MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College's last second shot was off the mark as Capital University escaped Ban Johnson Arena with an 86-83 victory Wednesday (Jan. 18) evening in men's basketball action. The loss drops Marietta to 9-7 overall and 4-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Capital moves to 9-7 on the season and 5-4 in conference games.
 
Two free throws from Kaleb Crawford gave Capital a 15-point lead, 82-67, with 3:37 left in the game. But Marietta stormed back with a 15-2 run cutting the deficit to two points, 84-82, with 15 seconds left on the clock.
 
Cooper Parrott scored 12 of the Pioneers' 15 points in the run hitting four jumpers, including a pair of three-pointers, and two free throws. A David Sanford three-pointer accounted for the other three points.
 
Forced to foul, McKane Finkenbine hit one of two free throws with nine seconds pushing the margin to three points, 85-82. Rather than let the Pioneers shoot a three-pointer, the Comets fouled Jac Alexander sending him to the line for two free throws with five seconds remaining.
 
Alexander converted one of two from the charity stripe making it 85-83. The Pioneers fouled Dom Moegerle. Moegerle missed the first free throw and hit the second for an 86-83 lead with 2.9 on the lock.
 
Marietta called a timeout to setup a last second play. Jack Main inbounded the ball throwing it to the top of the three-point arc at the far end of the floor to Sahmi Willoughby. Willoughby kicked the ball to Parrott for the final shot that was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
 
Sanford led the Pioneers with 24 points, including four three-pointers. Parrott finished with four triples as well and 22 points. Lovenson Xavier chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds, while Ethan Andersen added 10 points and seven boards.
 
Carter Combs led six Comets in double figures with 15 points. Crawford notched 14 points and five rebounds. Joe Thompson had 13 points, while Justin Nixon had a double-double with 11 points and 13 boards. Tre Hammond added 11 points and Moegerle added 10 points.
 
Marietta hosts Ohio Northern University on Saturday (Jan. 21). Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena.