Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 79, Marietta 74

Junior wing Nick Felhaber (Holland/Toledo St. John's) and freshman guard Seth Clark (Lewis Center/Olentangy) hit 3-pointers as Ohio Wesleyan wiped out a late 3-point deficit, and sophomore post Claude Gray (Avon) scored the final 4 points of the game as Ohio Wesleyan edged 15th-ranked Marietta in the opening round of the Purple and Gold Invitational, hosted by Defiance College on Sunday in Defiance.

Ohio Wesleyan advances to face Defiance, a 50-48 winner over Albion in Sunday's nightcap, in the tournament championship at 7 p.m. on Monday.

Marietta had taken a 70-67 lead on a 3-pointer by Tyler Hammond with 1:52 left in regulation time.

Felhaber answered with a 3-pointer just 9 seconds later, and after A.J. Davis hit the front end of a one-and-one to give Marietta a 71-70 lead with 1:20 to play, it was Clark draining a 3-pointer for a 73-71 Bishop lead with :55 to play.

After a Marietta miss, Clark sank a pair of free throws to stretch the margin to 75-71 with :30 to play, and after another pair of Pioneer 3-pointers misfired, it was Gray with a fast-break lay-in to give Ohio Wesleyan a 77-71 advantage with :13 remaining.

Ohio Wesleyan built an early 12-5 lead behind the scoring of senior wing Dre White (Lima/Bath), but Marietta rallied to take a 20-19 lead on a 3-point play by RaNeal Ewing, and the Pioneers were up, 25-24, after a 3-pointer by Luis Garcia with 8:27 left in the first half.

The Bishops then took off on a 12-0 spree, getting a pair of Felhaber 3-pointers along with 3 points by Gray, to take a 36-25 lead with 3:38 in the period, and Ohio Wesleyan led by a 42-34 count at the half.

Ohio Wesleyan still led, 49-39, on Gray's 3-pointer with 16:38 left in regulation time, but Marietta came back with an 11-2 run that included 3-pointers by Andy Dollman, Garcia, and A.J. Davis, and the Pioneers eventually tied the game at 65 on Andy Stegman's lay-in with 4:29 to play, then took their first lead of the half on Hammond's 3-pointer with 1:52 left.

Gray led the Bishops with a career-high 22 points.  Felhaber and senior post Reuel Rogers (Columbus/Bexley) tallied 13 points apiece, with Rogers grabbing 10 rebounds.  White scored 11 points and led the Bishops with 12 rebounds and 5 assists, and Clark also scored 11 points.

Eddy Grenert led Marietta with 12 points.

Box Score