Marietta falls on the road at Otterbein 76-68
Pioneers visit Heidelberg Saturday at 3 p.m.

Dec. 17, 2008
WESTERVILLE, Ohio —The Marietta College men’s basketball team dropped a tough decision on the road Wednesday (Dec. 17) night, falling 76-68 to Otterbein College. The loss dropped the Pioneers’ record to 3-5 overall and 0-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Otterbein improved to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the OAC.

Freshman Trevor Halter (Malvern) paced the Pioneers with 16 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Senior Matt Kubachka (Shade/Alexander) was the only other Pioneer to score in double figures; he finished with 13 points. Kubachka also collected a team-high eight rebounds and recorded three blocks. Freshman Conner Kilpatrick (Bowling Green) scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench for Marietta.

Ian Gardner led four Otterbein double figure scorers with 18 points off the bench. Brian Pollack and Cory Ratai each scored 16 points in the comeback victory. Ratai also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Brice Rausch added 10 points for the Cardinals in the win.

Marietta finished 26-of-59 (.441) from the field, 7-of-20 (.350) from three-point range and 9-of-10 (.900) from the free throw line. Otterbein finished 27-of-63 (.429) from the field, 6-of-15 (.400) from three-point range and 16-of-19 (.842) from the free throw line. Marietta held the edge in rebounding, 36-35, but lost the turnover battle, committing 17 to Otterbein’s 13.

The Pioneers led throughout most of the first half, stretching their lead to eight points, 35-27, at the intermission. Otterbein, however, out-scored Marietta 49-33 in the final 20 minutes to steal the victory.

Marietta is back in action Saturday (Dec. 20) at Heidelberg. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.

Freshman Trevor Halter had 16 points in the loss to Otterbein.

Box Score