MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 21 ranked Otterbein University men's basketball team completed the season sweep of Marietta on Wednesday night, holding off the Pioneers for an 87–81 road victory inside Ban Johnson Arena. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 17–3 overall and 9–2 in OAC play.
Otterbein had five players score in double figures, led by senior Jarius Jones with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with four assists and three steals. Senior Troy Scowden was efficient off the bench, finishing with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while freshman Carter Piatt-Brown connected on three three-pointers and totaled for a career-high of 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior Julian Heckman added 12 points and a team-high five assists, and freshman Dominic Theado rounded out the balanced attack with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Otterbein used a late first-half surge to create separation, closing the final seven minutes on a 14–3 run to take a 35–26 lead into the break. Jones jump-started the stretch with a three-pointer before Piatt-Brown followed with one of his own. Scowden added a layup in transition, while Theado and junior Chase Garito helped steady the Cardinals late. Jones capped the run with a pair of baskets in the final minute to push Otterbein out to a nine-point advantage at halftime.
Marietta came out of the break with momentum, opening the second half with three straight baskets to cut the margin to 35–34. Jones halted the push with Otterbein's first bucket of the half, and the game settled into a back-and-forth stretch. Midway through the half, the Cardinals created breathing room with an 8–0 run sparked by back-to-back three-pointers, a fast-break dunk, and a jumper to extend the lead to 54–41.
The Pioneers continued to chip away and pulled within six points late, but Otterbein answered each push with timely baskets and composure at the free-throw line. The Cardinals went 15-of-20 at the stripe and leaned on their interior presence, scoring 48 points in the paint to close out the road win.
On Saturday, Otterbein will travel to Heidelberg for a 1 p.m. tip-off.
