No. 4 Ohio Northern's second-half explosion sends Marietta to an 80-50 loss in its OAC opener
Creasap scores a team-high 12 in loss

Dec. 2, 2006
ADA, Ohio — The Marietta College men's basketball team, following a two-week lay-off, put its undefeated record on the line Saturday (Dec. 2) afternoon against No. 4 Ohio Northern University. The Pioneers hung with the Polar Bears for the first half only for host ONU to dominate the second stanza en route to an 80-50 victory. [Box Score]

The win improved Ohio Northern's record to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Marietta fell to 2-1 on the year and 0-1 in the OAC.

Marietta showed no signs of rust in the early going, connecting on 13-of-19 (.684) shots in the first half. The Pioneers led 11-4, 16-9 and 24-17 at different points in the first 20 minutes. Ohio Northern, who went 15-of-39 (.385) from the field in the first half, eventually reeled them in with a late 12-4 run and took a two-point, 35-33, lead into the locker room thanks to a Greg Badenhop jumper with four second left before intermission.

Ohio Northern took advantage of some halftime adjustments to extend its lead to 19 points, 52-33, before Marietta scored its first point of the half at the 14:01 mark. The Polar Bears eventually built the lead to 30 points before time ran out on the clock with the final score 80-50.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Creasap (Wooster/Northwestern) scored a team-high 12 points for Marietta, while junior center Adam Rockhold (Olmsted Falls) came off the bench to add nine points with seven rebounds. Junior forward Matt Phillips (Williamson, W.Va./Tug Valley) contributed eight points and sophomore guard Tyler Morando (Wheeling, W.Va./Central Catholic) had six.

Badenhop led all scorers with 18 points to go along with six steals and five assists. Three other Polar Bears—Kyle Gehle (15), Jake Cannon (14) and Bart Hostetler (10)—reached double figures.

As a team, Ohio Northern finished 36-of-71 (.507) from the floor, including 8-of-21 (.381) from beyond the arc. It did not attempt a free throw, out rebounded Marietta 35-27 and forced the Pioneers into 26 turnovers while committing 11. Marietta shot 18-of-39 (462) overall, including 4-of-7 (.571) from three-point range. The Pioneers hit just 10-of-22 (.455) from the charity stripe in the loss.

Marietta will look to bounce back when it plays host to Otterbein College Wednesday (Dec. 6) in its home opener. Tip-off of the game, which will be carried live on the radio by WMRT-FM 88.3 and online through a partnership with Stretch Internet, is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Fenton Court.

Junior Isaiah Creasap had 12 points in the loss to No. 4 Ohio Northern Saturday

Box Score