Late drought prevents Marietta men from knocking off host Baldwin-Wallace
Yellow Jackets use 26-5 run to overcome 11-point deficit and win 65-57

Dec. 16, 2006
BEREA, Ohio — Marietta College sophomore Tyler Morando (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Central) came off the bench to hit five three-points and senior Matt Rucker (Proctorville/Chesapeake) was one rebound shy of a double-double Saturday (Dec. 16) afternoon against host Baldwin-Wallace. The Yellow Jackets, however, used a late 26-5 run to overcome an 11-point deficit and hold on to a 65-57 victory to avoid the upset. [Box Score]

With the win, Baldwin-Wallace improves to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta falls to 2-5 on the year and 0-4 in league play.

The Pioneers shot 15-of-31 (.484) from the field and got 13 points from Rucker in the first half to help them build a 34-27 lead at intermission.

Marietta extended its lead to 11 points, 46-35, when junior Matt Phillips (Williamson, W.Va./Tug Valley) hit a pair from the line with 11:49 to play. From there, Baldwin-Wallace rattled off 26 of the next 31 points to take control, 61-51, with 2:13 left on the clock. Back-to-back three pointers by sophomore Isaiah Creasap (Wooster/Northwestern) cut Marietta's deficit to four points as the two teams entered the final minute, but Baldwin-Wallace held on for the eight-point win.

The Pioneers finished the day 23-of-59 (.390) from the field, including 8-of-24 (.333) from beyond the arc. Marietta hit 3-of-4 free throw attempts. The Yellow Jackets, who out rebounded the Pioneers 39-29, finished 22-of-51 (.431) from the floor, 7-of-17 (.412) from three-point range and 14-of-19 (.737) from the line.

Morando finished with 15 points, while Rucker had 13 points and nine rebounds. In addition, Creasap had nine points and sophomore Steve Luckhardt (St. Clairsville/Shadyside) and Phillips each had eight points.

Baldwin-Wallace got a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds from All-American Tori Davis, while Tom Jesko added 10 points.

Marietta will return to action Tuesday (Dec. 19) when it takes on Bridgewater (Va.) at 11 a.m. PST in the first game of the Adidas D-III Desert Shootout in Las Vegas, Nev.

Sophomore Tyler Morando hit five three-pointers against Baldwin-Wallace

Box Score