UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – John Carroll University overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to knock off No. 12 Marietta College by the score of 67-54 Saturday (Feb. 1) afternoon. The loss drops Marietta to 16-3 overall and 10-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Blue Streaks improve to 13-6 overall and 6-6 in league play.
After the Blue Streaks jumped out to an early 4-2 lead three minutes into the game, Marietta went on a 6-0 run behind a pair of three pointers from
Caleb Hoyng (Celina, Ohio/Celina) and
Jason Ellis (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) to put the Pioneers on top, 8-4, at the 16:24 mark of the first half.
Two minutes later Marietta extended its lead with a 12-0 spurt that spanned seven minutes of action and put the Pioneers on top, 22-9, with eight minutes to play in the opening period. The run was led by five points from Ellis and highlighted by a three from
Karson Snyder (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg).
The teams battled for the final eight minutes of the half, and Marietta maintained a double-digit margin, 33-21 at the intermission. The final eight minutes of play were well rounded on the offensive end as Snyder had four points, and
Lukas Isaly (Clarington, Ohio/River),
Tim Kreeger (Delphos, Ohio/Delphos St. Johns), and
Jake Montgomery (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) all had a bucket.
The Pioneers played solid defense in the first half holding John Carroll to 1-of-15 shooting from behind the arc. The Blue Streaks shot only 18.2% from the floor in the first half.
John Carroll regrouped at the break and opened the second half with a 10-2 run that trimmed the Marietta advantage to 35-31, just three minutes into the second half. The Blue Streaks continued to battle back, and took a 44-43 lead on a layup from James Berger with 9:23 to play in the game.
The game remained tight through the middle of the second half. John Carroll maintained a 53-52 edge after Isaly converted an old fashioned three-point play at the 5:23 mark. The Blue Streaks answered with back to back three pointers pushing the margin to seven, 59-52, which forced a Pioneer timeout with 4:17 remaining.
John Carroll hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to secure the 67-54 victory.
Marietta was led by Isaly as he notched 13 points, three rebounds, and had two assists.
Mike Hall (Belpre, Ohio/Warren Local) had a big night on the boards, as he had a game high 10 rebounds.
Berger led the Blue Streaks with 27 points. Jackson Sartain added 17 points.
Marietta returns home to host Capital University on Wednesday (Feb. 5). Tip-off in Ban Johnson Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Fans can follow all of 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.
