MARIETTA, Ohio — The No. 11 ranked Marietta College men's basketball kept the pressure on league-leading John Carroll with an 82-71 win over Heidelberg University Saturday (Jan. 23) in Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers, winners of seven straight, improve to 15-2 overall and 9-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Student Princes slip to 9-8 overall and 4-6 in the OAC.
Marietta had four players in double figures.
Dillon Young (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm) led the way with 16 points, including three three-pointers, four assists and four steals.
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville, Ohio/Northwestern) hit three triples as well and finished with 15 points.
A.J. Edwards (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) chipped in with 12 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Jack Thome (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) came off the bench to score 10 points and equaled Edwards with eight rebounds.
Heidelberg's Kiere Bennie drained five three-pointers and led all scorers with 24 points. He also pulled down six rebounds. Chris Moxley added 15 points and five assists, while Maurice Hunter led HU with seven rebounds.
The Pioneers got off to a slow start but a 20-8 run put Marietta in front 28-13 with 4:51 left in the first half. MC would take a 34-19 advantage into halftime.
Led by former Pioneer assistant coach Andy Bucheit, the Student Princes came roaring back in the second half. A jumper from Myron Prewitt at the 11:35 mark trimmed Marietta's lead to three, 46-43.
Marietta immediately responded and pushed the lead back into double digits. Edwards nailed a three-pointer with 7:47 left to make it a ten-point game, 57-47. MC would lead by as many as 14 points down the stretch as Heidelberg was forced to foul.
For the game, Marietta shot 42.1% (24-of-57) from the floor, 39.3% (11-of-28) from three-point range and 79.3% (23-of-29) at the line. Heidelberg was 25-of-64 (39.1%) from the floor, 9-of-20 (45.0%) behind the arc and 12-of-13 (92.3%) at the line.
Both teams grabbed 38 rebounds in the game. Heidelberg turned the ball over 17 times, while Marietta committed 13 turnovers.
Marietta hits the road on Wednesday (Jan. 27) for a game at rival Muskingum University. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
