MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College cruised to a 78-58 win over Ohio Northern University Saturday (Jan. 21) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Pioneers improve to 10-7 overall and 5-5 in the OAC. Ohio Northern falls to 8-9 on the season and 4-6 in the OAC.
 
"I thought we defended really well holding them to 24 points in the first half. We got some easy buckets in transition and got some confidence," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "We've been struggling a little bit lately, so we changed up the lineup and adjusted some roles. We rely on our bench to give us a spark and those guys were huge tonight."
 
ONU's Michael Berner hit a pair of free throws in the opening seconds of the game to give the Polar Bears their only lead of the afternoon. Marietta responded with a Cooper Parrott three-pointer and never looked back.
 
The Pioneers went on a 13-1 run to open a 13-point lead. Seven points from David Sanford sparked the run and gave Marietta a 23-10 lead midway through the first half. Ohio Northern got within 10 points, but a layup from Sahmi Willoughby gave Marietta a 41-24 lead at halftime.
 
Ohio Northern scored the first six points of the second half cutting the deficit to 11 points, 41-30. But the Polar Bears would get no closer as the Pioneers responded with a 10-3 run pushing the lead to 18 points.
 
A three-point play from Sanford with 11:37 left in the game gave Marietta a 58-38 lead. The Pioneers led by as many as 22 points before settling for the 20-point victory.
 
Sanford led five Pioneers in double figures with 18 points. Jac Alexander hit a trio of three-pointers and finished with 15 points and four rebounds. Willoughby chipped in with 14 points and five boards, while Parrott and Ryan Magill each had 11 points.
 
C.J. Napier was the pone Polar Bear in double figures with 16 points and six rebounds. Blake Michael finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Marietta wraps up a three-game home stand on Wednesday (Jan. 25) when Otterbein University visits Ban Johnson Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.