MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College, seeded second, used a big second half to defeat No. 7 seed Wilmington College, 86-71, Tuesday (Feb. 20) evening in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.
Marietta improves to 21-5 on the season and will host Ohio Northern University in the semifinals on Thursday (Feb. 22) evening at 8:00 p.m. The No. 3 seeded Polar Bears (18-8) beat sixth-seeded Capital by the score of 81-60 in the first round.
Kyle Dixon (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pioneers.
Dillon Young (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and
Avery Williams (Nashport, Ohio/Tri-Valley) each finished with 13 points. Williams pulled down nine boards.
Christian Jones led four Quakers (11-14 overall) in double figures with 19 points. Mathan Scott scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Will Patrick notched 15 points and DJ Iles added 10 points.
Wilmington scored the first seven points of the game and maintained a small lead throughout most of the first half. Marietta did grab the lead for a short time late in the period only to watch Scott drain a three-pointer in the final seconds to give Wilmington a 37-35 lead at halftime.
After Wilmington scored the first basket of the second, Marietta rolled off 12 straight points to go in front, 47-39. After trading buckets,
DeVaughn Wingard (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Orange) nailed a three-pointer extending the Pioneer lead to 11 points, 52-41, six minutes into the half.
The Quakers gradually chipped away at the Marietta and a triple from Scott at the 10:05 mark cut the deficit to three, 60-57. But Wilmington would get no closer as the Pioneers scored the next eight points to go back up by double figures, 68-57.
Marietta would extend the lead to as many as 17 points down the stretch to secure the victory.
For the game, Marietta shot 50.0% (33-of-66) from the floor, 25.0% (4-of-16) from three-point range and 80.0% (16-of-20) at the free throw line. The Quakers were 26-of-62 (41.9%) from the floor, 6-of-23 (26.2%) behind the arc and 13-of-15 (86.7%) at the line.
The Pioneers dominated the glass outrebounding Wilmington, 48-26. Marietta turned the ball over 16 times, while the Quakers committed just nine turnovers.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
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