the clock.
Ewing's 19 points led all scorers. McKean and Garcia each sank three treys in the game and finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Garcia also grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
A.J. Davis (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge) scored 13 points, while
Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union) had 11 points and five rebounds.
Eddy Grenert (Wooster/Triway) chipped in with 10 points and five boards.
Kyle Payne led BW with 16 points. Krakowiak scored 14 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Grant Fairhurst hit four three-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Simpson added 11.
BW won the battle of the boards, 40-34, while each team committed eight turnovers.
The Pioneers finished 34-of-60 (56.7%) from the floor, 9-of-20 (45.0%) from three-point range and 14-of-20 (70.0%) at the line. Baldwin Wallace shot 40.3% (27-of-67) from the floor, 40.0% (12-of-30) behind the arc and 66.7% (14-of-21) at the line.
Marietta returns home for its final two regular season games. In addition to hosting Mount Union on Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 7:30 p.m., the Pioneers host John Carroll at 3:00 p.m. next Saturday (Feb. 22).
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.
