Box Score
WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Marietta College hit a three-pointer as time expired to knock off Otterbein University, 64-61 in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Ban Johnson Arena.
The loss drops the Cardinals to 6-13 overall, 3-9 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Meanwhile, the Pioneers are able to keep pace at the top of the league by moving to 8-4 in the OAC, 13-6 overall.
With 32 seconds remaining in the game, Marietta junior guard Tyler Worstell split a pair of free throws to give the Pioneers a 61-59 lead.
Following an Otterbein time out, freshman guard RaNeal Ewing was fouled sending him to the line for a pair. The Dublin native sunk both to tie the game at 61-61 with eight seconds left in regulation.
After a time out, the Pioneers inbounded from underneath their own basket and took the ball the length of the court. Marietta junior guard Jacob Owens received a pass in the corner and nailed a three-pointer as time expired to send the Cardinals home with a loss.
Senior forward Chris Davis, in addition to his game-high 11 rebounds, posted eight points and has now amassed 1,000 for his career. Davis tallied 44 points at NAIA Rio Grande before scoring 964 in his two-plus seasons at Otterbein.
Sophomore guard Max Van Meter led the Cardinals with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while junior guard Tommy Waterwash added 12 (4-of-6 from beyond-the-arc). Owens led all Pioneers with 14 points.
The Cardinals came out strong, opening the game on an 11-4 run capped off by a lay-up by junior forward Zach Bakenhaster with 14:34 left in the opening frame.
Marietta took a 26-25 with 1:27 left in the first half. Otterbein responded with a jumper by sophomore Jason Davis to give the Cards a 27-26 lead into the break.
The Cards opened up a 12-point lead to start the second half on a jump shot by Ewing that made the score 43-31 with 13:31 remaining in the game.
Marietta responded with a run of their own, a 23-8 tear that gave the Pioneers a 53-51 lead with 5:25 left in the contest.
Otterbein managed to weather the storm, as Ewing scored five of the next eight points, including a three-pointer, to put the Cards back on top 57-56 with 2:03 left in the game.
The Cardinals held the edge in rebounds (33-to-26) and also shot a higher percentage than the Pioneers (47% to 41%).
Otterbein returns to the Rike Center, Wednesday Feb. 1, to host Baldwin-Wallace. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
