Otterbein tops Marietta 78-65
Pioneers turn focus to second half of OAC schedule

Jan. 18, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio - Visiting Otterbein College led wire-to-wire Wednesday (Jan. 18) against host Marietta College and left town with a 78-65 victory in both team's final game of the Ohio Athletic Conference's first half.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 7-8 overall and 3-6 in league play, while the Pioneers fell to 3-13, 0-9 in the OAC.

Marietta once again allowed its opponent to open up a big first half lead, while playing pretty much even during the second frame. The Pioneers trailed this game 44-28 at intermission, but out scored the Cardinals 37-34 over the final 20 minutes.

As a team, Marietta finished 24-of-70 (.343) from the floor, including 4-of-24 (.167) from long range. It also went 13-of-24 (.542) from the line and committed 14 turnovers. Otterbein shot 27-of-53 (.509) on the evening, including 7-of-21 (.333) from beyond the arc and 17-of-23 (.739) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals committed 16 turnovers. Marietta out rebounded Otterbein 41-36 on the night.

Junior guard Chad Sponseller once again led the way with 17 points, while junior center Matt Rucker added 14 points and six rebounds. Fellow classmate Ryan Wilkinson pitched in with eight points in the loss.

Otterbein center Tyler Ousley proved to be too much for Marietta to handle Wednesday, as he went for 16 points and 12 rebounds, while clogging the paint and finishing with a career-best seven blocks. Teammate Tommy Young added 17 points and eight boards. Adam Wells connected on 4-of-9 from long range to finish with a team-high 18 points. In addition, Eric Murphy came off the bench to score 14 points.

The Pioneers now turn their attention to John Carroll, their opponent on Saturday (Jan. 21). Tip-off with the Blue Streaks, who won the first match-up of the year 96-73 on January 7, is at 3 p.m. in University Heights.

Junior Matt Rucker had 14 points Wednesday against Otterbein

Box Score