COLUMBUS, Ohio — Marietta College pulled out a 79-74 win over Capital University Wednesday (Feb. 7) evening in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Pioneers improve to 17-5 overall and 11-4 in the OAC. The Crusaders slip to 11-11 on the season and 7-8 in league games.

"I thought our guys battled hard and stayed the course even though we couldn't ever string a major run together," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "Anytime you go on the road in the OAC and get a win, it's a good day."

Mel Shuler was the lone Pioneer in double figures with 10 points. Seven other Pioneers finished with eight or nine points in the game. Avery Williams came off the bench to score nine points and pull down nine rebounds.

In his first action after missing eight games with a leg injury, Anthony Wallace finished with nine points. DeVaughn Wingard, Kyle Dixon and Ridge Young all had nine points. Dillon Young and Mike Hall chipped in with eight points each.

Austin Schreck paced the Crusaders with 28 points. Caleb Cox notched a double-double with 17 points and 13 boards. Ganiyu Yahaya added 14 points.

After trading small leads throughout the first half, Cox hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give the Crusaders a 31-30 lead at the break.

Shuler nailed a three-pointer to open the second half giving the lead back to Marietta, 33-31. After ties at 33-33, 35-35 and 37-37, the Pioneers took the lead for good when Williams converted one of two free throws four minutes into the half.

Ridge Young followed with a three-pointer pushing the MC lead to four points, 41-37. The Pioneers stretched the lead to as many as 10 points, 64-54, when Dillon Young sank a pair of free throws with 4:27 left in the game.

Capital got within three points in the final minute of play. But two free throws from Wingard and four from Wallace preserved the victory for Marietta.

For the game, Marietta shot 51.0% (25-of-49) from the floor, 45.0% (9-of-20) from three-point range and 87.0% (20-of-23) at the free throw line. The Crusaders were 27-of-54 (50.0%) from the floor, 5-of-21 (23.8%) behind the arc and 15-of-20 (75.0%) at the line.

Each team pulled down 28 rebounds in the game and committed 14 turnovers.

Marietta returns home for its final regular season game in Ban Johnson Arena on Saturday (Feb. 10) when Wilmington College visits for a 3 p.m. game. The Pioneers will honor their three seniors prior to the game.