WESTERVILLE, Ohio — No. 6 ranked Marietta College fended off an upset bid from Otterbein University with a 66-57 road victory Wednesday (Jan. 26) evening in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action.

Marietta extended its winning streak to 13 games and remains undefeated in OAC play with a 10-0 conference record. The Pioneers are 15-2 overall. Otterbein slips to 11-6 on the season and 5-5 in the OAC.

"Sometimes you just need to survive, and tonight was a perfect example of that," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "We played as bad as we possibly could offensively, but our defense and rebounding allowed us to win ugly on the road."

Reid Black scored on a layup and a three-pointer as Otterbein grabbed the early lead, 7-2. Marietta answered with a 6-0 run as Jason Ellis hit a pair of jumpers to even the game at 8-8 six minutes into the half.

Following a free throw from Otterbein's MJ Davis, the Pioneers scored the next 11 points giving Marietta a 10-point lead, 19-9. Back-to-back three-pointers from Ellis and Cooper Parrott extended the lead to 14 points. MC led 30-21 at halftime.

Marietta maintained its double-digit lead through the first nine minutes of the second half. Trailing 47-36, Otterbein went on a 16-3 run taking a two-point lead with 5:22 left in the game.

Lukas Isaly quickly tied the game with a jumper and then a layup from Tim Kreeger put Marietta back in front. An old-fashioned three-point play from Isaly made it a four-point game, 59-55, with 2:39 left to play.

After a Cardinal miss, Marietta took advantage of three offensive rebounds on its next possession to take the clock down to just over a minute left and forcing Otterbein to foul.

The Pioneers converted 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Kreeger added an exclamation point with a dunk at the buzzer for the 66-57 final score.

Ellis led all scorers with 21 points. He added six rebounds and five assists. Kreeger finished with 15 points, while Sahmi Willoughby had eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Dallas led the Cardinals with 20 points. Black chipped in with 10 points and Justin Carter had eight points and four rebounds.

Marietta hosts Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday (Jan. 29) as part of the annual Winter Weekend festivities on the Marietta College campus. Tip-off in Ban Johnson Arena is set for 3 p.m.