Pioneers drop nail-biter against Student Princes
Free throws seal 83-80 win for Heidelberg

Feb. 4, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio - So close.

The Marietta College men's basketball team had its chances to send the home crowd away with a split Saturday (Feb. 4) in game two of an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader between the Pioneers and Student Princes of Heidelberg.

Freshman Steve Luckhardt nailed two free throws to tie the game at 80-80 with 31 seconds to play. Marietta's defense needed a stop in the final possession to force overtime. The Pioneers looked as if they were up to the challenge, but a foul was called with 1.9 left on the clock and sent Heidelberg's Ron Higgins to the line with a chance to end the game in regulation.

Higgins missed the first, but hit the second to give the Student Princes a 81-80 lead. Following a timeout, Marietta's inbound pass was off the mark, giving Heidelberg the ball back with 1.9 still left to play. Another Pioneer foul put Higgins back on the stripe and he hit both free throws to extend the lead to 83-80 with a second to go.

Marietta attempted to pull of the full-court in bounds pass again, but it was knocked away preserving the 83-80 victory for Heidelberg.

With the win, the Student Princes improved to 8-13 overall and 4-10 in the OAC, while Marietta fell to 4-17, 1-13 in league play.

Heidelberg led by as many as 11 points in the first half. The Pioneers were able to stay in the game thanks to the hot hand of freshman Isaiah Creasap. Creasap hit 5-of-10 from behind the line in the first 20 minutes and entered the locker room with 17 points. Heidelberg, however, led 41-36 at intermission.

The Pioneers opened the second half with a 9-0 run to capture the lead 45-41 three minutes into the final frame. Heidelberg took the lead back. 49-47, with two free throws by Greg Tyson. Other than a minute span when Marietta led 59-58, the Student Princes kept the lead the rest of the way, although the Pioneers were able to tie the game six times — the last time was when Luckhardt hit is free throws in the final minute.

Marietta finished the game shooting 28-of-67 (418) from the floor, including 8-of-25 (.320) from beyond the arc. Heidelberg shot 27-of-49 (.551) on the afternoon and connected on 4-of-13 (.308) from three-point range. The Student Princes finished with a slight 36-33 edge on the boards, while committing six more turnovers than Marietta, who ended with 10.

Creasap hit his sixth three-pointer in the second half, before leaving the game after diving into the Heidelberg bench chasing a loose ball. He finished with a career-high 22 points in 24 minutes. Luckhardt added 18 points, six assists and two steals, while Matt Phillips had a double-double, 13 points and 11 rebounds. Adam Rockhold also contributed seven points and six rebounds, while Craig Stewart also finished with nine points. Stewart's lone three-pointer was his 85th of the year, tying the single-season record that he set a year ago.

Heidelberg was led by Brian Schmidt with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyson added 16 points and Higgins finished with 11. Others in double-figures included Chris Szalay with 12 and Andrew Lemmon with 10.

Marietta will return to action Wednesday (Feb. 8) when it host rival Muskingum for a Coaches vs. Cancer game at 7:30 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society.

Isaiah Creasap had a career-high 22 points Saturday against Heidelberg

Box Score