Pioneers can't trap Polar Bears, ONU runs away with 129-97 win

Dec. 11, 2004
ADA, Ohio - The Marietta College men's basketball team early season slide continued Saturday (Dec. 11), as the Navy Blue & White lost 129-97 at Ohio Northern in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) match-up. ONU (5-2. 2-0 OAC) took advantage of the Pioneers' (1-7, 0-3 OAC) up tempo style to build a 78-53 halftime lead and it never looked back as the Bears went on to secure the 32-point victory.

Senior Matt Hines (Waverly/Eastern Pike) once again led the way for Marietta, finishing with 26 points on 8-of-11 from the floor. He went 3-of-4 from long range and 7-of-7 from the line. Hines has now collected 1,164 career points, ranking him 16th all-time on MC's scoring list.

Sophomore Chad Sponseller (Canton/GlenOak) added 16 points and four assists, while freshmen Sam Rutherford (Newport/Frontier) and Josh Hull (Nitro, WV/Poca) finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Rutherford also had five steals. In addition, sophomore Matt Rucker (Proctorville/Chesapeake) added seven points and ten boards in the game.

Mark Killian came off the bench to lead ONU with 25 points, while Greg Badenhop finished with 22 and Phil Hoying added 18 in the win.

ONU shot 44-of-79 (55.7%) from the floor and out rebounded MC 51-to-36 in the game. Marietta finished 32-of-77 (41.6%) from the field, but just 11-of-41 (34.6%) from beyond the arc and 22-of-36 (61.1%) from the line.

The Pioneers will return to action Saturday (Dec. 18) when they host Wilmington in a 3 p.m. showdown on Fenton Court.

Sophomore Matt Rucker had seven points and 10 rebounds against ONU

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