BEREA, Ohio — Marietta College overcame a subpar first half outscoring Baldwin Wallace University by 21 points in the second half to down the Yellow Jackets 69-55 Saturday (Jan. 6) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Pioneers have won six straight games and is now 11-2 overall and 5-1 in the OAC. Baldwin Wallace falls to 4-9 overall and 1-5 in the OAC.
"After a miserable first half, the guys responded and played the game the right way in the 2nd half," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "We really struggled offensively but De'Ovion (Price) sparked us to start the second half. Ethan (Andersen) also provided a low post presence off the bench and we started to gain confidence. That, combined with our rebounding effort, was the difference in the game."
Marietta shot a frigid 23% from the floor, including just 15% from three-point range, in the first half. The Pioneers did grab 13 offensive rebounds, but managed just three second chance points off of those boards.
The teams traded small leads through the first eight minutes of the game. A three-pointer from Andrew Griffith gave the Yellow Jackets a 12-9 lead with 11:22 left in the opening period. Baldwin Wallace would not relinquish the lead and had a seven-point advantage at halftime, 31-24.
Baldwin Wallace scored the first basket of the second half pushing the margin to nine points. Marietta responded with an 11-2 run to tie the game, 35-35.
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge) sparked the comeback scoring nine of Marietta's 11 points in the run.
After a Yellow jacket bucket, Marietta post player
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) drained a three-pointer to give the Pioneers the lead for good. Marietta hit back-to-back triples with
David Sanford (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) following Waganfeald's three-pointer.
Baldwin Wallace stayed within five points until an 8-0 Pioneer run pushed the margin to nine points, 58-49, with 5:41 remaining in the game. A layup from
Ethan Andersen (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) pushed the lead to double digits.
A
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) dunk and layup from Sanford extending the final margin to 16 points, 69-55.
Marietta used a decisive advantage on the glass, 54-30, coupled with Baldwin Wallace going ice cold from behind the arc to earn the come from behind win. The Yellow Jackets were 0-for-7 from three-point range and shot just 27% from the floor in the second half.
Wiloughby notched his third straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Price finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Waganfeald and Sanford added 10 points each. Waganfeald also pulled down nine rebounds.
Myles Reynolds led the Yellow Jackets with 12 points. Titus Baskerville and AJ Pestello scored 10 points each, while Jarred Logan finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Marietta plays at Otterbein on Wednesday (Jan. 10) at 7:00 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.
