CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana — No. 17 ranked Marietta College had five players in double figures as the Pioneers knocked off Wabash College, 89-81, in overtime Friday (Nov. 18) evening in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational. The Pioneers improve to 2-1 overall, while Wabash slips to 3-1 on the season.
 
"The key for us was our resiliency. The first half nothing went our way. Wabash completely dominated us on both sides of the ball," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "We regrouped at halftime and clawed our way back into the game. It was a phenomenal game between two really good opponents, and we were fortunate enough to make enough plays in overtime to get the win."
 
Marietta had a chance to win the game in regulation. A Sahmi Willoughby layup gave the Pioneers a 75-73 lead with 31 seconds left. Wabash tied the game on a driving layup from Sam Cromer. Marietta took a timeout with 10 seconds left to set up a final play but a three-pointer from David Sanford was off the mark as time expired.
 
Wabash opened overtime with a pair of free throws from Vinny Buccilla. The Pioneers responded with eight straight points to build an 83-77 lead with 2:26 left in the extra period. Lovenson Xavier and Cooper Parrott each hit a jumper and Brennen Crawford added two buckets in the run for Marietta.
 
The Little Giants cut the Marietta lead to four points but couldn't get any closer. A pair of free throws from Sanford with 28 seconds remaining pushed the margin to 10 points, 89-79.
 
Sanford led Marietta with 18 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Parrott finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Willoughby notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. Xavier added 12 points and Crawford chipped in with 11.
 
Wabash used the three-pointer to stay in the game knocking down 12 shots from behind the arc. Ahmoni Jones scored a game-high 33 points. He hit five three-pointers and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the charity stripe. Buccilla connected on four triples and finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Little Giants led for most of the first half. Champ McCorkle scored on a layup with 1:09 left in the first half to push the Wabash lead to 10 points, 34-24. Wabash led 34-27 at halftime. A Three-pointer from Sanford gave Marietta its first lead of the second half, 47-45, with 11:35 left in the second half. The teams traded small leads and the score was tied eight times in the final minutes of the half.
 
Marietta plays Keene State Saturday (Nov. 19) at 5:30 p.m. The Owls defeated Maryville, 78-69, in today's first round of the Great Lakes Invitational.