Pioneer men avenge earlier loss to Cardinals with 84-76 win at Ban Johnson Arena
Marietta notches 10 wins for first time since 2003-04

Jan. 29, 2009
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men’s basketball team defeated visiting Otterbein College 84-76 on Thursday (Jan. 29) night at Ban Johnson Arena in a game that was moved from Wednesday (Jan. 28) due to bad weather conditions. The win improved Marietta’s overall record to 10-8 and its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) mark to 5-6, which moved the Pioneers into a tie for fifth place in the league standings. Otterbein fell to 3-15 overall and 1-10 in the OAC.

The Pioneers, who have now won four of their last five games, jumped out to an early 10-point advantage, 20-10, after the first 9:18 of the game. The Marietta lead reached to 15 points, 32-17, with 5:58 to play in the first half before the Cardinals made a run. Otterbein outscored the Pioneers 21-6 to close the period, and the teams entered intermission tied 38-38.

The visitors continued their run by scoring the first four points of the second half to take a lead, 42-38, with 17:26 to play in the game. A 7-0 run over the next two minutes by the Pioneers put the score at 45-42 in favor of Marietta. The Pioneers were then able to stretch their lead back up to 12 points, 72-60, with 3:22 remaining. The pesky Cardinals would not go away, cutting the lead back to four points twice within the final minute. Marietta, however, was able to hold on, 84-76, to preserve the important Conference victory and avenge a 76-68 loss to Otterbein on Dec. 17.

Freshman wing Trevor Halter (Malvern) led the Pioneers with 22 points in the victory. Fellow freshman Kevin Knab (Lakewood) and Rydell Chrisman (Coshocton) both scored 17 points for the Pioneers. Knab led Marietta in rebounding with eight.

Otterbein was led by Brian Pollack with 25 points. Steve Isaac followed with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Mark Louks chipped with 10 points in the loss.

For the game, Marietta finished 24-of-38 (.632) from the field, 9-of-14 (.643) from behind the arc and 27-of-40 (.675) from the free throw line. Otterbein shot 27-of-67 (.403) from the field, 9-of-29 (.310) from three-point range and 13-of-18 (.722) from the free throw line. The Cardinals held the edge in rebounding, 35-25, and had 14 turnovers compared to Marietta’s 17.

The Pioneers will look to continue the momentum when they play host to Wilmington College on Saturday (Jan. 31) afternoon. Tip-off at Ban Johnson Arena is slated for 3 p.m.

Kevin Knab backs down a defender for two of his 17 points on Thursday.

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