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 (Cleveland/St. Ignatius). Hammond averaged 11.1 points and 3.0 assists per game last season. Junior wing
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville, Ohio/Northwestern), who started nine games a year ago, averaged 7.3 points, while junior post
Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union) 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.
Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
