MARIETTA, Ohio — The smile on Jon VanderWal's face said it all.

Even though VanderWal has redefined what Marietta College basketball means, and has added tripled the number of NCAA Tournament appearances in the program's history, there was still something else he wanted to add to the resume — a big win over Wooster.

The Pioneers (27-3) accomplished that feat with a thrilling 88-86 victory over the Fighting Scots in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Friday night.

"I have a lot of respect for Wooster and for Coach (Steve) Moore. They are the model program for this region," VanderWal said. "We feel like we have built a program that can compete with what Wooster has. I'd be lying if I didn't say we were trying to knock them off tonight. I guess I can say that since we won, but it is special."

While Marietta led by as many as 10 points in the second half, the Pioneers didn't seal their first win over the Fighting Scots (23-7) since the 1985-86 season until Dan Fanelly's three-point basket bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

"From where I was sitting … I thought it might fall," said VanderWal, who is now 1-2 against Wooster.

Senior Garrett Stephenson (West Milton/Milton-Union), who guarded the sophomore for a big part of the game, was surprised the 6-foot-7 center took the game's final shot.

"He's a heck of a player," Stephenson said. "He'd be the last person I'd expect to shoot the three, but I'm glad he did."

Moore said he had confidence in Fanelly and since he was the open guy, it was the right shot to take.

"Dan Fanelly was wide open and had a good look. We would take that same shot every time," he said. "Our guys played well tonight, but Marietta's played well too."

Over the final 4:35 in the game, Wooster whittled Marietta's five-point lead to nothing. A big reason why was the outside shooting of Spencer Williams, Evan Pannell and Xavier Brown.

Down the stretch, though, every time the Scots made a big basket Marietta's RaNeal Ewing (Westerville/Dublin Scioto) was there to give the Pioneers another lead. In the final 1:34, Ewing was part of every Marietta score — three layups and an assist to Stephenson.

His biggest shot came with 4.6 seconds remaining. With the game tied at 86, Marietta had the ball with 22 seconds left. Ewing waited for time to run down when he came off a screen by Stephenson and hit a floater in the lane for an 88-86 lead.

"I went to make a play for the team," said Ewing, who finished with a game-high 24 points. "It was very close and Wooster is a very good team. They like to press and I knew I could get by them."

VanderWal said he "warned" Ewing not to come off the screen and take a long jumper, but he also wanted him to run off more time.

"We wanted to score with only 1 or 2 seconds remaining, but RaNeal's so fast he scored quick," VanderWal said. "I told him we were going to need a big game from him tonight. He sure did finish it."

Wooster senior Evan Pannell did everything he could to not let his career end in Marietta. He finished with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists.

"This was definitely a fun game to play in, and it's why I came to Wooster," he said. "Both teams came out to play. It was physical and the refs let you play a little more. It was the kind of game you get this time of the season."

Stephenson finished with 19 points and five rebounds, but he sat out more than 12 minutes of the first half in foul trouble. He said he made it a point to not get down and stay ready for when he got back on the court.

"I wasn't worried about stats," he said. "I just wanted to get myself warm and ready."

In his absence, Eddy Grenert (Wooster/Triway) and Andy Stegman (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) picked up the slack in the post. Grenert finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was also 6-of-6 from the foul line. Stegman added nine points and three rebounds.

One night after breaking the school record with 21 three-pointers, the Pioneers managed just four.

"You have to give Wooster's defense credit for that," VanderWal said.

Wooster, however, was able to stick in the game because the Scots hit 11-of-29 three-pointers. Xavier Brown, who made two 3s, had 16 points, while Spencer Williams added 11. Fanelly had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Milt Davis had 10 points.

Marietta will face St. Olaf on March 13 at a site to be announced.