All-Tournament Team
Chris Holmes - Earlham College
Wesley Russell - Ohio Christian University
Jessie Jenkins - Piedmont College
Alton Honors II - Piedmont College
A.J. Davis - Marietta College
Cliff Rose Most Valuable Player
Tyler Hammond - Marietta College
MARIETTA, Ohio – Marietta College scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back as the Pioneer men’s basketball team defeated Piedmont College (Ga.) 79-58 Saturday (Nov. 16) in the championship game of the 43rd annual Marietta Shrine Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports.
The Pioneers (2-0 overall) have won five of the seven Shrine titles in the Jon VanderWal era. Senior Tyler Hammond became the 22nd Pioneer to earn the Cliff Rose Most Valuable Player Award. Betty Rose, Cliff’s wife, presented Hammond with the MVP award.
Piedmont kept the game close for most of the first half. The Lions trailed by two, 18-16, with 7:31 left in the opening period. But the Pioneers went on a 19-4 run over the next five minutes to push the lead to 17 points, 37-20. Marietta took a 37-21 lead into halftime.
The Lions couldn’t get any closer than 12 points, 39-27, in the second half. Marietta pushed the lead to as many as 24 points, 72-48, on a pair of Hammond free throws with 4:08 left in the game.
Hammond finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. For the tournament he had 21 points, 11 boards and dished out 16 assists. Junior A.J. Davis added 11 points. Davis earned all-tournament team honors after scoring 25 points in the two games.
Sophomore post player Eddy Grenert came off the bench to score 13 points with four rebounds and two blocked shots. Junior Andy Dollman added nine points, while Brennan McKean and RaNeal Ewing each had eight points.
Alton Honors and Jessie Jenkins represented Piedmont on the all-tournament team. Honors led the Lions with 13 points and Jenkins finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Marietta outrebounded Piedmont by one, 47-46, and forced the Lions to turn the ball over 18 times. The Pioneers had eight turnovers.
For the game, the Pioneers hit 28-of-70 (40.0%) from the floor, 4-of-21 (19.0%) behind the arc and 19-of-22 (86.4%) at the free throw line. Piedmont was 18-of-60 (30.0%) from the floor, 8-of-21 (38.1%) from three-point range and 14-of-24 (58.3%) at the line.
Piedmont downs Earlham 66-61 in Shrine opener
MARIETTA Ohio – Piedmont College (Ga.) downed Earlham College (Ind.) 66-61 in the opening game of the 43rd annual Marietta Shrine Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports. Piedmont will face Marietta in the championship game at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, while Earlham plays Ohio Christian at 5:00 p.m. in the consolation game.
Piedmont (1-0 overall) held the advantage after 20 minutes of play heading into the locker rooms at halftime leading by ten holding Earlham (0-1 overall) to just 22 points on 26% shooting in the first half. However, Earlham would pick it up offensively though in the second half shooting better than 40% in the final 20 minutes to cut the margin down drastically in the closing minutes.
Piedmont, who once opened up a lead as large as ten in the first half, pushed their advantage as high as a dozen with 6:29 remaining in the game. However, from that point forward, Earlham would chip away at the lead cutting it down to just one after a Chris Holmes three-pointer with 3:10 remaining.??Holding on to their lead under duress, Piedmont answered Holmes' strike from downtown with a Safari Smith try from beyond the arc which connected to put PC back up by four at 63-59 with just over 2:00 remaining. The Lions then came up with three stops in Earlham's next four possessions and saw Alton Honors II hit three free throws down the stretch to salt away the 66-61 decision.
Jessie Jenkins notched a double double for Piedmont with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Honors added 11 points, while Brian Edwards chipped in with nine.
Holmes led all scorers with 13 points. Vadial Jett scored 11 points and Kristian Barden finished with seven points and 11 boards. Kirk Doug was a force in the paint blocking seven Piedmont shots and pulling down eight rebounds.
MARIETTA, Ohio – A last second shot by Lawrence Parsons rimmed out as Marietta College held on to defeat Ohio Christina University 84-83 in the first round of the 43rd annual Marietta Shrine Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports Friday (Nov. 15) evening.
The Pioneers (1-0 overall) will face Piedmont College (Ga.) in the championship game at 7:00 p.m. Saturday. Piedmont defeated Earlham College (Ind.) 66-61 in the other first round game. Earlham and Ohio Christian (2-4 overall) will play in the consolation game at 5:00 p.m.
Marietta hit seven of its first eight shots to jump out to an early 19-11 lead. Junior Andy Dollman, who transferred to MC from Glenville State (W.Va.), connected on his first three shots, including a pair of three-pointers, during the early run.
The Pioneers gradually increased the lead and a coast-to-coast slam-dunk from sophomore RaNeal Ewing pushed the margin to 16 points, 54-38, just before halftime. Ewing, a transfer from Otterbein University, finished with 12 points on a 5-for-6 shooting night.
Ohio Christian tried to make an early run in the second half but a pair of three-pointers from junior Brennan McKean slowed the Trailblazers down. A McKean layup with 14:18 left in the game gave Marietta a 17-point lead, 70-53.
A 16-5 OCU run over the next seven minutes put the Trailblazers within striking distance, 75-69, with 7:56 remaining. The Trailblazers continued to chip away at the lead and a pair of free throws from Parsons with 1:56 left knotted the game, 81-81.
Dollman, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half, responded by draining a three-pointer on MC’s next possession making it 84-81 with 1:31 left on the clock. OCU’s Wesley Russell hit two free throws with 1:09 remaining to cut the deficit to one, 84-83. Those were the last points to be scored.
Marietta missed a layup on the ensuing possession and then committed a foul sending OCU to the line with 47 seconds left. The Trailblazers, who had converted 15-of-17 free throws in the game, missed both attempts giving the ball back to the Pioneers.
Senior Tyler Hammond missed a jumper setting up the potential game winning shot for Parsons. OCU pushed the ball up the court and Parsons attempted the mid-range jumper as the buzzer sounded.
Junior A.J. Davis led the Pioneers with 14 points. Dollman added 13 points, while Hammond finished with 11 points and 10 assists. McKean chipped in with 12 points. Junior Andy Stegman grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
Russell led all scorers with 25 points including a 9-of-11 night at the free throw line. J.J. Smith recorded a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Ohio Christian dominated the glass pulling down 42 rebounds to just 23 for the Pioneers. The Trailblazers committed 15 turnovers, while Marietta had only six.
For the game, OCU shot 29-of-58 (50.0%) from the floor, 10-of-28 (35.7%) behind the arc and 15-of-19 (78.9%) at the line. Marietta hit 33-of-64 (51.6%) from the floor, 11-of-23 (47.8%) from three-point range and 7-of-10 (70.0%) at the line.
Pioneers set to host 43rd annual Marietta Shrine Tournament
MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's basketball team opens the regular season this weekend as it hosts the 43rd annual Marietta Shrine Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports. Joining the Pioneers in Ban Johnson Arena will be Earlham College (Ind.), Ohio Christian University and Piedmont College (Ga.).
The tournament tips off on Friday (Nov. 15) at 6:00 p.m. with Earlham and Piedmont. Marietta and Ohio Christian will follow at 8:00 p.m. The tournament wraps up on Saturday (Nov. 16) with the consolation game at 5:00 p.m. and the championship game at 7:00 p.m.
The gates open each day 90 minutes prior to game time. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. All proceeds from the annual event benefit the Marietta Shrine Club.
Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal, in his seventh season with the Pioneers, returns five lettermen and one starter from last year's team that went 20-8, won the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament. With VanderWal at the helm, the Pioneers have won four of the last six Shrine Tournament titles.
Leading the way for the Pioneers is three-time All-OAC point guard Tyler Hammond. Hammond averaged 11.1 points and 3.0 assists per game last season. Junior wing Brennan McKean, who started nine games a year ago, averaged 7.3 points, while junior post Garrett Stephenson averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
The Trailblazers of Ohio Christian enter the tournament with a 2-3 record on the season. OCU, the defending National Christian College Athletic Association national champions, are lead by junior guard Wesley Russell who is averaging 18.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Freshman forward JJ Smith averages 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds, while senior guard Ernie McCoy is scoring 11.6 points per game.
Earlham third-year head coach Marcus Gill must replace four of his top five scorers from a year ago. He will turn to a pair of sophomore guards to lead the Quakers this winter. Jack O'Flaherty was second on the squad last year averaging 12.0 points per game. He led the Quakers with 7- three-pointers. Vadial Jett looks to take on a bigger role after averaging 5.9 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jessie Jenkins, the 2013 D3hoops.com South Region Rookie of the Year, returns to lead the Piedmont Lions. Jenkins averaged 15.9 points and 8.0 rebounds last season. Junior guard Alton Honors was second on the team in scoring with 12.3 per game.
