BEXLEY, Ohio — Capital University defeated Marietta College by the score of 95-87 Saturday (Dec. 6) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball. The loss drops Marietta to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the OAC. The Comets improve to 5-3 overall and are also 1-1 in league play.
 
Marietta scored the first four points of the game and held a small lead until Se'Ron Calloway-White hit a pair of free throws giving Capital a 10-9 lead six minutes into the game. Elijah Harden (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) responded with three straight three-pointers to put the Pioneers back in front, 18-10, with 12:24 left in the half.
 
Trailing 28-20, the Comets went on a 11-1 run to retake the lead, 31-29 with five minutes left in the period. Torrien Perkins sparked the run with an old-fashioned three-point play. Two buckets from Calloway-White, one from Dallas Tucker and two free throws from Julian Mitchell accounted for the Comet points.
 
Capital built an eight-point lead only to see the Pioneers trim it to one, 41-40, at halftime. Darius Carden (Ooltewah, Tenn./McMinn Central) drained a pair of three-pointers to cut the Capital lead to a single point.
 
Capital opened the second half with a layup and free throw from McKane Finkenbine and never trailed. Marietta kept the Comets close never trailing by more than eight points. The Pioneers got within two points nine times in the half but couldn't get any closer.
 
Of the nine times Marietta cut the lead to two, Capital scored on the following possession seven times. The Pioneers managed stops on the defensive end just twice and couldn't capitalize on either opportunity to tie or take the lead.
 
Harden led all scorers with 30 points, including five three-pointers. This was the senior's third 30-point game of the season. Jake Singleton (Senecaville, Ohio/Meadowbrook) drained six triples and finished with 22 points. Carden had 11 points and five rebounds, while Deuce Blake (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Finkenbine led the Comets with 25 points, including six three-pointers. Tucker finished with 17 points and seven assists, while Calloway-White added 16 points and eight boards. Julian Mitchell chipped in with 13 points and Chris Mitchell had 10m points and nine rebounds.
 
Marietta travels to Otterbein University on Tuesday (Dec. 16) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.