Jayden Bradshaw’s 3 lifts Marietta past Ohio Northern
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Marietta College was in for a long ride to Puerto Rico had it lost Saturday afternoon's game against Ohio Northern, but Jayden Bradshaw saved the day.
Down two with just 3.3 seconds left in double-overtime, the Pioneers had to go the length of the court and get a bucket. Head coach Jon VanderWal drew up the perfect play, and his players executed it to perfection. Jack Main heaved the inbound pass to Sahmi Willoughby just beyond halfcourt. Willoughby caught it, turned to his right and delivered a pass to Bradshaw on the wing, and Bradshaw knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer to give Marietta a 103-102 victory in front of a big crowd at Ban Johnson Arena.
"It's a play we like to run," said VanderWal, whose Pioneers are set for a two-game stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico starting Tuesday. "We leave tomorrow morning for our (Puerto Rico) trip, so this makes that a little bit easier."
Marietta (7-2) led 40-32 at halftime, but ONU (3-6) battled in the second half and finally tied the game at the 5:22 mark on a jumper by Will Miller, who scored a game-high 27 points. It was 78-all when Marietta's Jac Alexander missed a 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
Marietta was up three with a minute left in the first time thanks to a 3-pointer by Bradhsaw and a basket by Willoughby, but Ohio Northern's Carter Reese drained a 3-ball with 27 seconds left to tie it up and force a second OT.
The Pioneers trailed by as many as five points in the second overtime and were down 100-96 with 1:23 left. Frank Waganfeald's layup cut it to two with 1:08 remaining, and De'Ovion Price nailed a pair of free-throws to knot the score with 15 seconds on the clock.
However, the Polar Bears appeared to have the dagger when Reese's basket with 3.3 seconds left put ONU up two. It's typically difficult for teams to get a quality shot off with that little time left, but Marietta found a way.
"It's one of the few plays we have under four seconds," VanderWal explained. "We don't have enough time to dribble the ball up the floor so you try to advance it with a long pass. Give Jack Main credit -- they put their 6-8 guy on the ball and he had to juke him a little bit to get the pass off. He put it right on the money, right where we wanted him to throw it. Sahmi did a great job of catching it and then finding one of our shooters, and then obviously Jayden did the rest."
Bradshaw and teammate David Sanford scored 18 points apiece off Marietta's bench. Eight of Bradshaw's points came after regulation, and he was ready to shoot when it mattered most.
"We actually do this (play) all the time at practice," the MC sophomore said. "I had the hot hand at the end of the game. They gave me the ball and I knocked down the shot."
Added VanderWal, "He's 6-4. He just kind of jumped over his guy and got the shot off. What a play."
Marietta was playing without its leading scorer, Cooper Parrott, who is dealing with an injury. Another starter, Lovenson Xavier, got hurt late in the game after contributing eight points. Through all the adversity, the Pioneers never stopped battling.
"Just a good team effort of guys stepping up," VanderWal said. "Proud of them for not giving up. Nothing was easy today. We kind of struggled. Give Ohio Northern credit. I thought they played a great game. Just never felt comfortable out there, couldn't get it going. But the guys stayed strong. They never got too down and they made enough plays to win the game."
Willoughby finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Ethan Andersen added eight points and a team-high 10 boards. Other double-digit scorers for Marietta were Alexander with 14 and Waganfeald with 10. Alexander also tallied five assists and four steals, both team-highs. Price added nine points in a game where every play was pivotal.
"We stuck through, kept together, executed at the end and came up with the win," Bradshaw said. "It feels great."
Reese finished with 25 points while Cayden Jacoby netted 19 points and nine rebounds. Jadi Cunningham Jr. double-doubled with 11 points and 10 assists, while Carson Conley tallied eight points for the Polar Bears, who dropped to 0-4 in league play.
"It's just good to stack up some wins, especially in this league this year," VanderWal said. (Ohio Northern) lost by three to Mount (Union) in their last game, so they're playing people tough. There's not going to be any easy games. We're happy to get any win."
Marietta plays Messiah University at 11 a.m. Tuesday and then Lancaster Bible College at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Puerto Rico Classic.
WOMEN
ADA -- The Marietta women had a cold afternoon shooting the ball and fell to host Ohio Northern Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference competition. Marietta falls to 6-2 on the season and 3-1 in the OAC. Ohio Northern moves to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in conference games.
Paige Tolson led the Pioneers with 12 points. Makenzie Wilson and Hannah Kroft finished with nine points each while Olivia Gribble tallied a team-high 10 rebounds.
Brynn Serbin led ONU with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Brooke Allen added eight points and nine rebounds, while Waterford grad Mackenzie Suprano chipped in six points off the Polar Bear bench.
Marietta has one more contest before the Christmas holiday as they will travel to Washington and Jefferson College on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip.