MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College fought back from a sizable second-half deficit to force overtime and, after leading much of the first overtime period, lost a double overtime thriller to Otterbein University by the score of 77-70 Wednesday (Dec. 17) evening in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Pioneers fall to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the OAC. Otterbein improves to 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in the OAC.
Otterbein jumped out to a 8-2 lead in a slow-moving first half as Otterbein's Julian Heckman hit a pair of three-pointers. Marietta fought back to cut the lead to one with
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge) nailing a three-pointer, but Otterbein answered with a five point run to extend the lead to 13-7 at the 11:11 mark. Later in the half, the Cardinals got a boost as Cam Evans scored 11 points in the final five minutes and Otterbein took a 31-21 lead in the intermission.
After the Cardinals extended the lead to 16 points, Marietta took advantage of the lengthy Cardinal scoring drought to chip away at the lead. A three-pointer from
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) got the deficit back to single digits, but Otterbein answered with an 8-2 run to lead by 14 with 4:38 left in regulation. That would be the final points Otterbein would score in the period as Marietta began to mount a furious comeback. The Pioneers closed the half with a 14-point run, fueled by nine points from
Danny Flood (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye), including a game-tying layup with 22 seconds left in regulation. Otterbein could not convert on their final possession and both teams were tied at 50 going into overtime.
Marietta scored the first five points to begin the overtime but the Cardinals fought back and to take the lead back, 61-60, with a little over a minute remaining.
Darius Carden (Ooltewah, Tenn./McMinn Central) answered with a tip-in on the next possession and the Marietta retook the lead. Marietta extended the lead to five as Otterbein was forced to send the Pioneers to the foul line to stop the clock. With four seconds remaining, Chase Garito hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to two and was able to foul immediately to stop the clock. Price could not convert either free throw, allowing the Cardinals to grab the rebound and fire a pass to the other side. Evans could not make the shot but drew the foul and calmly hit both free throws to force a second overtime.
Otterbein began the second overtime on a 10-0 run and Marietta could not overcome the difference. Otterbein went to claim the 77-70 victory.
Flood led the Pioneers with 19 points, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line before fouling out in the second overtime period. Waganfeald finished with 14 points and Price scored 10 points.
Evans led all scorers with 26 points. Heckman finished with 18 points and Garito finished with 15 points.
Marietta will take a few days to celebrate the holiday but will return to action to play in the Nashville Music City Classic December 29-30. The Pioneers will play Berea College on Sunday (Dec. 29) and then will take on the University of Lynchburg on Monday (Dec. 30).
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.
