MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 19 ranked Heidelberg University saw its upset bid evaporate as No. 8 Marietta College erupted for an incredible 70 second half points Saturday (Jan. 15) afternoon in the Pioneer's 100-84 victory.

The win was Marietta's tenth straight and gives the Pioneers sole possession of first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings with a 7-0 record. MC is 12-2 overall. Heidelberg falls to 11-2 on the season and 6-1 in the OAC.

"We couldn't get to halftime fast enough. And (Ryan) Reidy's three-pointer at the end of the half was huge. That basket made the deficit manageable," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "Then Ellis hit the three-pointer to start the second half to trigger our run and we were able to cut their lead to five points a minute into the half."

Marietta grabbed the early lead. A pair of free throws from Addy Black midway through the first half gave the Pioneers a slim 19-15 lead. Heidelberg answered with a 12-2 run to go in front by six points, 27-21.

After trading a few baskets, the Student Princes took advantage of Marietta's shooting troubles to rattle off 11 straight points building a 17-point lead, 42-25, and silencing the near-capacity Ban Johnson Arena crowd.

"I am really proud of how our guys rose to the challenge in the second half," VanderWal said. "I think our senior leadership was the difference in the game."

Ryan Reidy hit a three-pointer and Lukas Isaly converted a pair of free throws in the final minute of the half cutting the deficit to 12 points, 42-30, at halftime.

Marietta's second half onslaught started with a 7-0 run in the first minute of the period. Jason Ellis nailed a three-pointer, Tim Kreeger scored on a layup and Cooper Parrott hit two free throws to get the Pioneers within five points, 42-37.

A Parrott three-pointer cut the Berg lead to three, 51-48, four minutes into the half. The Student Princes answered with five straight points pushing the margin back to eight.

Marietta chipped away at the margin and a three-pointer from Isaly at the 8:33 mark tied the game, 65-65. Following a Heidelberg miss, Ellis drained another triple to give the Pioneers their first lead since midway through the first half.

Nine straight points from Isaly, two three-pointers and three free throws, capped a 12-0 Pioneer run and gave Marietta a 12-point lead, 77-65, with 6:34 left in the game.

Despite a herculean effort from Emmanuel Perdue scoring 10 consecutive points for the Student Princes, Marietta matched Heidelberg shot for shot and still held a 10-point lead with just over two minutes left in the game.

Things went from bad to worse for Heidelberg when Perdue was whistled for technical foul following a contentious held ball with Isaly.

While Isaly was converting the two free throws, Heidelberg's head coach was slapped with a technical for arguing the previous call. He was then ejected from the game when he was issued a second technical. Isaly proceeded to sink three of the four additional free throws and in a matter of a few seconds the lead was 13 points.

Marietta kept possession of the ball after the technical fouls and Sahmi Willoughby converted and old fashioned three-point play putting the game out of reach, 95-79, with 1:16 left on the clock.

Isaly led Marietta with 27 points. He was 14-of-15 at the free throw line and hot a trio of three-pointers. Ellis had four treys and finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Willoughby notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Kreeger and Parrott each chipped in with 12 points.

Perdue led all scorers with 33 points making 14-of-16 shots in the game. Dylan Woods had 16 points, while Zane Leitwein added 11 points and six rebounds.

Marietta travels To Columbus on Wednesday (Jan. 19) for a 7 p.m. game at Capital University.