ADA, Ohio — Marietta College picked up its second straight road win with a 73-59 victory at Ohio Northern University Saturday (Dec. 3) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Pioneers improve to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the OAC. The Polar Bears slip to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in the OAC.

"Any win on the road in the OAC is a great win. Today we were fortunate to learn lessons while winning," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "It was the first time playing with a large halftime lead this year, and ONU grabbed all the momentum in the second half. We kind of had our backs against the wall but our guys responded and made big plays down the stretch."

The win was also VanderWal's 300th career coaching victory. VanderWal, in his 16th season leading the Pioneers, has a 300-117 career record. Good for a .729 winning percentage. He is the winningest coach in program history in victories and winning percentage.

"300 wins don't happen without the help of a lot of people. First, I want to thank my family for allowing me to do what I love. They have made a lot of sacrifices for me and I'm extremely appreciative," VanderWal said. "I also want to thank all the players and assistant coaches who have been a part of so many of these wins. They deserve the credit. Thank you to the Marietta College Administration and to our alumni for believing in me. Finally, thank you to Pio Nation, the best fans in the country!"

Ohio Northern scored the first five points of the game, but the Pioneers responded with the next seven points and never trailed again. Two baskets from Sahmi Willoughby and a three-pointer from David Sanford spurred the Marietta run.

After Ethan Bell connected on a three-pointer to tie the game, 10-10, Jac Alexander answered with a triple on the other end of floor giving Marietta the lead for good. The Pioneers closed the first half with a 17-6 run pushing the margin to 18 points, 45-27. The biggest lead of the day.

The Polar Bears quickly cut the deficit in half opening the second half with a 12-3 run. ONU got three-pointers from Adam Scott and Will Miller, two buckets from Bell and a slam dunk from Michael Berner during the scoring run.

Marietta pushed its lead back into double digits and maintained it through the middle of the second half. A three-pointer from Mason Studer and a free throw from Scott at the 6:42 mark got the Polar Bears within six, 62-53.

A pair of three-pointers from Jac Alexander and Sanford quickly extended the margin back to 10 points, 65-55. Ohio Northern missed on its next three shots allowing Marietta to extend the lead to 14 points, 69-55, with just 1:16 left in the game. ONU was forced to foul and Sanford converted four free throws down the stretch to secure the 73-59 victory.

Sanford led the Pioneers with 14 points. Willoughby just missed another double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Lovenson Xavier finished with 11 points and six boards, while Ethan Andersen came off the bench to add nine points and eight rebounds.

Scott paced the Polar Bears with 14 points and eight rebounds. Bell finished with 12 points, while Miller had 11 points and five boards.

Marietta returns home to host Penn State-Altoona on Tuesday (Dec. 6) at 7:30 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena.