During second-half action against Baldwin-Wallace at Ban Johnson Arena Saturday, senior Kevin Knab helped Marietta College rally and stretch its advantage to double digits on six straight points.
The first bucket came on a foul-line jumper. The other two were on reverse layups.
"I'm not extremely athletic, so I need to use the rim so guys can't touch my shot," said the 6-foot-6 Knab of the reverse layups. "Going to the other side of the rim really helps with that."
Not extremely athletic?
Who's Knab kidding?
Knab of course was being modest. He actually is that and soft-spoken, too - off the floor. But on it, he's a fierce competitor, who gives it his all - always.
If the Pioneers had five Knabs playing on the court at the same time, they'd be undefeated.
Knab is without question one of the best men's basketball players in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Fact is, he's the best pivot player in the league and a leading candidate for the OAC Mike Gregory Player of the Year at the end of the season.
If there is a better player in the OAC other than Knab, that player has yet to reveal himself.
Actually, MC senior Trevor Halter, Knab's teammate, was better last season, because he became the first player in program history to be named Player of the Year and MVP of the OAC Tournament.
But this season, unfortunately, Halter, who had back surgery in November, has been on the disabled list for much of the campaign.
Last year, Halter and Knab were Marietta's one-two punch at the offensive end. This winter, Knab has had to shoulder much of the scoring load.
Currently, he's the only Pioneer averaging in double digits, tallying 17.2 points per game.
Marietta currently owns an 11-6 overall record and 6-4 OAC mark, thanks in a large part to the efforts of Knab.
Against B-W, a team that beat the Pioneers 93-74 in early December in Berea, Knab scored a game-high 25 points as MC rallied from a four-point deficit after the break to beat the Yellow Jackets, 74-51. In the first meeting, he had 27 points.
Talk about consistency.
Heck, sometimes, he's almost perfect.
"He's a special player," said MC head coach Jon VanderWal. "He was 11 of 13 (vs. B-W), and that's incredible. You just can't stop him."
Baldwin-Wallace of course knew that going into the game. Every time Knab touched the ball, he was double-teamed by the Yellow Jacket defenders - and still he scored, or dished off nice assists to cutters' Brian Crader and Joe Puch, or Tyler Hammond at the three-point arc.
I think Marietta got a little bit of momentum, and Kevin's such a great player," said Baldwin-Wallace head coach Duane Sheldon. "I thought he was a big key for them winning the game.
"I think on some of his offensive rebounds...maybe he didn't possess it, but he kept it alive and let someone else get it."
Hard to believe, but as a senior, Knab - a 1,000-point-plus career scorer - has eight regular-season contests remaining in a Pioneer uniform. Half of them are scheduled at Ban Johnson Arena.
Then, hopefully, there's the postseason and the potential for some more games.
"Kevin's a big time player, and I wish I could have him for the rest of my life," VanderWal said.
Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor and can be reached at 376-5441 or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com
