WILMINGTON, Ohio — Marietta College uses a big second half to erase an eight-point halftime deficit as the Pioneers defeat Wilmington College by the score of 82-69 Saturday (Dec. 9) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. Marietta improves to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the OAC. Wilmington falls to 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in the OAC.
"That was a full team effort today. We played 13 guys and got great minutes in the second half out of a lot of people," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "I'm proud of our guys for showing some true toughness in the second half after a miserable first half."
Marietta struggled at the free throw line in the first half converting just 11-of-21 at the charity stripe. Wilmington hit a pair of three-pointers to start the game jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead. The Quakers held a small lead through the first 13 minutes of the game.
A jumper from Carson Miles midway through the period gave Wilmington a nine-point lead, 20-11. The Pioneers responded with nine straight points to tie the game, 20-20, on a three-pointer from
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge) at the 6:54 mark. Marietta's first lead of the game came 30 seconds later when
Eric Chapman (Point Pleasant, W.Va./Point Pleasant) completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Pioneers in front, 23-22.
After trading baskets over the next five minutes, Wilmington closed the half with a 9-1 run to take a 40-32 lead into halftime.
The Pioneers used an 8-0 run in the first five minutes of the second half to reclaim the lead, 46-45. A layup from
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) and three-pointers from
Jayden Bradshaw (Blanchester, Ohio/Fayetteville-Perry) and
David Sanford (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) accounted for Marietta's points during the run.
After several ties, a triple from Price gave Marietta the lead for good with 8:58 left in the game. The Quakers didn't score in the final three minutes of the game as Marietta built a double-digit lead in the final minute of the game.
Five Pioneers scored in double figures led by
Lovenson Xavier (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) with 13 points. Bradshaw finished with 12 points, while Sanford chipped in with 11 points.
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) and Price each scored 10 points.
Matthew Dugue led the Quakers with 14 points. Domenic Farley scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Jayden Lewis added 11 points.
Marietta hosts Ohio Northern University next Saturday (Dec. 16). Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena.
Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.
