BEREA, Ohio – The 13th ranked Marietta College men's basketball team was in action Friday (Jan. 18) evening as they traveled to Baldwin Wallace University. The Pioneers defeated the Yellow Jackets 71-65. With the win Marietta improves 15-2 overall and 9-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference play and Baldwin Wallace falls to 11-6 overall and 5-5 in OAC action.

"It was another hard fought OAC road game tonight," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "Our defense traveled with us tonight and got the job done. I thought we guarded them with a sense of urgency and didn't get rattled when they made a couple of runs. We did a nice job of making big shots to combat their runs and we were able to hold on for the win."

The Yellow Jackets were able to grab a 7-4 lead early in the first half. The Pioneers responded with a 12-0 run that saw them take a 16-7 edge at the 13:41 mark. The run was highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Mel Shuler.

Marietta continued its strong play and extended its lead to 27-14 behind a jumper from Anthony Wallace. Baldwin Wallace answered with a 6-0 run trimming the Pioneer lead to 28-21 with just over three minutes remaining in the half.

Marietta regained its double-digit advantage behind an 10-2 run that ended with less than a minute to play in the half. The run was sparked by guard play as Christian James, Mason Lydic, and Jason Ellis all scored during the spurt. The Pioneers entered the intermission ahead, 39-25.

After the teams traded baskets to open the second half the Yellow Jackets went on an 11-2 run that cut the Marietta advantage to 46-40 with 15 minutes to play in the second half.

After a couple of minutes of back and forth action the Pioneers scored eight straight points and took a 58-44 lead forcing a Baldwin Wallace timeout. Ellis sparked the run with back to back three-pointers.

Out of the timeout, a 7-0 run from the Yellow Jackets cut the Marietta edge to 58-51 at the 6:44 mark. Back to back baskets from Wallace and Kyle Matoszkia regained the Pioneers' double-digit advantage.

Marietta held a 67-56 edge with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but Baldwin Wallace scored seven straight points and cut the Pioneer lead to four, 67-63, with just over a minute to play. Marietta was able to close out the game at the foul line and won, 71-65.

The Pioneers were led by Ellis as he shot 66 percent from behind the arc and finished with 16 points. Wallace added 13 points and a team high eight rebounds in the game. Shuler chipped in with 10 points and grabbed six boards. Matoszkia notched 10 points and snagged three rebounds.

Tyler Colombo and Matt Dimitrijevs led Baldwin Wallace with 16 points apiece. Colombo grabbed six rebounds. Jay battle finished with 10 points, six boards and six assists.

For the game, Marietta shot 49.1% (26-of-53) from the floor, 35.0% (7-of-20) from three-point range and 92.3% (12-of-13) at the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets were 25-of-67 (37.3%) from the floor, 9-of-40 (22.5%) from behind the arc and 6-of-12 (50.0%) at the charity stripe.

The Pioneers outrebounded Baldwin Wallace, 40-33. Marietta turned the ball over 12 times, while the Yellow Jackets committed just eight turnovers.

Marietta will return to the court Wednesday (Jan. 23) when they host Otterbein University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.