MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 8 ranked Marietta College men's basketball team took care of business in a 78-56 win over Otterbein University on Wednesday (Dec. 4) inside Ban Johnson Arena. The win improves the Pioneers record to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, while the Cardinals fall to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the OAC.
Otterbein jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as they scored on their first two possessions of the game. Marietta answered with an old fashioned three-point play from
Tim Kreeger (Delphos, Ohio/Delphos St. Johns), and the Pioneers trailed 5-3 two minutes into the game. Marietta took its first lead of the night, 8-5, when
Jake Montgomery (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) knocked down a three pointer with 16 minutes remaining in the opening half.
"Give Otterbein credit they came in ready for a fight," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "They were all over the offensive glass and we just weren't ready for their aggressiveness. We're talented enough that we weathered the storm the first few minutes and kept it at an even score."
The next seven minutes of the half saw the teams trade baskets, and the game was deadlocked at 15 points apiece, with nine minutes to play in the half. The Pioneer points were scored by Karson Synder and
Kyle Matoszkia (Johnstown, Ohio/Johnstown).
Marietta opened up a 12-0 run that saw them grab a 27-15 edge with just over five minutes left in the opening period. The run was highlighted by
Jason Ellis (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) as he poured in six of the 12 points.
The Pioneers closed out the half strong behind scoring from
Christian James (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) and Matoszkia. James notched a pair of three pointers late in the half, and Matoszkia made a pair of layups. Marietta entered the intermission ahead, 39-24.
The second half got off to a sluggish start, but the Pioneers maintained their double-digit advantage behind four points from Kreeger. Marietta held a 46-28 edge. The Cardinals knocked down a pair of fouls shots before back to back buckets from Matoszkia and
Jalen Greiser (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) forced an Otterbein timeout, with the Pioneers on top 54-30 and 12 minutes to play in the game.
Out of the break, a layup from Ellis and a jumper from Snyder forced a quick Cardinal timeout. The teams swapped baskets and a three pointer from
Mike Hall (Belpre, Ohio/Warren Local) put Marietta on top 65-37 with seven and a half minutes left in the game.
The Pioneers closed out the game over the final five minutes. Marietta scored timely buckets from Montgomery, Matoszkia, and
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) to maintain their 25-point margin. The Pioneers won 78-56.
The Marietta offense was led by Matoszkia as he scored 12 points, on 5-8 shooting from the field. Kreeger and James each pitched in with 11 points, and Kreeger was big on the offensive glass with four offensive rebounds.
Marietta will return to the court Saturday (Dec. 7) when they host John Carroll University, with tip off scheduled 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.
