Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

MARIETTA, Ohio (Nov. 27) - The Bison were handed an 87-71 loss by No. 17 Marietta Sunday evening in a non-conference game.

The Bethany College men's basketball team drops its first game of the season and moves to 3-1 overall. Meanwhile, the Pioneers, ranked No. 17 in the D3Hoops.com preseason poll, improve to 5-0 this season.

Junior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bison in the loss. Senior guard Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) matched Jones with 13 points, while junior forwards Liam Davis (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian) and Chris Harris (Brecksville, Ohio/Broadview Heights) each added 10 points.

Marietta opened up a 21-11 lead over the opening nine minutes of the contest, before Bethany came storming back. The Bison went on a 14-3 run, aided by a trio of three pointers, to take a 25-24 lead with 6:43 left in the first half.

After each team traded the lead, the Pioneers closed the opening frame out on an 11-2 run to take a 41-33 led into the break.

Marietta pushed its lead to 12 points, 53-41, through the first five minutes of the second half. Consecutive buckets by Jones and Davis trimmed the Bison deficit to single-digits at 53-41, but Bethany did not get any closer. The Pioneers out-scored the Bison 32-24 over the final 13 minutes of the game to claim the win.

Marietta held the advantage in the paint. The Pioneers out-scored Bethany 44-32 in the paint and held a 53-to-35 edge on the glass, including 21 offensive rebounds.

Marietta was led by Keith Richardson, who scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Pioneers.

The Bison will head into Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, November 30 when they host Waynesburg at 8 p.m.