Marietta’s Owen Riley (14) and Lucas Miller celebrate after the Tigers’ 55-52 win over Miami Trace in the district semifinals Friday at the Convo. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

ATHENS — Marietta intends to make the Convocation Center its second home over the next few weeks.

With a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire, 55-52 win over top-seeded Miami Trace in the district semifinals Friday, the Tigers are guaranteed one more game there.

“Our saying right now is, ‘Bring your sleeping bag, because we plan on being here a while,'” said MHS head coach Austin Gardner.

“We haven’t won a district title since 1977. We plan on changing history.”

Marietta (20-4) will play either New Philadelphia or Zanesville at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Convo with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

Marietta’s Trey Hawkins, center, splits a pair of Miami Trace defenders during Friday’s district semifinal matchup at the Convo. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“That’s the goal, always,” said Marietta senior Logan Grosklos.

“Sophomore year, we were here. We lost. I think ever since then, that’s been our goal, to not only get back to the Convo, but to get the first district championship in, I think, 49 years.”

On a night where shots weren’t falling like they usually do for Marietta, the Tigers leaned on a couple massive defensive plays to hold off the Panthers (18-4).

MHS, which led by as many as 12 in the second half and 43-33 going into the fourth, had to defend two instances in the final minutes where Miami Trace had the ball down two.

The first was a fastbreak opportunity for Trace’s Gage Bowers. Bowers went up for the layup, but Zaiden Wittekind trailed him and swatted the shot off the backboard. Trey Hawkins grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a bucket to put the Tigers up 48-44 with 1:38 remaining.

Marietta’s Braiden Plaugher (24) and Trey Hawkins battle with Miami Trace’s Evan Parsley (3) for a loose ball during Friday’s district semifinal matchup at the Convo. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

With 19 seconds left, Baron Phipps’ basket cut it to 54-52. After Marietta turned it over on their own baseline, the Panthers ran one of their go-to inbound plays, but Lucas Miller was there to intercept the pass. Miller was fouled and made 1 of 2 at the line. Bowers threw up a desperation 3 to try to tie it, but it came up short. Grosklos cleared the rebound as the final buzzer sounded.

“It always seems like Zaiden is making some big block and giving us momentum,” Grosklos said. “Lucas is one of the best defenders on the team. Those plays were huge. Lucas stepped up really big there at the end.”

Gardner added, “Lucas read the baseline out-of bounds play. They’ve been running that up-screen as their biggest play that they run with (Julian) Baker setting the up screen, and Lucas read it. He knew he was going to roll back. Lucas left the weak side corner, came over and made a huge play. That’s winning basketball. Our kids are absolute believers, and I think that’s what you got to have in the tournament.”

Marietta had to survive the final 90 seconds without Wittekind and Owen Riley, both of whom fouled out on back-to-back plays late in the fourth. Riley was a presence in the paint, finishing with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Hawkins tallied a team-high 19 points and had eight boards. He missed seven games in the regular season but has been sharp since his return, leading the team in scoring in both tournament wins.

Marietta’s Owen Riley, right, makes a move with the ball as Miami Trace’s Julian Baker (5) defends during Friday’s district semifinal matchup at the Convo. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“Trey’s tough,” Gardner said. “He’s been tremendous all year. He’s had an unbelievable career, and he’ll have a future after high school, too. Just tremendous on both ends of the floor. Just a tough kid.”

Miller, known more for his defensive prowess, contributed nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

Marietta, which also got six points from Grosklos, shot 34.5% (19 for 55) from the floor and was just 3 for 16 from beyond the arc. The Panthers, who hit only two 3s on 16 attempts, were 34.6% (18 for 52) from the field. Both teams were an identical 14 for 25 from the free-throw line.

“We didn’t make shots,” Gardner said. “We struggled in that department a little bit, but at the same time, we hang our hat on the defensive end. We just made a couple more plays than they did.”

Miami Trace was without the services of big man Adam Guthrie, the Division III Southeast District Player of the Year, who missed the game with an injury.

Marietta head coach Austin Gardner calls out a play during the Tigers’ 55-52 win over Miami Trace in the district semifinals Friday at the Convo. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“We prepped like he was (playing),” said Gardner, whose team out-rebounded the Panthers 43-34. “We figured we were going to see zone (defense). We didn’t think they could guard us in the man, and so we prepped for zone. They’re a little more mobile defensively and they’re playing a lot faster on offense because of that (injury). You have to prepare for 6-8, 300 pounds, because he’s a really good player, he’s got great touch, and he demands a double team. So we planned and prepped that he was playing the last two days.”

Bowers led the Panthers with a game-high 22 points. Phipps added 12 points and seven rebounds while Ty Huffman grabbed a team-high nine boards. Miami Trace committed seven turnovers to Marietta’s 16.

The Tigers trailed 16-10 early in the second, but tied it at 18-all on Miller’s 3-pointer and later closed the first half on an 11-2 run to go into halftime up 29-23. Marietta took its first double-digit lead at the 2:59 mark in the third on Riley’s basket-and-one, making it 37-26. Later, Hawkins’ putback made it 39-27 for the largest margin of the game.

Marietta survived a physical battle in a venue that can be intimidating for teams who aren’t used to playing there. Gutting out a win like this is a credit to the work they put in throughout the offseason, Grosklos said.

“Gardner really pushes us over the summer,” he said. “I think everything comes down to our summer stuff and everybody showing up. You work so hard over the summer. You work so hard to win the games to get here, and whenever you finally get the chance and it’s actually on you, it’s amazing.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.