The Pride, which improves to 7-1 overall, defeated a nationally ranked team for the second-consecutive contest, a first in the seven-year tenure of SC head coach Charlie Brock. SC upset No. 13 Trinity, 77-75, in overtime on Thursday.
The Pride’s bench, which outscored Williams’ reserves, 31-15, was key to the victory. Sophomore forward Damian Farley came off the bench to score 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and senior forward Jason O’Tash added 13 points (4-of-6 field goals) and four rebounds in a reserve role.
Marian led a balanced SC attack that featured five players scoring in double figures. Junior guard Derek Yvon had 16 points and moved into 21st on SC’s all-time scoring list with 1,130 points, and sophomore guard Anthony Pizzo added 13 points. Junior forward Mike DeCesar chipped in with eight points, six boards and six assists.
For the Ephs (8-1), which entered tonight’s game ranked No. 7 nationally in Division III, senior forward Tucker Kain had a game-high 27 points.
The Pride trailed by as many as nine (17-8 at 12:33) in the first half, but used a 16-9 run over the final 6:48 to take a 38-37 lead at intermission. In the second half, SC opened with a 15-6 surge over the first 3:49 and jumped out to a 53-43 lead. Pizzo capped the run with a three-point play at 16:11. Trailing 72-58 with 7:10 left, the Ephs went on an 11-2 run, and Kain’s jumper with 4:27 remaining to cut the Pride’s advantage to five, 74-69. On SC’s next possession, however, Farley made a three-point play to extend the lead to 77-69 with 4:02 on the clock.