Men’s Basketball Falls In Overtime To Marietta In The OAC Tournament Finals: Dillon And Kiger All-Tournament
| 3rd - 00:00 | 1 | 2 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Union (13-15) | 40 | 26 | 10 | 76 |
| Marietta (20-7) | 25 | 41 | 14 | 80 |
| Marietta, Ohio - Ban Johnson Arena | ||||
| Mount Union | Marietta |
|---|---|
| Pts: Matt Kiger - 17 | Pts: Tyler Hammond - 23 |
| Reb: Matt Kiger - 8 | Reb: J.J. Martin - 15 |
| Ast: T.J. Gillespie - 3 | Ast: Tyler Worstell - 3 |
| Team Statistics | Mount Union | Marietta |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 43.8% (28-64 ) | 45.3% (24-53 ) |
| Rebounds | 39 | 36 |
| Assists | 9 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 6 | 15 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 12 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 22 | 22 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 36 | 12 |
MARIETTA, Ohio - - Senior Matt Kiger (Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown) scored 17 points as he was named to the All-Tournament team but No. 4 seed Mount Union fell 80-76 in overtime to the No. 2 seed Marietta in the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball championship game Saturday evening in the Ban Johnson Arena.
With the win, Marietta (20-7) takes the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Divison III Men's Basketball Tournament, while Mount Union, which made the title game for the first time since 1997, ends its season with a 13-15 record.
Freshman Cody Dillon (Newton Falls/Newton Falls) had 16 points and was also named to the all-tournament team.
Junior T.J. Gillespie (Toledo/Toledo St. John's) had 16 points and freshman Jarrett Ruffin (Northfield/Nordonia) added 13 to round out the double-digit scorers for the Purple Raiders.
Tyler Hammond scored a game-high 23 points and led the Pioneers on a rally from 20 points down to be named OAC Tournament MVP.
Mount Union started the game on a 14-5 run and when Kiger hit a jumper at the 6:47 mark of the opening half the Raiders had their largest lead of the period, 32-13.
Marietta rallied but Dillon hit his third three-pointer of the first half with 51 seconds remaining in the opening period and the Raiders would take a 40-25 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, Ruffin gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game 20 points when he hit a jumper to make the score 54-34 with 11:53 remaining in the game.
Marietta then scored 18-straight points to get the score to 54-52 and a 20-1 run was capped by a Jason Humphrey scored a layup with 5:17 remaining in the second half to cut the Raiders lead to one at 55-54.
Marietta would take its first lead of the game, 62-61, on a four-point play when Hammond hit a three-pointer and ensuing free throw with with 3:31 remaining in the second half.
Sophomore Stevie Griffin (Canton/Massillon Jackson) tied the game at 66 when he scored a layup with 15 seconds remaining in the game.
The Pioneers would have a chance to win the game but their shot at the buzzer was no good sending the game into overtime.
Martin would score the first points in overtime for the Pioneers and Marietta would go on for the 80-76 victory.
