DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — No. 17 ranked Wesleyan University outplayed No. 4 Marietta College Wednesday (Dec. 21) evening in the Daytona Beach Shootout. The Cardinals posted a convincing 81-65 win to remain perfect on the season at 11-0 overall. The loss drops Marietta to 8-2 overall.
Turnovers proved costly for the Pioneers as Marietta committed 22 in the game resulting in 23 Wesleyan points. It was the most turnovers in a game for Marietta in over two years.
The first half was a back and forth affair as neither team led by more than six points through the first 18 minutes of play.
A.J. Edwards (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) sank a three-pointer midway through the period to give Marietta its biggest lead of the night, 20-14.
Wesleyan answered with 11-straight points to go in front, 25-20, at the 6:00 minute mark. The Cardinals pushed their lead to 10 points, 36-26, with a minute remaining and led 36-28 at halftime.
Marietta regrouped at halftime.
Mel Shuler (Columbus, Ohio/Tree of Life Christian) drained a trey to cut the deficit to one, 46-45, five minutes into the second half. Wesleyan clung to a small lead until a layup from
Keith Richardson (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) at 6:56 tied the game, 60-60.
Following a Wesleyan turnover, Edwards was fouled and made one of two free throws to put the Pioneers in front for the first time since the 9:35 mark of the first half.
Wesleyan grabbed the momentum right back after forcing Marietta to turn the ball over on its next two possessions. Richardson was then whistled for a costly technical foul, which was also his fifth personal foul. After a third Pioneer turnover, Marietta saw its one-point lead turn into a six-point deficit in less than two minutes of play.
The Cardinal defense continued to clamp down on the Pioneers. Wesleyan limited Marietta to just four points in the final 6:21 of the game.
Dillon Young (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and
Kyle Dixon (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) each scored 16 points to lead the Pioneers. Edwards finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Joseph Kuo led Wesleyan with 21 points. Harry Rafferty finished with 19 points, while Kevin O'Brien grabbed a game-high nine boards.
For the game, Marietta shot 37.7% (23-of-61) from the floor, 28.6% (8-of-28) from three-point range and 73.3% (11-of-15) at the free throw line. Wesleyan was 29-of-65 (44.6%) from the floor, 5-of-17 (29.4%) behind the arc and 18-of-33 (54.5%) from the line.
The Cardinals outrebounded Marietta, 43-38. Wesleyan committed 16 turnovers to MC's 22.
The Pioneers are right back in action on Thursday (Dec. 22) against No. 2 ranked Whitman College. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Marietta's final nonconference game of the season.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
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