Pioneers end season with 84-77 overtime loss to Quakers
Wilmington outscored Marietta 14-7 in extra period

Feb. 18, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — In a game that was delayed four and a half hours due to a bus malfunction, the Marietta College and Wilmington College men's basketball teams made it worth the crowd's wait, as they put together an overtime thriller Saturday (Feb. 18) evening on Fenton Court in Ban Johnson Arena. The Quakers were able to escape with a 84-77 victory.

With the win, Wilmington improved to 19-6 on the season and 12-6 in the OAC. It will be the fourth seed in next week's OAC Tournament. Marietta ended the year 4-21 overall and 1-17 in league play.

Wilmington's Josh Rohrbacher took control of the overtime period, scoring seven of his 11 points in the final five minutes to help the Quakers pull off the victory.

Marietta controlled the game early, leading by as many as 12 points in the first half. It entered the locker room with a 37-32 lead. Wilmington's only lead of the half was brief, 10-9, and came with 12:33 left to play in the period.

The Quakers were able to take another short lead, 40-39, at the 17:27 mark, but the Pioneers went back on top, 42-40, with a jumper by Adam Rockhold (Olmsted Falls) and kept the lead until the final five minutes of the second half.

An Eric Stirling jumper gave Wilmington a four-point lead, 70-66, with 3:06 on the clock. A turnover gave allowed Marietta's Steve Luckhardt (Shadyside) to pull the PIoneers within a bucket, 70-68, with 1:28 left. Another turnover set the stage for Matt Phillips' (Williamson. W.Va./Tug Valley) game-tying bucket with 34 ticks left on the clock. Wilmington had a chance to win it in regulation, but a Rohrbacher three-pointer missed the mark with seconds second left.

In overtime, Wilmington was able to build a seven-point advantage, 80-73, with 1:46 left. Marietta's Isaiah Creasap (Wooster/Northwestern) pulled his team within four with a three-pointer, but that was as close as the Pioneers would get.

Overall, Marietta finished 21-of-57 (.368) from the field, including 7-of-26 (.269) from beyond the arc. Wilmington shot 28-of-65 (.431) from the floor and hit 3-of-14 (.214) from long range. The two teams combined for 57 fouls. The Pioneers converted 28-of-35 (.800) from the line, while the Quakers made 25-of-40 (.625) from the stripe. Wilmington out rebounded Marietta 43-42 and forced the Pioneers into 20 turnovers, while committing 15 of their own.

Stirling paced all players with a game-high 21 points. He also added seven rebounds. Rohrbacher added six boards to his 11 points and Nick Berter finished with nine points in the win.

Marietta had four players finish in double figures. Creasap led the way with 17 points, hitting 5-of-10 from three-point range. Matt Rucker (Proctorville/Chesapeake) added 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while Luckhardt and Chad Sponseller (Canton/GlenOak) contribute 11 and 10 points, respectively. Phillips also finished with seven points and nine rebounds in the loss.

This ends the season for the Pioneers.

Matt Phillips sent the game into overtime with his driving bucket in the final minute

Box Score