MARIETTA, Ohio — A furious second half comeback fell short as Marietta College lost to visiting Wilmington College, 85-77, Saturday (Jan. 3) afternoon in Ban Johnson Arena. The loss drops Marietta to 6-7 overall and 1-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Quakers improve to 6-6 on the season and 2-1 in the OAC.
 
Marietta College missed its first seven shots of the game and quickly fell behind 12-1. The Pioneers' shooting woes continued throughout the first half as Marietta converted just 35% of its shots from the floor. 
 
While the Pioneers were struggling to put the ball in the basket, Wilmington sank 59% of its shot attempts in the first half and built a 23-point lead. Domenic Farley drained a three-pointer with 5:23 left in the opening period to make it 39-16 in favor of the Quakers. Marietta trimmed the deficit to 18 points and trailed 48-30 at halftime.
 
Wilmington maintained its lead through the first eight minutes of the second half. Ben Golan hit one of two free throws with 11:49 left in the game for a 63-43 Quaker lead.
 
Marietta went on a 19-3 run over the next five minutes cutting the Wilmington lead to just four points, 66-62. Jake Singleton (Senecaville, Ohio/Meadowbrook) triggered the run with a three-pointer. Singleton scored eight of Marietta's points in the spurt.
 
Elijah Harden (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) hit a three-pointer to get the Pioneers within two, 74-72. Following a Quaker miss and a foul, Mason Wisniewski (Farmington Hills, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Marys) went to the line with a chance to tie the game. Wisniewski hit one of two free throws making it a one-point game.
 
Wilmington never relinquished the lead as the Quakers got back-to-back tip-ins by Carson Miles and Izaiah Cathey. Cathey drew a foul on his and converted the free throw for an 81-77 lead. The Quakers made four free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
Marietta's free throw shooting problems were costly. The Pioneers shot just 59.5% from the line.
 
Wisnieski had a double-double to lead the Pioneers with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Singleton scored 15 points, while Harden added 13 points and Trenton Collins (Newark, Ohio/Utica) finished with 11 points.
 
Farley scored 23 points to lead the Quakers. Elijah Cathey scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Izaiah Cathey finished with 13 points and seven boards.
 
Marietta hosts No. 9 Mount Union on Wednesday (Jan. 7) for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
 
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.