MARIETTA, Ohio – For the second time in three seasons the Marietta College men's basketball team has its dancing shoes on in March. The Pioneers open play in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (March 2) at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
A quick look at the two teams reveals a lot of similarities. Both teams are sporting a 20-7 overall record heading into the tournament. Both teams were the No. 2 seed in their respective conference tournaments. Both teams won their conference tournaments earning automatics berths into the Big Dance.
“Dickinson is a talented group and they're a lot like us,” Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. “They have some length on us so we're going to have to be the more physical, more explosive team.”
This will be the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Pioneers made their NCAA post-season debut in 1975 and then advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2011.
The Pioneers will be counting on their edge in experience to help overcome the Red Devils' home court advantage. The core of this year's team was a part of the 2011 post-season run and its doubtful that any team in the country can match Marietta's experience in close games and overtime.
Twelve of Marietta's games this season were decided by less than 10 points and the Pioneers are 9-3 in those games. In addition, the Pioneers are 4-1 in overtime games this winter including the triple overtime thriller in the Ohio Athletic Conference semifinals and the come from behind overtime victory in the OAC title game.
VanderWall will likely start four seniors and a junior against Dickinson. Seniors
Jason Humphrey (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) and
Scott Kimmey (Olmsted Falls/Olmsted Falls) have started all 27 games this season, while senior
J.J. Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington) and junior point guard
Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) have started all but one. Senior
Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield) has made 13 consecutive starts since breaking into the starting lineup in mid-January.
Martin, a first team All-OAC pick, leads the Pioneers in scoring and rebounding. His 17.1 points per game is second in the OAC, while his 7.1 rebounds ranks fourth. An honorable mention All-OAC selection, Hammond is averaging 11.0 ppg and has dished out a team-best 79 assists.
Owens, also an honorable mention All-OAC honoree, is currently averaging 9.6 points per outing and leads the OAC in three-point shooting. Owens' 48.7% shooting percentage behind the arc is tops in the league, while his 2.1 three-pointers per game ranks second.
Humphrey is averaging 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He is dangerous on the offensive glass ranking fourth in the OAC in offensive rebounds. Kimmey doesn't get a lot of the attention, but he is dangerous from the perimeter. He is averaging 5.2 points and is shooting 46.4% from long range.
Off the bench, the Pioneers will look to senior
Tyler Worstell (Prospect/Franklin Heights), junior
Matt Napier (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) and sophomores
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville/Northwestern) and
Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union). Worstell averages nearly 22 minutes per game and has dished out 76 assists to go along with his 6.5 points per game.
Napier and Stephenson give Marietta depth in the post. Stephenson is averaging 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds, while Napier adds 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per outing to the mix. McKean is a dangerous threat from long range. He is averaging 7.6 points and is shooting 38.0% from behind the arc.
Dickinson, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Alan Seretti, will counter with a pair of first team All-Centennial Conference players. 6-foot-7, sophomore forward Gerry Wixted and 6-foot, junior point guard Adam Honig are the Red Devils' top two scorers.
Wixted enters the NCAA Tournament averaging 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He is deadly at the free throw line converting 83.6% of his attempts and is among the conference leaders in blocked shots with 42 rejections.
Honig is currently averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 boards. He directs the offense and has amassed 71 assists this winter. Honig is a defensive weapon as well having recorded a team-best 40 steals.
In addition to earning first team all-conference honors, both Wixted and Honig recorded back-to-back double-doubles in Dickinson's two Centennial Conference Tournament victories.
Rounding our Dickinson's probable starting lineup will be senior Chris Barsanti, junior Tucker Landy and sophomore Chris Cox. Barsanti is averaging 8.8 points and leads the Red Devils with an 89.3% free throw shooting percentage. He doesn't shoot the three often, but when he does it usually goes in as he is a 52.0% long-range shooter.
Landy also averages 8.8 points, while Cox is averaging 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
The winner will advance to the second round on Saturday (March 9) and will face the winner of the College of Wooster vs. Penn State-Behrend game. Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
