MARIETTA, Ohio – Up only two at the half (37-35), Head Coach Jon VanderWal's number six ranked Pioneers used a huge second half to run away with from the visiting Methodist University (N.C.) Monarchs by the score of 92-69 in the opening game of the 41st annual Marietta Shrine Tournament. The win puts the Pioneers at 2-0 on the season while Methodist falls to 0-2. [Box Score]

“We are getting better,” said VanderWal. “We didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half, but still managed to have a two-point lead at halftime.”

The Monarchs gave the Pioneers all they could handle through the first half of play. Methodist led by seven early on, 15-8, with 13:54 to play in the first half. The Pioneers chipped away slowly and managed to take its first lead 20-19 with 9:30 to play before intermission. The teams would trade the lead back and forth for the next few minutes until Marietta led by five, 30-25 with 5:20 left to play before halftime. Methodist out scored Marietta 10-7 in final five minutes of the half to trail by only two, 37-35 a the break.

The second half proved to be much different as Marietta upped the pace to take Methodist off of its game. The Pioneer lead quickly escalated to 15 points, 55-40, just five minutes into the second half. Methodist fought back however; cutting the lead back down to seven at 61-54 with 11:45 to play in regulation. That's as close the Monarchs would get as Marietta answered with a 15-2 run to push the lead to 20 with 7:24 to play. The lead extended to as much as 26 before Marietta cruised down the stretch to a 23-point, 92-69 win.

“We talked at halftime about being a little soft,” said VanderWal. “We reiterated our game plan and came out in the second half with extreme pressure and intensity on defense. Our pressure definitely wore them down.”

Junior guard #Scott Kimmey (Olmsted Falls/Olmsted Falls)# came off the bench to explode for a game-high 27 point performance in the Pioneers home opener. The 27-point night was a career-high for Kimmey. Senior post #Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood)# added 17 points including a game-high four steals. Sophomore guard #Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius)# added 13 points and three steals for Marietta while junior post #J.J. Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington)# led Marietta with eight rebounds to go along with seven points.

Kyle Combs led four Methodist double-digit scorers with 15 points including a game-high 11 rebounds. Mark Jernigan added 14 points while James Whitehead scored 14. Bryan Hockaday added 12 points and six boards in the loss.

The Pioneers finished the game shooting 40.4% (36-of-89) from the field, 21.6% (8-of-37) from three and 85.7% (12-of-14) from the free throw line. Methodist finished the game shooting 47.3% (26-of-55) from the field, 54.5% (6-of-11) from behind the arc and 73.3% (11-of-15) from the free throw line. Methodist held a slim edge on the boards 44-42 but the Pioneer defense forced 28 turnovers to its seven.

Methodist will square off against Kenyon College on Saturday (Nov. 19) afternoon at 4 p.m. in game two of the Shrine Tournament. Marietta will then play Kenyon on Sunday (Nov. 20) at 4 p.m. in the three-team classic.