Marietta College’s Lovenson Xavier, right, goes up for a jumper during a game against Christopher Newport earlier this season at Ban Johnson Arena.
(Photo by Rebecca Wheeler)
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SPRINGFIELD — Lovenson Xavier hit four free throws in the final 11 seconds of the game to secure a 67-63 Marietta College win over Illinois Wesleyan University Saturday evening in the Great Lakes Invitational being hosted by Wittenberg University.
The Pioneers split a pair of games on the weekend and are now 3-1 on the season. The Titans move to 2-2 on the season after a 1-1 weekend.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys. I challenged them and said we would find out a lot about ourselves today with how we handle adversity,” Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. “After playing so poorly yesterday, our guys responded with a gutsy effort today. We showed some toughness and resiliency.”
Ryan Sroka hit a pair of free throws to get the Titans within two points, 63-61, with 56 seconds left in the game. Marietta missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and Hakim Williams grabbed the rebound for Illinois Wesleyan.
Following a Titan timeout, Xavier came up with a huge steal and was fouled. He sank both free throws pushing the lead back to four, 65-61, with 11 seconds left on the clock. Illinois Wesleyan got a quick layup from Luke Yoder and called a timeout with five seconds left.
Marietta inbounded the ball to Xavier and he was immediately fouled. The junior sank both free throws for a 67-63 Pioneer lead. Illinois Wesleyan’s last second three-pointer was off the mark as the final buzzer sounded.
Xavier led all scorers with 25 points to go along with five rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Sahmi Willoughby notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, while Cooper Parrott chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Sroka led four Titans in double figures with 15 points and six rebounds. Yoder finished with 12 points and nine boards, while Harrison Wilmsen and Nick Roper added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Illinois Wesleyan led by six points several times in the first 10 minutes of the game. A layup from Trey Bazzell gave the Titans a 20-14 lead at the 10:06 mark of the first half.
Marietta went on a 14-0 run to go in front by eight points, 28-20, with 3:57 left in the first half. Xavier and David Sanford each had two buckets and Parrott and Willoughby each added a three-pointer during the Pioneer run.
The Pioneers led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took an 11-point advantage, 37-26, into halftime.
Illinois Wesleyan opened the second half with a 13-2 run tying the game at 39-39 with 15:35 left on the clock. Marietta responded with a three-pointer from Xavier and a layup from Willoughby and never trailed in the second half.
Marietta returns home to host Bethany College on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena.
WOMEN
Marietta College women’s basketball team took to the road for the first time this season and was defeated 83-58 by Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Pioneers fell to 3-1. The victory put Ohio Wesleyan’s overall record to 3-1.
“Credit OWU, they took control of the game early in each half,” said Marietta head coach Kole Vivian. “We had some good battles in the 2nd and 4th periods, but we just weren’t tough enough today. I am glad the loss happened early and we have a chance to work on ourselves a bit before we open OAC play in two weeks.”
Marietta opened the game with a rough first quarter, shooting 3-of-13 from the field and committing 10 turnovers. Olivia Gribble got the Pioneers on the board with a three-pointer, but that would be the only points for the next four minutes. The Battling Bishops took the lead with a pair of buckets from Alyssa Griner and, after a three-pointer from Lauren Denison, they led 13-3. By the time Graci Semptimpheler hit a jumper with three minutes remaining, Ohio Wesleyan led 20-6. Makenzie Wilson’s layup and subsequent free throw cut the lead to 13 at the 1:30 mark, but ended the quarter trailing 27-11.
Marietta chipped away at the lead throughout the second period, getting three-pointers from Gribble and Paige Tolson and layups from Kelly Levering and Hannah Schill. With less than four minutes left in the half, Schill connected on another pair of layups to put the score at 34-25, their closest differential since midway through the first period. Another Gribble triple was answered by a three-pointer from Mia Guscoff and the Pioneers went into intermission trailing 40-28.
Wilson scored first for the Pioneer in the third period, but Ohio Wesleyan would then go on a 20-0 run to push out to a commanding 60-30 advantage. Ally Grake nailed a pair of three-pointers in the closing seconds to slow the momentum but the Pioneers ended the third trailing 63-36.
Marietta shot much better in the fourth period, outscoring the Battling Bishops 22-20 in the quarter, but the differential was too big to overcome. Schill hit once and Gribble hit twice from three-point range, but in the end, the Pioneers would fall to defeat, 83-58.
The Pioneers were led by Gribble with 15 points. Schill finished with nine points and collected three steals. Kelly Levering led the way eight rebounds.
Marietta will return to the court after the Thanksgiving holiday. They will travel to Heidelberg University Saturday for a conference matchup, with tip off scheduled for 2 p.m.