MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men's basketball team defeated Wilmington College, 80-65, Saturday (Feb. 10) afternoon on Senior Day in Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers improve to 18-5 overall and 12-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Quakers fall to 10-12 on the season and 6-10 in conference play.

"I'm really happy for our seniors that we were able to get a win for them on Senior Day," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "They have meant so much to our program and we wanted them to have a special day."

Avery Williams notched a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Pioneers. Kyle Dixon finished with 14 points. Dillon Young added 11 points and seven boards, while Anthony Wallace chipped in with 10 markers.

Wilmington had two players in double figures with Christian Jones and Will Patrick each scoring 10 points.

"I thought we defended at a really high level," VanderWal said. "Holding them to 33% shooting and winning the rebounding battle by 16 was the difference in the game."

The Quakers jumped out to an early lead but Marietta responded with a 10-0 run to take an eight-point lead, 12-4, five minutes into the game. By the midway point in the first half the Pioneers had pushed the margin to double figures and took a 12-point advantage, 46-34, into halftime.

Wilmington would get no closer than 12 points in the second half. Marietta extended its lead to more than 20 points by the middle of the second half and led by as many as 26 points, 76-50.

For the game, Marietta shot 44.6% (29-of-65) from the floor, 21.1% (4-of-19) from behind the arc and 75.0% (18-of-24) at the free throw line. The Quakers were 19-of-57 (33.3%) from the floor, 6-of-29 (20.7%) from three-point range and 21-of-28 (75.0%) at the line.

The pioneers dominated the glass outrebounding Wilmington, 48-32. The Quakers turned the ball over 17 times, while Marietta committed 16 turnovers.

Marietta hits the road for its final two regular season games. Up next for the Pioneers is rival Muskingum University. The Pioneers play at Muskingum on Wednesday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m.