MARIETTA, Ohio — A thunderous dunk from senior
RaNeal Ewing (Westerville/Dublin Scioto) was the exclamation point on Marietta College's 100-78 win over the University of Mount Union Thursday (Feb. 23) evening in the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals.
The No. 8 ranked Pioneers advance to the OAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday (Feb. 25) against Baldwin Wallace University. Marietta, 23-4 overall, is making its third straight appearance in the title game and fifth in the last seven years. BW is back in the championship game for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. Tip off in Ban Johnson Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.
Mount Union (15-12 overall) came out firing on all cylinders as the Purple Raiders raced out to a 15-point lead. Led by Tommy Stenger, who hit his first four shots including three from downtown, Mount Union was shooting over 70% through the first 10 minutes of the game.
The raucous Ban Johnson crowd helped the Pioneers chip away at the Purple Raider lead. Marietta used a 16-2 run to level the game, 36-36, with 1:49 left in the first half.
A layup from Ewing in the final minute of the period gave Marietta its first lead since scoring the opening basket of the game. But DeAllen Jackson scored on a driving layup to put Mount Union back in front at halftime, 41-40.
Stenger opened the second half with another three-pointer extending the lead to four points. Marietta went on a 19-5 run turning the four-point deficit into 10-point lead with 13:13 left in the game. Ewing drained a three-pointer and hit a pair of free throws for the final five points of the run.
A triple from Jackson cut the Pioneer lead to three, 75-72, with just under six minutes left on the clock. But once again, Marietta responded with a 19-2 run to push the lead back into double digits.
Marietta led by as many as 22 points down the stretch. Senior
Tyler Irish (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail) hit a jumper for MC's 100th point. It's the seventh time this season Marietta has hit the century mark.
Ewing finished with a career-high 29 points connecting on 11-of-16 shots including four three-pointers.
A.J. Edwards (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while
Keith Richardson (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) added 16 points.
Jack Thome (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) came off the bench to score 12 points.
Jackson and Stenger both scored 17 points for the Purple Raiders. Stenger finished with five three-pointers, five rebounds and four assists. Thomas Mason added 13 points and Nathan Bower-Malone had 10 points.
For the game, Marietta shot 60.0% (36-of-60) from the floor, 52.6% (10-of-19) from behind the arc and 81.8% (18-of-22) at the free throw line. Mount Union was 28-of-60 (46.7%) from the floor, 10-of-22 (45.5%) from three-point range and 12-of-20 (60.0%) at the line.
Marietta edged the Purple Raiders on the glass, 32-31. The Pioneers forced 12 Mount Union turnovers, while committing just six. Marietta's bench outscored Mount Union's 46-18.
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.
