TIFFIN, Ohio — The Marietta College men's basketball team lost an Ohio Athletic Conference game, 93-86, in overtime at Heidelberg University Saturday (Jan. 4) afternoon. The loss drops Marietta to 7-4 on the season and 1-3 in the OAC. Heidelberg improves to 7-4 on the season and 3-1 in the OAC.
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge) scored six points in the final minute of regulation as the Pioneers erased a five-point Heidelberg lead forcing the game into overtime. Mark Johnson-Nichols made one of two free throws with 10 seconds on the clock giving the Student Princes a 76-74 lead.
Jack Main (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) grabbed the rebound on the missed second free throw and Price raced up the floor and layed it in with one second left on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Heidelberg connected on 6-of-8 shots from the floor and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line in overtime to secure the victory. A three-pointer from Manny Hill put the Student Princes up 87-81 with 1:40 left in overtime. Four Berg free throws in the final seconds prevented Marietta from closing the gap.
The game was close throughout as the teams traded small leads in the first half. A three-pointer from Price with three seconds left in the opening period gave the Pioneers a 33-28 lead at halftime, the biggest lead of the half for either team.
Marietta increased its lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Three-pointers from
Danny Flood (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye) and
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) extended the margin to 11 points, 44-33, at the 15:33 mark.
Heidelberg used a 12-0 to turn a seven-point deficit into a five-point lead. In just over two minutes of clock time the Student Princes got a three-pointer from Zane Leitwein, five points from Eric Panning and four points from Elijah Harden to build a 65-60 lead with 6:33 left in regulation.
The Pioneers battled back to tie the game, 66-66, with 4:27 on the clock. Waganfeald converted a pair of free throws and
Jayden Bradshaw (Blanchester, Ohio/Fayetteville-Perry) added two buckets as Marietta drew even with the Student Princes.
Two three-pointers from Leitwein put Berg back up by five points, 73-68, with 1:18 left in regulation. Price answered with his six-point outburst in the final minute to send the game into overtime.
Waganfeald notched a double-double with 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Four other Pioneers were in double figures. Price scored 17 points. Bradshaw finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, while
Jack Main (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) added 12 points and seven boards.
Danny Flood (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye) chipped in with 11 points.
Harden led all scorers with 26 points. Johnson-Nichols had 18 points, while Panning added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Leitwein finished with 12 points and Manny Hill added 11 points.
Marietta travels to Alliance on Wednesday (Jan. 8) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the University of Mount Union.
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.
