NEW CONCORD, Ohio — No. 8 ranked Marietta College exploded for 55 second half points as the Pioneers defeated rival Muskingum University, 89-67, Wednesday (Dec. 19) in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest.

The win was Marietta's 17th straight over the Muskies. The Pioneers improve to 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the OAC. Muskingum slips to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the OAC.

Both teams got off to a slow start and were tied, 14-14, mid-way through the first half. The teams traded small leads until a three-pointer from Jason Ellis with 3:26 left in the half triggered a 9-0 Pioneer run and pushing Marietta's lead to eight, 34-26, at the 2:00 minute mark.

Muskingum scored the final four points of the period to cut into the Pioneers advantage. Marietta led 34-30 at the halftime break.

The Muskies got within three points twice in the opening minutes of the second half, but a 10-0 Marietta run extended the lead into double digits where it would remain for the duration of the game. Kyle Dixon drained a triple to start the run and Keith Richardson capped it with a fast break layup off a steal from Jason Ellis.

The lead ballooned to as many as 26 points, 85-59, when Anthony Wallace drained a three-pointer with 3:31 left in the game. Wallace finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. He needs just 11 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.

Ellis came off the bench to lead Marietta with 14 points. The Pioneer bench once again was the difference in the game outscoring Muskingum, 47-25.

Kyle Dixon added 11 points and Tim Kreeger chipped in with 10. Caleb Hoyng and Mason Lydic each scored nine points, while Richardson finished with eight points.

Muskingum's Mitch Clark led all scorers with 19 points. He also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. The Muskies played without the OAC's leading scorer, Marcus Dempsey (25.7 ppg), who was out with a wrist injury.

For the game, Marietta was 30-of-71 (42.3%) from the floor, 10-of-30 (33.3%) from three-point range and 19-of-24 (79.2%) at the line. The Muskies shot 38.3% (23-of-60) from the floor, 23.1% (6-of-26) behind the arc and 83.3% (15-of-18) at the charity stripe.

The Pioneers won the battle of the boards, 44-35, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Muskingum committed 15 turnovers, while the Pioneers turned the ball over only seven times.

Marietta is back in action after a short break for Christmas. The Pioneers travel to Phoenix, Arizona to play in the D3 Desert Invitational. Marietta opens against Elmhurst College at 10:15 pm on Friday, December 28th.