MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men's basketball team defended its #23 national ranking with hard fought 67-50 win over a pesky Muskingum University squad Wednesday (Jan. 26) night in front of another packed house at Ban Johnson Arena. [Box Score]

The victory kept the Pioneers atop the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) standings with a 9-2 league record and improved the team's overall record to 16-2. It is only the seventh time in 107 seasons that Marietta has accumulated 16 wins.  Muskingum fell to 6-12 overall and 2-9 in the OAC.

Junior wing Trevor Halter (Malvern/Malvern); who was honored before the game for becoming the 28th Pioneer to score over a 1,000 career points, again paced Marietta with a game-high 19 points. Junior post Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood) added 15 points while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman guard Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) chipped in with 10 points and added three steals on the night. Sophomore post Jason Humphrey (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) added nine points and five rebounds, while junior post #Zane Carter came off the bench to score six points and add three steals.

Marietta's defense did not allow a Muskingum player to score in double figures and forced 21 Fighting Muskie turnovers. Kyle Clinedinst and Mike Romesburg both tallied nine points, while Clinedinst snagged a game-high 13 rebounds. Carson Thomas, JJ Armstrong and Seth Howard were part of a trio that added six points for Muskingum.

The Muskies held a slim lead for much of the first half and took a 14-8 advantage with 11:42 to play in the period. Marietta then went on a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to lead 24-17 with 5:47 to play before halftime. The Pioneers maintained that seven-point lead for the rest of the half and lead 32-25 at intermission.

Muskingum fought back in the early stages of the second half, cutting the lead to three points, 38-35, with 16:11 to go in regulation. Marietta used a 9-0 run to extend the lead back to 12 points, 47-35, with 13:44 left on the clock. Muskingum got the lead under 10 twice in the final minutes, but the Pioneers responded each time and pushed the lead back above double-digits. Marietta's lead reached 18 points down the stretch and the Pioneers won a hard fought game 67-50.

The Pioneers shot 41.5% (22-of-53) from the field, 40.0% (4-of-10) from behind the arc and 82.6% (19-of-23) from the free throw line. Muskingum finished the night shooting 31.5% (17-of-54) from the field, 18.8% (3-of-16) from three and 54.2% (13-of-24) from the free throw line. Muskingum did however hold a big edge on the boards with 42 compared to Marietta's 31.

The Pioneers are back in action Saturday (Jan. 29) night when they visit Otterbein University for a tip-off at 7 p.m.