MARIETTA, Ohio — The No. 22 ranked Marietta College men's basketball team will face No. 25 Oswego State Friday (March 8) evening in the NCAA Division III Tournament Sweet 16 on the campus of Augustana College. Tip off in Carver Arena is set for 6:30 p.m. (Eastern).
This is the fourth trip to the Sweet 16 for the Pioneers. Marietta advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 2010, 2014 and 2017. The 2014 team is the only one in program history to win its Sweet 16 game and move on to the Elite Eight.
"I am really happy with our mindset right now. This past weekend in the first two rounds our guys were focused and really dialed in. We had better energy than we did to end the regular season," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "Our guys are excited for this opportunity and they did everything they could to make the most it. I couldn't be prouder of our approach, our attitude and our focus and we are hoping to duplicate that this weekend."
The Pioneers are currently 22-6 overall after defeating Maryville, 101-77, and Arcadia, 88-76, in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. VanderWal, in his twelfth season at Marietta, is 233-103 at the helm and has directed the Pioneers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances.
Marietta features a balanced attack and a deep bench with 12 players averaging double-digit minutes this season. Senior
Anthony Wallace (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) leads the Pioneers in scoring averaging 11.7 points per game. Sophomore
Jason Ellis (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) and senior
Kyle Dixon (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) are in double figures averaging 10.7 and 10.1 points, respectively. Four other Pioneers average 7.9 ppg or higher.
On the glass, Dixon leads the way with 5.6 rebounds per outing. Junior
Caleb Hoyng (Celina, Ohio/Celina) and sophomore
Tim Kreeger (Delphos, Ohio/Delphos St. Johns) are close behind averaging 5.5 and 5.0 caroms per night.
Oswego State is under the direction of head coach Jason Leone. The State University of New York Athletic Conference Coach of the Year is in his eighth season with the Lakers and has a record of 162-66.
The Lakers won the SUNYAC regular season and tournament championships. Oswego downed Salem State, 72-59, and Baldwin Wallace, 75-71, in overtime in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
While the Pioneers rely on their depth, Oswego State typically only goes 7-8 deep in its rotation. Four of the starting five have started every game this season, while the fifth started all but one game.
The Lakers are led by senior center Tyler Pierre. The 6-foot-6 big man averages 13.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He was named MVP of the SUNYAC Tournament and earned first team all-conference honors.
Complimenting Pierre in the paint if 6-foot-5 junior forward Joe Sullivan. Sullivan averages 10.7 points and 7.6 boards and earned all-tournament honors in the SUNYAC Tournament.
Rounding out the Laker starting five will be senior Quinn Carey, who averages 11.1 points and 2.7 rebounds; junior Brandon Gartland (13.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg); and sophomore first team All-SUNYAC guard Liam Sanborn (12.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg).
"When you get this far in the tournament, you have to be playing your best basketball. We have to be solid in all three phases," VanderWal said. "We have to be really good defensively, were going to have to continue be really good on the glass and then were going to have to make some shots. These games are going to be a couple of possession games and we will have to make plays down the stretch."
No. 3 ranked Augustana (26-3) will face fellow College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe Wheaton College (21-8) in the other Sweet 16 game. Augustana beat Wheaton twice in the regular season.
Augustana head coach Grey Giovanine is in his 20th season with the Vikings and has amassed a career record of 415-141. Augustana defeated Aurora, 93-67, and Capital, 85-79, in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Wheaton is under the direction of head coach Mike Schauer who is in his tenth season with the Thunder and has a record of 168-104. Wheaton downed Hanover, 84-73, and Wooster, 78-70, in the first two rounds.
The two winners will meet on Saturday (March 9) in the Elite Eight at 8 p.m. (Eastern) for a trip to the Final Four in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on March 15-16.
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.
