WESTERVILLE, Ohio — No. 6 ranked Marietta College easily defeated winless Otterbein University, 86-60, Wednesday (Nov. 29) evening in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The pioneers improve to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the OAC. Otterbein falls to 0-6 and 0-1 in the OAC.
"I was extremely happy with our defensive pressure and toughness in the first half," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. " I thought our guys did a great job of not letting Otterbein be comfortable and it really set the tone for the game."
Marietta held the Cardinals to just 24 first half points and opened a 27-point lead at halftime, 51-24. The Pioneers shot 55.3% from the floor in the first 20 minutes and dominated the glass pulling down 23 rebounds to Otterbein's 12.
Four Pioneers finished in double figures.
Kyle Woodruff (Grand Blanc, Mich./Holly) came off the bench and drained four three-pointers to lead Marietta with a career-high 16 points.
Caleb Hoyng (Celina, Ohio/Celina) scored 12 points and had four rebounds and four assists.
Avery Williams (Nashport, Ohio/Tri-Valley) chipped in with 10 points and tied for the game-high with six boards.
Mike Hall (Belpre, Ohio/Warren) played 19 minutes off the bench and had a pair of three-pointers to finish with 10 points.
Otterbein got no closer than 21 points in the second half. The Pioneer lead ballooned to as many as 34 points, 81-47, as 13 different Pioneers scored in the game.
Justin Carter scored a game-high 20 points for the Cardinals. Gabe Watson added 12 points and Corey Howard kicked in eight points.
For the game, Marietta shot 50.0% (35-of-70) from the floor, 36.4% (8-of-22) from three-point range and 66.7% (8-of-12) at the free throw line. The Cardinals were 23-of-56 (41.1%) from the floor, 20.0% (4-of-20 ) from three-point range and 76.9% (10-of-13) at the charity stripe.
The Pioneers outrebounded Otterbein, 43-29. Marietta committed 13 turnovers, while Otterbein turned the ball over 18 times.
Marietta returns home to host Baldwin Wallace on Saturday (Dec. 2). Tip off in Ban Johnson Arena is set for 3 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.
