MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College took advantage of the friendly confines of Ban Johnson Arena as the Pioneers snapped a two-game conference skid with a 71-68 win over Ohio Northern University Sunday (Jan. 12) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. Marietta improves to 8-5 overall and 2-4 in the OAC. Ohio Northern slips to 9-4 on the season and 3-3 in the OAC.
"We made a few adjustments offensively at halftime and I told the guys we needed to get a little tougher," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "It was a two to three-point game most of the half and we were able to hit some timely shots to get it to six or seven."
The Pioneers used a 14-2 run over a six-minute span early in the second half to take control of the game. Ohio Northern led for all but 40 seconds of the first half but couldn't hold off Marietta after the intermission. Six different Pioneers scored during the crucial run.
Jake Singleton (Senecaville, Ohio/Meadowbrook) started the spurt with a jumper and the
Jack Main (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) came up with a steal that led to a bucket from
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge). Following an ONU basket,
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay),
Landry Palata (St. Mary's, W.Va./Teays Valley Christian) and
Jayden Bradshaw (Blanchester, Ohio/Fayetteville-Perry) each scored. Bradshaw scored back-to-back baskets when he grabbed an offensive rebound and slam dunked the follow up. Another Polar Bear turnover resulted in a basket from
Danny Flood (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye) giving Marietta its biggest lead of the day, 50-42, with 12:30 left in the game.
Ohio Northern responded with seven straight points to get within one, 50-49, before Bradshaw nailed a three-pointer to end the Polar Bear run. ONU kept the Pioneer lead within a couple of points until
Darius Carden (Ooltewah, Tenn./McMinn Central) hit a triple pushing the margin back to seven points, 66-59, with just over five minutes left on the clock.
Noah Langford and Will Miller each hit three-pointers for the Polar Bears down the stretch. But Waganfeald hit a pair of free throws and Flood converted three of four from the charity stripe, including one of two with 1.5 seconds remaining, to secure the victory.
Bradshaw led a trio of Pioneers in double figures with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. Waganfeald finished with 16 points and five boards, while Carden chipped in with 10 points. Main grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Price dished out seven assists.
Four Polar Bears finished in double figures led by Miller with 15 points. Reese Carter had 14 points and six rebounds. Theo Maag and Jadi Cunningham finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Cunningham had six assists.
Marietta is back at home on Wednesday (Jan. 15) when the Pioneers host Muskingum University 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.
