WOOSTER, Ohio — Dillon Young scored 20 second half points as No. 8 ranked Marietta College escaped with an 83-80 come from behind win over a feisty Mount St. Joseph squad Tuesday (Dec. 29) in the opening game of the Wooster "Mose" Hole/Kiwanis Classic. The Pioneers improve to 9-2 overall, while the Lions slip to 4-5 on the season.

After trading baskets for the first several minutes of the game, Marietta broke a 16-16 tie with a 7-0 run. The Pioneers would eventually push the lead to nine points, 30-21, on a three-pointer from Brennan McKean at the 7:17 mark.

Mount St. Joseph scored the next nine points to even the score at 30. Aided by a Pioneer technical foul, the Lions finished the first half on a 9-1 run to lead 43-36 at the break. MSJ outscored Marietta 22-6 over the final 7:17 of the opening period.

The Lions came out roaring the second half and quickly doubled its lead. A three-pointer from Joel Scudder made it a 14-point margin, 56-42, just over four minutes into the half.

Marietta managed to cut the deficit to two, but the Lions quickly pushed it back to eight points. MSJ led 71-63 following a tip-in from Travis Combs with 6:20 left in the game. The Pioneers scored the next eight points to knot the game at 71 with 4:40 left on the clock.

Back-to-back buckets from McKean gave the Pioneers their first lead of the second half, 75-73, with 3:19 remaining. Marietta would not relinquish the lead.

Young hit one of two free throws with 12 seconds left to give Marietta a five-point lead, 83-78. Scudder answered with a jumper in the paint to cutting the lead to three with four seconds left.

MSJ was forced to foul and Marietta missed both free throws giving the Lions a chance to send the game into overtime. Travis Combs got a long three-point shot off at the buzzer but it was no good.

Young led the Pioneers with 20 points, including three from behind the arc. Eddy Grenert finished with 19 points and five rebounds, while McKean chipped in with 12 points. A.J. Edwards had a game-high eight rebounds to go along with seven points and A.J. Ireland added nine points.

Scudder hit four three-pointers and led all scorers with 24 points. Tyler Manaugh also sank four treys and finished with 12 points. Combs and Erik Edwards each scored 11 points.

For the game, Marietta shot 51.7% (30-of-58) from the floor, 41.2% (7-of-17) from three-point range and 69.6% (16-of-23) at the line. The Lions were 26-of-60 (43.3%) from the floor, 13-of-33 (39.4%) behind the arc and 15-of-17 (88.2%) at the line.

Each team grabbed 33 rebounds. Marietta forced 12 MSJ turnovers and committed just nine. The Pioneers dominated the paint outscoring the Lions 44-22 inside.

Marietta is back in action on Wednesday (Dec. 30) in the championship game of the Wooster "Mose" Hole/Kiwanis Tournament. The Pioneers play the winner of the Pitt-Bradford versus Wooster game at 7:00 p.m.