MARIETTA, Ohio — John Carroll University dominated the offensive glass as the Blue Streaks came from behind to defeat No. 13 Marietta College, 93-82, Saturday (Dec. 9) afternoon in Ban Johnson Arena. The loss drops Marietta to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. John Carroll improves to 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.
The Blue Streaks turned 19 offensive rebounds into 27 second chance points. 21 of those points came in the second half as the Blue Streaks wiped out an eight-point halftime deficit.
Marietta had the hot hand in the first half. The Pioneers hit seven three-pointers and built a 19-point lead, 41-22, with 6:23 left in the opening period. MC maintained a 17-point lead with two minutes remaining in the first half.
John Carroll scored the final nine points of the half and then scored the first six points of the second half. The 15-0 Blue Streak run cut the Pioneer lead to two, 49-47.
The Pioneers clung to a small lead until John Cirillo drained a three-pointer putting John Carroll in front, 66-64, with just over 11 minutes left in the game.
Marietta answered with a 6-0 run to retake the lead, 70-66. But the lead was short-lived as JCU responded with six straight points and never trailed again.
Dillon Young (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and
Anthony Wallace (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) scored 19 points apiece to lead Marietta.
Avery Williams (Nashport, Ohio/Tri-Valley) recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while
Kyle Dixon (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) chipped in with 10 points.
Jimmy Berger paced the Blue Streaks with 19 points and seven boards. Cirillo finished with 15 points, while Ryan Berger and Sean Flannery each scored 12. Matthew Csuhran added 11 points and Antonio Vuyancih had 10.
For the game, Marietta shot 51.9% (28-of-54) from the floor, 42.3% (11-of-26) from three-point range and 83.3% (15-of-18) at the free throw line. The Blue Streaks were 33-of-70 (47.1%) from the floor, 12-of-26 (46.2%) behind the arc and 15-of-23 (65.2%) at the line.
John Carroll outrebounded the Pioneers, 39-30. The Blue Streaks turned the ball over nine times, while Marietta committed 16 turnovers.
Marietta hits the road for its next three games. The Pioneers play at Wilmington on Saturday (Dec. 16) at 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.
