WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Otterbein University snapped a 20-game losing skid against Marietta College with an 86-70 victory Wednesday (Jan. 10) evening in the Rike Center. Marietta falls to 11-3 overall and 5-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Cardinals improve to 9-5 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.
Otterbein shot a sizzling 64% from the floor in the first half building a 10-point halftime lead, 47-37. The first five minutes of the game saw eight lead changes as the teams traded baskets. A jumper from Cam Evans gave Otterbein the lead, 11-10.
The Cardinals used an 8-0 run pushing the margin to seven points, 17-10, with 13:56 left in the first half. Otterbein pushed the margin to double figures and a layup from Brock Waits with four minutes remaining gave the Cardinals its largest lead of the half, 43-30.
A three-pointer from
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) and two free throws from
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge) trimmed the deficit to eight points, 45-37, with a minute left on the clock. Evans hit a pair of free throws for the 10-point halftime lead.
Marietta opened the second half with an 8-3 run to get within five points, 50-45, less than two minutes into the period.
David Sanford (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) hit a pair of shots, including a three-pointer, and
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) added a triple in the run for the Pioneers.
Otterbein answered with six straight points extending its advantage to 11 points, 56-45. Shooting 56% from the floor in the second half, the Cardinals pushed the margin as high as 20 points and never let Marietta back into the game.
Willoughby led the Pioneers with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Jac Alexander (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) scored 14 points, while Sanford and Waganfeald each chipped in with 10 points.
Chase Garito recorded a double-double for the Cardinals with 21 points and 11 boards. Evans finished with 21 points. Jack Clement had 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Troy Scowden added 10 points.
Marietta returns home to host No. 8 ranked John Carroll University on Saturday (Jan. 13). Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
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.
