MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College had its hands full with an athletic Bethany College team as the No. 17-ranked Pioneers finally pulled away for an 87-71 win Sunday (Nov. 27) evening in Ban Johnson Arena.
Marietta improves to 5-0 on the season. Bethany suffers its first loss and slips to 3-1 overall.
Keith Richardson (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) poured in a career-high 28 points to lead the Pioneer attach. Richardson hit 12-of-19 shots, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, to keep Marietta in front most of the game.
Anthony Wallace (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) had 16 points and eight rebounds, while
A.J. Edwards (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) overcame a slow start to finish with 15 points and 10 boards.
The Bison caused Marietta problems inside all night blocking 10 Pioneer shots. Antonio Rudolph swatted away four MC attempts to go along with 13 points. Calique Jones notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Liam Davis and Chris Harris each added 10 points.
The Pioneers used a 12-2 run early in the first half to break a 9-9 tie and go in front by 10 points, 21-11, with 10:54 left in the period. Jones drained a trey to cap a 12-0 Bethany run putting the Bison on top, 23-21, at the 7:22 mark.
Marietta scored the final six points of the half to close out on an 11-2 run. The Pioneers took a 41-33 advantage into halftime.
With Richardson making plays outside and Edwards coming alive in the paint in the second half, Marietta finally took control of the game midway through the period. Bethany cut the lead to single digits, 61-52, for the final time at the 11:12 mark.
Edwards scored seven of Marietta's next nine points as the lead extended to 16 points, 70-54, with 8:55 to go in the game. The Pioneers would push the margin over 20 points, 86-64, before head coach
Jon VanderWal cleared his bench.
For the game, Marietta shot 42.0% (34-of-81) from the floor, 42.1% (8-of-19) from three-point range and 73.3% (11 of -15) from the free throw line. Bethany finished 28-of-66 (42.4%) from the floor, 7-of-23 (30.4%) from behind the arc and 8-of-10 (80.8%) at the line.
Marietta dominated the glass outrebounding the Bison 53-35, including a 21-6 edge on the offensive boards. Bethany turned the ball over 14 times, while the Pioneers committed 12 turnovers.
Marietta opens Ohio Athletic Conference play at Baldwin Wallace University next Saturday (Dec. 3). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
