The Marietta men’s basketball team is currently sitting in third place in the OAC after their two wins over Wilmington this weekend. The 3-1 Pioneers went on the road Friday to play the 2-4 Wilmington Quakers basketball team. It was a hard-fought battle that resulted in a 76-70 overtime win for the Pioneers. Following the tough matchup, Wilmington turned around and traveled to Marietta on Saturday for a less competitive game. Marietta soundly beat the Quakers 91-69.
In the first matchup, Coach VanderWal explained that Marietta did not play their best ball but made some tough plays and showed resilience. Marietta only shot 37% from the field and 29% from the three compared to Wilmington’s 40% and 32%. The other team held the advantage the entire night and when the clock hit zero in the second half, the score was identical with 64 points apiece. Pioneers went on a 5-0 run in the extra minutes and were able to maintain the lead for the win.
Jason Ellis led the way for the Pioneers with 16 points, finishing with a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. Freshman Jac Alexander played well off the bench, also pouring in 16 points. The leading efforts from these two and the Marietta supporting cast were enough to take the win and advance the record to 4-1.
After returning home, Wilmington came to visit the following day, hoping to pull out a win in the second matchup. This game had a different story than the first. Marietta shot the ball very well and controlled the game the entire night. Marietta shot close to 50% from the field in comparison to Wilmington’s 40%. The game started off slow and was only a 7-7 game in the first six minutes. However, the game intensified and Marietta closed the first period on a 13-1 run, making the score 40-23 at the halfway mark. Marietta kept the momentum going, resulting in a 91-69 victory.
Sophomore Sahmi Willoughby had a career-high in both points and rebounds as he tallied in a double-double with 13-10. Also playing well was senior Jason Ellis with 15 points, junior Mason Lydic with 11, and sophomore Brett Martin with 10.
Photo by Rebecca Wheeler
After the series sweep, Marietta improved to 5-1, which puts them third in the OAC behind Heidelberg and Mount Union. Marietta has some all-conference talent with their team leaders. Senior Tim Kreeger stands tall in first place in the OAC for field goal percentage shooting 68.6%. Marietta contains two people in the top five for three-point percentage: Mason Lydic at the fourth spot shooting 47.4% and Jason Ellis in fifth hitting at a 46.4% clip. Sophomore Lucas Isaly weighs in at third in the conference on the passing board, averaging 5 assists per game. Marietta’s leading scorer is Jason Ellis as he had managed to put in 96 points through 6 games.
Marietta has a tough matchup this weekend as they have their series with the number two ranked team in the OAC: Mount Union (6-1).
For more information on the team, click here.
By Logan Domer
ltd001@marietta.edu
