MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College opened the season with a convincing 73-54 victory over visiting Hanover College Saturday (Nov. 15) in the 44th annual Marietta Shrine Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports. Four Pioneers scored in double figures as Marietta downed the preseason favorite to win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
A.J. Ireland (Carroll/Bloom-Carroll) and
Keith Richardson (Englewood/Northmont) each scored 12 points, while
Luis Garcia (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) and
Andy Stegman (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) chipped in with 10 points apiece.
Three-pointers from Ireland and
Eddy Grenert (Wooster/Triway) gave Marietta an early 6-0 lead. The Pioneers never relinquished the lead and pushed the margin to as many as 22 points midway through the second half.
Marietta took advantage of a 9-2 run in the first half to open a double-digit lead.
Tyler Irish (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail) drained a trey to cap the run and give the Pioneers a 23-11 lead with 8:57 left in the opening period. MC took a 36-23 lead into halftime.
Grenert led a dominating performance on the boards as Marietta outrebounded Hanover 48-26, which resulted in 19 second chance points for the Pioneers. Grenert finished with 12 rebounds including five on the offensive glass.
Corey Muchmore paced Hanover with 15 points. V.J. Billups added 10 points and Kyle James finished with nine. Jacob Steinhart and Desmond Marks each pulled down five rebounds.
The Pioneers shot 46.7% (28-of-60) from the floor, 37.5% (9-of-24) from three-point range and 66.7% (8-of-12) at the line. Hanover was 23-of-59 (39.0%) from the floor, 5-of-20 (25.0%) behind the arc and 3-of-6 (50.0%) at the line.
In the opening game of the Shrine Tournament, Denison University defeated Saint Vincent College by the score of 58-52. Bret Woolard led Denison with 24 points, while Pat Jones scored 20 points for Saint Vincent.
Marietta plays Saint Vincent Sunday (Nov. 16) at 5:00 p.m. 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 and Instagram.
