MARIETTA, Ohio — In a battle of the Ohio Athletic Conference's top two teams, visiting Capital University prevailed with a hard-fought 82-74 victory over host Marietta College in front of a capacity crowd at Fenton Court Wednesday (Jan. 12) night. Both teams now sit atop the Conference with identical 6-2 records. [Box Score]

The Pioneers (13-2, 6-2 OAC) came into the game as one of the hottest shooting teams in the country from three-point range but were only able to connect on 15% (3-of-20) of their attempts from downtown on the night. Marietta also dominated Capital in field goal attempts with 70 to 51. The Pioneers, however, made just 42.9% (30-of-70) from the field, while the Crusaders (10-4, 6-2 OAC) shot a blistering 60.8% (31-of-51).

Junior wing Trevor Halter (Malvern/Malvern) led Marietta with 15 points to go along with six rebounds. Freshman guard Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) added 14 points and a team-high three assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield) chipped in with 11 points, while junior post Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood) scored 10 points while grabbing six boards. Junior post Conner Kilpatrick (Bowling Green/Bowling Green) added eight points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.

Scott Robertson scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Crusaders. DJ Frazier added 15 points and had five boards, while Spencer Niekamp had 11 points. Kelly Winter also scored four points and dished out a game-high six assists in the win.

The Pioneers trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half as the Crusaders led 39-26 with 3:42 to play in the opening stanza. Marietta then closed the half on a 14-4 run to make the score 43-40 in favor of Capital at intermission.

Capital stretched the lead back to seven early in the second half, but again Marietta was up to the task of playing catch up as the Pioneers tied the score at 49 with 15:41 to play in regulation. A layup by Jason Humphrey (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) gave Marietta its biggest lead of the night, 63-58, with 9:30 to play in the game.

It was then Capital's turn to respond as the Crusaders out scored the Pioneers 13-7 over the next five minutes to reclaim the lead 71-70 with 4:27 left on the clock. Capital did not trail again as it made some key free throws down the stretch and went on to win 82-74.

Marietta will play host to John Carroll University (10-4, 5-2 OAC) Saturday (Jan. 15) afternoon in another matchup of the league's top tier teams. The men's game will follow the Marietta and John Carroll women's game, which tips off on Fenton Court at 2 p.m.