BEREA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's basketball team was defeated 83-80 on the road against Baldwin Wallace Saturday (Jan. 30) evening. With the loss the Pioneers are 1-1 overall and 1-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action, and with the win the Yellow Jackets improve to 1-3 overall and 1-3 in the OAC.
"Give BW a lot of credit. They played really well and they out toughed us today," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "They were more ready to make plays and we flinched and got rattled when things didn't go our way. We've got to grow and mature as a team. We have a talented team but we need to learn how to make winning plays for 40 minutes."
Marietta opened the game quickly with eight unanswered points to lead 8-0 two minutes into the game. The quick start was led by six points from Mason Lydic and a jumper from Tim Kreeger.
The teams swapped baskets for the next eight minutes of play and the Pioneers maintained a 28-15 advantage. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 21-2 run that spanned nearly five minutes of play and put Baldwin Wallace on top, 36-30.
A jumper from Jason Ellis halted the Yellow Jacket run, but Baldwin Wallace closed the half strong and led, 49-39, at the intermission.
After each team scored a bucket to open the second half, Marietta went on a 7-0 spurt that cut the Yellow Jackets' edge to 52-48 at the 17:33 minute mark. The run was sparked by a three pointer from Brett Martin.
Later in the half the Pioneers continued to battle back and scored eight straight points that trimmed the Baldwin Wallace advantage to one, 59-58, with just under 14 minutes to play in the game. The run was sparked by five points from Lydic and capped on an old fashioned three-point play from Kyle Matoszkia.
The Yellow Jackets answered with a 9-1 run regaining a 70-59 lead, at the 8:19 minute mark. The run was halted by a pair of foul shots from Jac Alexander. Marietta once again was able to trim the deficit to 70-69, behind scoring from Martin, Ellis, Alexander and Lydic.
The game remained tight and the Pioneers grabbed a 76-75 edge with just under four minutes to play in regulation. Marietta took the lead on a layup from Ellis. The lead changed hands three more times down the stretch, but the Pioneers could not complete the come back and fell 83-80.
Marietta was led by Lydic's 19 points, which led all scorers. Ellis pitched in with 13 points, a career high six steals and pulled down five rebounds. Kreeger added 11 points and Alexander provided a spark off the bench with 13 points.
The Pioneers will return to the hardwood Friday (Feb. 5th) when they host Muskingum, with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m.