DEFIANCE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University outscored Marietta College 9-4 over the final 1:43 to defeat the Pioneers 79-74 in the first round of the Defiance Purple and Gold Tournament Sunday (Dec. 29) evening. The loss drops No. 15-ranked Marietta to 8-2 on the season. The Battling Bishops are also 8-2 overall.

Trailing most of the game, Marietta battled back to tie the game, 65-65, on a layup from Andy Stegman with 4:29 left in the game. Senior Tyler Hammond hit a three with 1:52 remaining to give the Pioneers their biggest lead of the game, 70-67.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a trey from Nick Felhaber to knot the game at 70. A.J. Davis made one of two free throws to put the Pioneers back in front with 1:20 on the clock. The lead was short-lived as OWU scored the next seven points and lead 77-71 with 13 seconds left.

Junior Andy Dollman drained a three-ball to cut the deficit in half, 77-74, with three ticks left on the clock. Following a timeout from each team, Marietta was forced to foul the Battling Bishops. Claude Gray went to the line and sank both free throws to seal the victory for Ohio Wesleyan.

Gray led all scorers with 22 points. All told five Bishops finished in double figures. Reuel Rogers had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Felhaber had 13 points, while Dre White chipped in with 11 points and 12 boards. Seth Clark added 11 points.

Sophomore post player Eddy Grenert led the Pioneers with 12 points off the bench. Dollman and sophomore RaNeal Ewing each scored 11 points, while Hammond finished with 10 points. Davis grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

Marietta won the rebounding battle, 46-41. However, the Pioneers turned the ball over 14 times leading to 15 OWU points. The Bishops committed 11 turnovers.

For the game, Marietta shot 36.4% (24-of-66) from the floor, 35.7% (10-of-28) behind the arc and 72.7% (16-of-22) at the free throw line. Ohio Wesleyan was 27-of-62 (43.5%) from the floor, 9-of-22 (40.9%) from three-point range and 16-of-26 (61.5%) at the line.

Marietta will face Albion College (Mich.), who lost to Defiance 50-48 in the first round, in the consolation game Monday (Dec. 30) at 5:00 p.m.