LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Four Pioneers scored in double figures as No. 8 Marietta College defeated the University of Chicago, 78-65, Tuesday (Dec. 28) in the opening game of the 11th annual D3hoops.com Classic. Marietta improves to 7-2 on the season, while Chicago falls to 5-5 overall.
"Any win after a long break and a flight across the country is a really good win," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "Mason (Lydic) really stepped up and made a bunch of plays to get us going. We have some things to clean up, but we will definitely take the win against a quality opponent."
With their final game before Christmas canceled due to COVID issues at John Carroll, the Pioneers were playing for the first time in two weeks. Marietta will conclude its Vegas trip with a game against Transylvania University on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Pioneers were originally scheduled to play No. 7 University of Saint Joseph, but the Blue Jays had to pull out of the Classic due to COVID.
Jason Ellis (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) scored the first two points of the game as the Pioneers never trailed against the Maroons. Chicago tied the game at 2-2, but
Mason Lydic (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Woodridge) answered with the first of his five three-pointers to give Marietta the lead for good.
Lydic hit 5-of-6 shots from behind the arc and led all scorers with 21 points.
Cooper Parrott (Willard, Ohio/Willard) sank four three-pointers scoring 15 points off the bench. Ellis finished with 13 points and seven assists, while
Tim Kreeger (Delphos, Ohio/Delphos St. Johns) chipped in with 12 points.
A three-pointer from Parrott capped a 6-0 run and gave Marietta a 15-point lead, 38-23, with a little over five minutes left in the first half. Chicago battled back with a 12-3 run of its own cutting the deficit to six, 41-35, with 2:11 left in the period. The Pioneers scored the final two points of the half and led 43-35 at the intermission.
Marietta gradually extended the lead in the second half. A layup from Parrott with 8:14 left in the game gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the day, 70-50.
Once again, Chicago refused to go quietly and scored the next 11 points of the game. Two free throws from Jackson Piotrowski capped the Maroon spurt and made it 70-61 with 5:28 left on the clock.
Four points from Ellis and four from Kreeger over the next two minutes put the game out of reach, 78-62. A Chicago three-pointer was the only points scored in the final three-plus minutes of the game.
Brandon Beckman led Chicago with 17 points. Bryce Hopkins added 16 points and six rebounds. Ryan Martin grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
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.
