MARIETTA, Ohio — The No. 25 ranked Marietta College men's basketball team had its best offensive output of the season as the Pioneers downed Muskingum University, 104-86, Wednesday (Jan. 3) evening in Ban Johnson Arena.

Marietta improves to 9-3 on the season and 3-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Muskies fall to 5-7 overall and are also 3-2 in league play.

All five Pioneer starters scored in double figures with Avery Williams notching his third double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Wallace and Kyle Dixon finished with 19 points apiece.

DeVaughn Wingard hit four three-pointers and added 15 points, while Dillon Young chipped in with 11 points. Young dished out a game-high eight assists from his point guard position.

Muskingum never led in the game but kept things close throughout the first half. Marcus Dempsey hit one of his five three-pointers to even the game at 19-19 midway through the first period.

Marietta took advantage of five Muskie turnovers to go on a 21-4 run and open a 17-point lead, 40-23, with 5:21 remaining.  Muskingum managed to cut the deficit to six, 45-39, at halftime.

An 8-0 run early in the second half put the Pioneers back in front by double digits, where it would stay for the rest of the evening. A layup from Dixon at the 9:38 mark gave Marietta its biggest lead of the night, 78-56.

Dempsey led all scorers with 31 points. He also grabbed a team-best six rebounds and had three assists. Jalen Paige scored 15 points, while Jayson Peoples and Devon Peart added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

For the game, Marietta shot 52.7% (39-of-74) from the floor, 44.4% (16-of-36) from three-point range and 90.9% (10-of-11) at the free throw line. The Muskies were 26-of-62 (41.9%) from the floor, 13-of-31 (41.9%) behind the arc and 21-of-25 (84.0%) at the line.

The Pioneers outrebounded Muskingum, 43-30. Marietta turned 12 Muskie turnovers into 18 points, while the Pioneers committed just seven turnovers in the game.

Marietta is back in action on Saturday (Jan. 6) when Ohio Northern University visits Ban Johnson Arena for a 3 p.m. tipoff.