MARIETTA, Ohio — Gwynedd Mercy's Brian Hennessey didn't play exceptionally well, but he made the biggest shot of the night.

With sixth-ranked Marietta leading 85-84, the senior guard caught a pass from Darnell Artis and drove to the basket for a layup that propelled the Griffins (22-6) to an 86-85 upset win in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Ban Johnson Arena Friday night.

"I thought he'd just take the shot from the outside," said Artis, who finished with his first career double double (23 points, 10 rebounds).

Gwynedd Mercy coach John Baron was glad Hennessey drove for the game-winning shot.

"I was yelling at him to take it to the hoop," Baron said.

Marietta (25-4) led 45-38 after a back-and-forth first half. The Pioneers looked like they might cruise to a victory early in the second half when senior Luis Garcia opened play with a 3-pointer. Marietta eventually built an 11-point lead at 60-49.

However, the Griffins cut the lead to four (62-58) with 14 minutes to play. With 11:33 remaining in the game, Gwynedd took a 67-66 lead on an Artis three-pointer. That's when Marietta responded and went on an 11-0 run. The Pioneers led by 11 — 83-72 — with 4:53 to play.

"I'm not sure how we blew that lead," said Marietta coach Jon VanderWal. "We didn't execute down the stretch. It's hard to even think straight right now."

A.J. Edwards, who connected on 11-of-20 shots and finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, led Marietta offensively. Senior Luis Garcia got hot in the second half and made 11 of his 13 points, while senior Brennan McKean added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Gwynedd Mercy struggled offensively in the first half making just 29.7 percent of its shots, but Baron was pleased to see them make 18-of-36 (50 percent) in the second half.

"I love playing in a hostile environment," Artis said after the game. "These are the type of environments we always wanted to play in. Just show that you can be calm in a hostile environment and that's what we did."

Senior Julian Hyden made five baskets in the second half and finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. He also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark early in the game.

"I sort of forgot about it, and I didn't really think I had a chance to get it this year," he said.

Junior Cedric Elleby had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Griffins, while senior Aaron Morgan added 11 points.

Marietta's senior class goes out as the winningest in school history at 92-23. "I wish I felt a little better for them and how we're going out for those guys," VanderWal said.

Gwynedd Mercy faces Oswego State (21-8) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the second round contest at Ban Johnson Arena.