ADA, Ohio — Marietta College outscored Ohio Northern University by 24 points in the second half to turn a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-68 runaway victory Saturday (Feb. 17) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action.

The Marietta win, coupled with John Carroll's loss to Capital, gives the Pioneers a share of the OAC Regular Season crown with the Blue Streaks. After three straight outright titles, Marietta becomes the first school in OAC men's basketball history to win four consecutive regular season championships.

"I couldn't be prouder of our program right now," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "It's extremely tough to win one regular season OAC championship, but we just became the first in OAC history to win four straight. Our seniors are the only three people in this world who can say they've accomplished this."

Marietta finishes the regular season 20-5 overall and 14-4 in the OAC. The Pioneers earned the No. 2 seed in next week's OAC Tournament and will host seventh-seeded Wilmington on Tuesday (Feb. 20) at 8 p.m. Ohio Northern finishes 17-8 overall and will be the No. 3 seed with a 12-6 conference record. John Carroll is the top seed.

Senior Dillon Young put on a shooting clinic in the second half hitting 6-of-7 from the floor, including all four of his three-point attempts, for 20 points. For the game, he nailed six triples and led all scorers with a career-high 32 points. Young also grabbed seven rebounds.

"Dillon Young put on an incredible performance today and showed what a special player he is," VanderWal said. "He has meant so much to our program over the past four years and I'm so proud of him."

Kyle Dixon finished with 18 points and a game-best nine boards to go along with six assists. Anthony Wallace chipped in with 14 points and six boards, while DeVaughn Wingard added 11 points.

Nate Burger scored 23 points in the first half for the Polar Bears but was held without a field goal after halftime and finished with 28 points. He dished out seven assists and pulled down four rebounds. Max Hartnett had nine points, while Joey DiOrio and Travis Feitshans had eight points apiece.

With the home court advantage in a potential OAC Tournament semifinal at stake, the teams traded small leads through the first several minutes of the game. Ohio Northern gradually gained control and built a nine-point lead, 37-28, with four minutes left in the opening period.

Young gave the ONU crowd a glimpse of what was to come in the second half as the senior drained a pair of three-pointers and two free throws in the final 90 seconds to cut the Polar Bear lead to two, 42-40, at halftime.

"After a tough start, I thought our guys did and great job of staying the course and wearing them down," VanderWal said. "It was a gutsy performance by our guys."

Ohio Northern pushed its lead to seven in the opening minutes of the second half, but a 9-0 Pioneer run was the beginning of the end for the Polar Bears. Marietta would put the game away with a 19-5 run extending the lead to 15 points, 74-59, with 5:44 left on the clock.

For the game, Marietta shot 56.1% (32-of-57) from the floor, 55.0% (11-of-20) from three-point range and 86.7% (13-of-15 at the free throw line. The Polar Bears were 24-of-62 (38.7%) from the floor, 8-of-23 (34.8%) behind the arc and 12-of-19 (63.2%) at the line.

The Pioneers edged Ohio Northern on the glass, 35-33. The Polar Bears turned the ball over 16 times, while Marietta committed 15 turnovers.