MARIETTA, Ohio — The #20 Marietta College Pioneers treated a packed Ban Johnson Arena on Winter Weekend to a 68-58 victory over the visiting Ohio Northern University Saturday (Feb. 5) afternoon. With the win, Marietta improved to 19-2 overall and 12-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Pioneers hold a two-game cushion atop the OAC standings over Capital (10-4) and John Carroll (10-4). The win also secured a first-round home game in the upcoming OAC Tournament. [Box Score]

On a rare slow shooting day for Marietta, sophomore JJ Martin came off the bench to lead all scorers with 17 points and pulled down seven big rebounds. Junior post Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood) scored 16 points and also grabbed seven boards. With the perimeter shots not falling, the Pioneers turned to the play inside and out-scored the Polar Bears 30-10 in points-in-the-paint.

Tony Meyer led Ohio Northern (9-12, 6-8 0AC) with 14 points, 11 of which were scored in the first half. Joe Staley added 13 points with seven rebounds while Taylor Kuhlman scored 10 points with six boards. Leading scorer Scott Schnelle was held to just nine points.

The first half featured ten lead changes and five ties as both teams traded blows in the first 20 minutes. Marietta out-scored Ohio Northern 10-6 over the last 4:47 of the half to lead at halftime 35-31.

The contest stayed tight in the early stages of the second stanza before Marietta opened up its lead to eight, 48-40, with 11:34 to play in regulation. The Polar Bears cut the lead to four on three occasions down the stretch, the last being at 60-56 with 2:37 to play in regulation. With the shot clock winding down, Knab kicked it out to an open Joe Puch (Brunswick/Brunswick) who drained a triple from the right wing with 1:14 to play, shattering any hope of a Polar Bear comeback. Marietta was able to make some key stops in the final minute and made its free throws to secure the 68-58 win.

Marietta finished the game shooting 41.2% (21-of-51) from the field and overcame 16.7% (2-of-12) from three-point range by hitting 82.8% (24-of-29) from the free throw line. The Pioneers defense held Ohio Northern to 31.3% (20-of-64) shooting from the field, 22.2% (6-of-27) from three and 92.3% (12-of-13) from the free throw line. Both teams finished with 37 rebounds, while Marietta committed seven turnovers to Ohio Northern's nine.

Marietta will play host to Mount Union on Wednesday (Feb. 9) night at Ban Johnson Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers will attempt to tie a school record with their 20th win.