Marietta College fended off a pesky Muskingum squad to record a 91-86 win Wednesday evening in Ohio Athletic Conference men’s basketball. The Pioneers improve to 8-9 overall and 3-5 in the OAC. Muskingum falls to 12-5 on the season and 4-4 in the OAC.

In a game that featured seven ties and 10 lead changes, it quickly settled into a battle between Marietta’s post players and Muskingum’s guards. Mason Wisniewski and Luke Powell combined for 35 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots. The Muskies countered with a 33-point effort from Duane Davis.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Jake Singleton and Elijah Harden gave Marietta the early lead, 11-8. Teams traded small leads throughout the first half. Singleton drained another triple in the final seconds to give Marietta a 40-39 lead at halftime.

The Pioneers opened the second half with 10 straight points, all on layups and dunks, as Muskingum struggled to defend the Marietta post players. Trenton Collins had a pair of layups, while Wisniewski put down two monster dunks and added a layup in the run.

Davis got Muskingum back in the game. He hit three-pointers on successive possessions and then tallied an old-fashioned three-point play cutting the Pioneer lead to four points, 52-48.

Marietta maintained a small lead through most of the period. Owen Emig hit a three-pointer giving Muskingum the lead, 68-67, with six minutes left in the game. After trading the lead several times, a bucket from Wisniewski at the 3:15 mark put the Pioneers in front for good.

Another basket from Wisniewski gave Marietta an 85-80 lead with 48 seconds left on the clock. Muskingum refused to go quietly as Nathan Walker drained a triple on the ensuing possession.

Two free throws from Harden and two more from Singleton pushed the margin back to six points, 89-83, with six seconds left. The Muskies again answered with a three-pointer. This time from Emig. But two more free throws from Singleton iced the game for Marietta.

Wisniewski led Marietta with 22 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots. Singleton finished with 20 points and five boards. Harden added 15 points and seven assists, while Powell had 13 points and four rebounds. Jai Guerra-Howard dished out a game-high eight dimes.

Davis led all scorers with 33 points shooting 14-of-21 from the floor. Emig had 18 points and five rebounds, while Walker and Phil Towns each added 11 points. Alieu Ceesay chipped in with 10 points and seven boards.

Marietta hosts Capital on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

WOMEN

NEW CONCORD — The Marietta College women’s basketball team fell behind at a crucial point in the fourth quarter and could not overcome the deficit, falling to Muskingum 73-72 on Wednesday.

With the loss the Pioneers fall to 9-8 overall and 4-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, and with the win Muskingum improves to 8-8 overall and 1-6 in OAC action.

Muskingum jumped out to an early 5-0 lead but Marietta turned the tables with seven straight points, getting buckets from Kendall Sury, Kelsey Harlan, and Emma Rasmussen. After some back and forth action, the Fighting Muskies led by three at the 2:13 mark. Marietta then kicked in with a 9-0 run, getting five points from Ava Heller and four points from TJ Carpenter, to close out the quarter. The Pioneers took a 25-20 lead going into the second quarter.

Marietta began the second period outscoring the Muskies 9-2, but was shut down for the next four minutes. During that span, Muskingum put together an 11-0 run, fueled by four points from McKinzi Linscott, to cut the lead to a single point. They then closed the half getting five points from Claudia Harrington, on the way to a 9-2 run, and Muskingum went on to lead 42-38 at the intermission.

Sury got the Pioneers back into a tie by going 4-for-4 from the free throw line to start the third period, but Muskingum followed with just enough to keep a slight lead. Tori Jones hit from three-point range with less than six minutes to put the score at 48-45. The Pioneers were able to fight back, and after they got the score tied back up at 56, Harlan scored a layup and bonus free throw to take three-point lead with :39 seconds remaining. Marietta would take a 60-56 advantage into the final period.

The Muskies were able to get back into the lead as Jones hit a three-pointer with 6:16 left in the final period, but Marietta tied it back up over the next few possessions. Muskingum took the lead at a crucial point as Linscott hit a three pointer and, after a Pioneer missed shot, scored a layup to give them a five-point lead with :45 seconds left. Sury hit four clutch free throws in the final seconds but Harlan had the ball stolen away in Marietta’s final chance. Muskingum would hold for a 73-32 victory.

Harlan finished with 20 points for the Pioneers and Heller scored 15 points. Carpenter and Sury both finished with 13 points, with Carpenter leading the team with seven rebounds.

Harrington registered a double-double as she scored 18 points and collected 10 rebounds. Jones also contributed 18 points.

Marietta is scheduled to return to action this Saturday when they return home to battle Capital, with tip off scheduled for 3 p.m, following the men’s matchup at 1 p.m.