MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men's basketball team fell behind early and could not catch as they dropped their home finale to Heidelberg University at the Ban Johnson, 107-86, on Saturday (Feb. 14) afternoon. The loss drops Marietta to 9-15 on the season and 4-11 in the OAC. Heidelberg improves to 12-11 on the season and 6-8 in the OAC.
 
Heidelberg got on the board first with a driving layup from Riley Gossom, but Marietta quickly answered with a pull up jumper from Elijah Harden (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic), who was one of three Pioneer seniors honored before the game.  The Student Princes got a jumper to fall from Brady Bosma and then a three pointer from Gossom to take a 9-5 lead into the first media time out.  Although Harden cut into the advantage right away as play resumed, Heidelberg widened the lead with the help of a 12-0 run, six of those point coming from Trey Killens.  Ben Solomon (Ann Arbor, Mich./Skyline) came off the bench to slow the momentum as he got a buried a jumper, but the Pioneers trailed by 11 at the 11:57 mark.

After both teams traded free throws, Jai Guerra-Howard (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) tried to inject some energy into the Pioneer offensive attack as he scored on a driving layup and followed with a bonus free throw.  Heidelberg would go to answer with four straight points.  Jake Singleton (Senecaville, Ohio/Meadowbrook), another senior honored before the game, did his best the to keep the Pioneers close as he scored on a pair of layups and a pair of free throws, but again Heidelberg did not let up on their side of the floor and led by 16 into the final media time out.  Singleton hit from three-point range and Harden converted a pair of big baskets, but Heidelberg got a layup from Killens on the final possession.   In all, Heidelberg shot over 65% from the floor and took a 54-40 lead into the intermission.
 
Bosma and Killens came up big early in the second half, as they provided eight and four points respectively, to push the lead to 20 at the 15-minute mark.  The Pioneers tried to put on some defensive pressure and chip away at the lead, getting a trey from the final senior honored before the game, Darius Carden (Ooltewah, Tenn./McMinn Central), but Heidelberg simply would not stop hitting big shots.  Harden's three pointer and Guerra-Howard's layup cut the lead to 17 with 9:50 remaining, but Jarvell Gainey's fast break dunk and Gossom's three-point push the Student Prince advantage to its biggest, 22.
 
Marietta strung together an 8-0 run with three pointers from Harden and Carden and a thunderous dunk from Mason Wisniewski (Farmington Hills, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Marys), but Heidelberg calmly answered with seven of their own points to stop the rally. In the end, the advantage was too much to overcome and the Student Princes would cruise to a 107-86 victory.
 
Singleton went 5-of-9 from three point range and finished with a team-high 26 points, also leading the Pioneers with six rebounds.  Three other Pioneers were in double figures. Harden scored 16 points. Guerra-Howard finished with 12 points. Wisniewski finished with 10 points.
 
Killens led Heidelberg with 25 points and six rebounds.  Gainey followed with 23 points and Bosma scored 20 points for the Student Princes
 
Marietta will close out the regular season on the road as they will battle Ohio Northern this Saturday (Feb. 21), with a 1:00 p.m. tip off.
 
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.