WILMINGTON, Ohio — Wilmington College outscored Marietta College by 13 points in the second half to come from behind and defeat the Pioneers, 76-66, Saturday (Jan. 7) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The loss drops Marietta to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the OAC. The Quakers improve to 5-8 on the season and 1-5 in league games.
 
Marietta's continued struggles at the free throw line proved costly against the Quakers. The Pioneers were 9-of-20 (.450) at the charity stripe in the 10-point loss.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Neither team lead by more than five points. Jac Alexander scored the Pioneers' first seven points of the game as Marietta grabbed the early lead.
 
A three-pointer from Domenic Farley at the 3:52 mark gave Wilmington its biggest lead of the first half, 31-26. Marietta answered with seven straight points including a three-pointer from Frank Waganfeald and layups from Jayden Bradshaw and Waganfeald.
 
Wilmington got a pair of free throws from Aaron Frazier to tie the game, 33-33, with 1:38 left in the opening period. Danny Flood gave the Pioneers a three-point lead, 36-33, with a triple in the final minute of the half.
 
Marietta opened the second half on a 6-3 spurt doubling its lead to six points, 42-36. But a technical foul called against David Sanford led to a 10-0 Quaker run as Wilmington took the lead for good. Farley capped the run with a three-pointer making it 46-42 with 14:46 left in the game.
 
After trading buckets for several minutes, Wilmington went on a 9-2 run pushing the lead into double digits. Abdul Kanu drained a three-pointer with 7:27 remaining to give the Quakers a 63-50 advantage.
 
The Pioneers refused to go away quietly and managed to trim the deficit to four points, 65-61, with an 11-2 run of their own. Xavier Lovenson scored nine of the 11 points hitting a pair of jumpers, a three-pointer and two free throws.
 
Wilmington avoided the collapse scoring the next five points. Bryce Bird hit a three-pointer and a layup pushing the margin back to nine points, 70-61, with 2:34 left on the clock. Marietta was forced to foul, and the Quakers converted 4-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.
 
Alexander led the Pioneers with 16 points. Sanford finished with 11 points, while Xavier added nine points and five rebounds.
 
Kanu and Bird scored 19 points apiece to lead Wilmington. Kanu pulled down eight rebounds and blocked two shots. Obed Archirem scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Farley chipped in with 11 points.
 
Marietta travels to No. 4 ranked Mount Union on Wednesday (Jan. 11). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Alliance.