MARIETTA, Ohio - Jon VanderWal doesn't know how to explain it, but there's definitely something magical about Fenton Court when a championship is on the line.

For the second time in three seasons, the Marietta College men's basketball coach watched his Pioneers fall behind by double digits to a lower seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

And like two years ago, the Pioneers (20-7) found a way to pull out a scrappy victory — 80-76 in overtime over the University of Mount Union — in front of a fired up home crowd on Saturday night (Feb. 23).

"That's how we like to do it around here," joked VanderWal. "Somehow we find a way to make things happen in this place, and I think the bigger the hole the better."

Until VanderWal arrived six years ago, Marietta had never won a tournament championship. The Pioneers won their first in 2011 when they rallied to beat John Carroll at Fenton Court.

Senior J.J. Martin said the experience against John Carroll two years ago gave the team some confidence coming out of halftime.

"We knew it was possible and then we started getting on a run and I really started to believe," he said. "I didn't want it all to end here. Now we get to keep playing."

Marietta will represent the OAC in the NCAA Division III Tournament, which starts Saturday, March 2. The Pioneers will find out who their opponent is and where they will play on Monday.

"There's a good chance we might be playing at home," VanderWal said.

If not for a 19-0 run that lasted 6:25 in the second half, Marietta would probably have needed an at-large bid instead of the automatic spot. Junior Tyler Hammond, the OAC Tournament MVP, and senior Jacob Owens each scored seven points during the stretch.

Hammond said the Pioneers finally took control of the game once they started forcing the action and stopped being passive.

"Once we started taking it to the basket we were able to make plays," said Hammond, who scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. "Everyone stepped up to make this happen."

Marietta converted two four-point plays, including one by Hammond at 3:30 remaining in regulation that gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game at 62-61. The other four-point play came about midway through the second half when Owens hit a three and was fouled by Mount Union's Justin Little.

Mount Union was reeling, but never backed down and a Steve Griffin layup with 15 seconds to play tied the game at 66 in regulation, and forced the overtime period. For Marietta, it was the Pioneers' fourth overtime period in two OAC Tournament games. Marietta advanced to the title game by defeating Wilmington 111-106 in three overtimes Thursday.

"There's no question we're tired, but we believe in each other and the coaches and that's what it takes to win games like this," said Owens, who finished with 21 points and made 6-of-9 three-point baskets. "When you have all of these emotions coming into a game it's never easy, but our crowd really kept us in the game."

Following the win, VanderWal thanked the raucous student section by going into the crowd and celebrating with them for a few minutes.

"Those kids are awesome and I guess I acted like I was 18 again," he said. "I see these kids on campus and they always talk to me and tell me how much fun they have at the games. That's one of the things that makes Marietta so special."

Marietta outscored Mount Union 41-26 in the second half, and got 15 points from Martin.

"Give them a ton of credit. They are a team with a lot of experience and it showed," said Mount Union coach Mike Fuline. "I knew a run was coming and we just couldn't withstand it."

The Pioneer defense struggled in the first half as the Purple Raiders (13-15) led by as many as 19 and went into halftime up 40-25. Still, Marietta held Mount's leading scorer — Nate Jacubec — scoreless.

Matt Kiger of nearby Williamstown, W.Va., led the Purple Raiders with 17 points and eight rebounds, while T.J. Gillespie and Cody Dillon added 16 points each. Jarrett Ruffin also had 13 points and seven rebounds