MARIETTA, Ohio — Four Pioneers scored in double figures as No. 8 ranked Marietta College defeated visiting Capital University 77-63 Wednesday (Feb. 3) in Ban Johnson Arena. Marietta pushed its winning streak to 10 in a row and is 18-2 overall and 12-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Crusaders move to 10-10 on the season and 6-7 in the OAC.
Post player
A.J. Edwards (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) was Marietta's leading scorer with 16 points hitting all seven of his shots from the floor.
Dillon Young (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm),
Luis Garcia (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) and
Eddy Grenert (Wooster, Ohio/Triway) all finished with 10 points. Grenert had a team-high six rebounds, while Young dished out six assists and had four steals.
Capital's Mark Minch led all scorers with 23 points. He also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Austin Schreck had 12 points and six boards, while Curt Geise finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Marietta was on fire in the first half sinking 66.7% from the floor including five three-pointers. The Pioneers' offense cooled slightly in the second half shooting 50.0% from the floor.
Back to back three-pointers from
Kyle Dixon (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) and
Jack Thome (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) capped a 10-0 run early on that staked Marietta to an 18-7 lead. The lead ballooned to as many as 19 points in the first half and the Pioneers took a 17-point advantage, 42-25, into halftime.
A.J. Ireland (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll) scored an old-fashioned three-point play with 11:12 left in the game extending the margin to 25 points, 58-33. The Crusaders gradually chipped away at the lead and closed to within seven, 67-60, at the 3:37 mark.
Marietta answered with seven straight points, including five from Grenert, to push the lead back to 14 points with just over two minutes left. Grenert capped the run with a three-pointer.
For the game, Marietta shot 58.2% (32-of-55) from the floor, 39.1% (9-of-23) from three-point range and 57.1% (4-of-7) from the line. The Crusaders were 27-of-65 (41.5%) from the floor, 4-of-17 (23.5%) behind the arc and 5-of-10 (50.0%) at the line.
Capital edged the Pioneers on the glass, 34-33. Marietta committed an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers, while the Crusaders turned the ball over 14 times.
Marietta travels to Wilmington College on Saturday (Feb. 6) for a 3:00 p.m. tip off. 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.
