MARIETTA – The Wilmington College men's basketball team walked into a raucous environment, and at times got overwhelmed, in losing to No. 3 Marietta 85-75 in Ohio Athletic Conference action at the Ban Johnson Arena.

"We didn't compete for a sustained 40 minutes against a quality basketball team like Marietta," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "We had our moments which we competed physically and fought.

"Like I told the guys in the locker room, it was an experience we needed to go through," Hunt continued. "We have a lot of young guys getting a lot of minutes, and to have them a game and environment of this magnitude will hopefully prepare us for a stretch run."

Despite a slow start, Wilmington trailed by just two following a pair of free throws from senior Ben McGriff. The free throws came courtesy of a Marietta technical foul.

Unfortunately, the technical foul appeared to spark the home team. The Pioneers went on a 20-4 run to take an 18-point halftime lead. Wilmington really couldn't mount much of a challenge in the second half.

"Our shot selection and spacing wasn't very good," said Hunt. "We really settled, didn't attack the paint, and it led to transition points."

Senior Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) led WC with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team was 0-for-8 from three-point range. Johnson added a team-high seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Senior Jonathan Bibbs (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) added 13 points and five rebounds, while senior R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) registered nine points, seven rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Wilmington (9-11 overall, 6-8 OAC) hosts Otterbein 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in OAC action. WC recorded the 69-63 win over the Cardinals on January 21.