MARIETTA, Ohio — For only the third time in school history, #13 Marietta College men's basketball will play for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, as the top-seeded Pioneers defended their home court with a 70-55 victory over fifth-seeded Heidelberg University Thursday (Feb. 24) night inside Ban Johnson Arena. [Box Score]

Marietta (24-3), under the direction of fourth-year Head Coach Jon VanderWal, will now turn its attention to second-seeded John Carroll University, the only team standing between it and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Saturday's OAC Championship Game will take place at 7:30 p.m. inside Ban Johnson Arena.

The Pioneers, who finished runner-up in the OAC Tournament in 1986 and 1996, defeated the Blue Streaks (19-8) twice this year—101-90 at Ban Johnson Arena Jan. 15 and 82-81 this past Saturday (Feb. 19) in University Heights on a Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood) buzzer-beater.

Heidelberg (12-15) took its first and only lead of the game with a Dane Givner jumper, which made it 2-0 just 19 seconds into the contest. Marietta then went on a 12-2 run over the next six minutes of the game to lead 12-4. It stretched the lead to as many as 20 points on two occasions with the last coming at 37-17 with only 1:26 to play before intermission. The defensive-minded Pioneers went into the locker room leading 39-20 after holding the Student Princes to 26.7% (8-of-30) from the field in the opening half.

Heidelberg cut the lead down to 13 points, 39-26, just 90 seconds into the second half. Marietta responded, pushing the lead back to 20 points, 53-33, with 9:26 remaining in regulation. Marietta's dominate performance continued for the final nine minutes of the game, allowing it to rest its starter and win going away 70-55.

Knab's 16 points led a balanced Marietta effort, which featured 11 players in the scoring column. The junior post also pulled down five rebounds on the night. Sophomore post Jason Humphrey (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) scored 11 points while adding three boards. Junior center Conner Kilpatrick (Bowling Green/Bowling Green) came off the bench to contribute nine points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyler Worstell (Prospect/Franklin Heights) added eight points while freshman guard Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) dished out a team-high three assists.

Givner paced Heidelberg with a game-high 20 points, five assists and four steals. Darion Capers added nine points and five rebounds, while Nate Davis pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds.

Marietta shot 52.8% (28-of-53) from the field, 18.2% (2-of-11) from three and 85.7% (12-of-14) from the free throw line. Heidelberg finished 30% (18-of-60) from the field, 14.3% (3-of-21) from long range and 72.7% (16-of-22) from the charity stripe. The Pioneers dominated the paint and points off the bench, outscoring the Student Princes 32-18 and 30-18, respectively.

Pre-sale and complementary OAC student tickets for Saturday' OAC Championship Game will be available in the Ban Johnson Arena Lobby from noon-4 p.m. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates, which will open at 6 p.m. Saturday. ??OAC Tournament tickets prices are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and $2 for non-OAC students. It is a cash-only event. Only current OAC students and those with OAC Lifetime Passes will be admitted free of charge.??

Live audio will be provided by WMOA-AM 1490 locally and online at http://wmoa1490.com. WCMO-TV's live video broadcast can be seen locally on Suddenlink's channel 15 and online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/marietta-college-athletics. Marietta's sports information department will also have live statistics at http://sidearmstats.com/marietta/mbball/index.htm.