MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College nailed four three-pointers in the first three minutes of the game and never looked back. The Pioneers defeated Capital University by the score of 93-72 Wednesday (Dec. 6) evening in Ban Johnson arena. Marietta improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Capital falls to 7-2 on the season and 1-1 in the conference.
"We got off to a hot start which was nice to see after we shot so poorly at Heidelberg," Marietta head Coach
Jon VanderWal said. "Coach Goodwin does a great job with his team. We knew there would be some runs from Capital, but we were able to wear them down and go on some runs of our own."
After trailing 14-4 in the opening minutes, the Comets battle back and took their lone lead of the game, 17-16, on a jumper from Dom Moegerle at the 13:45 mark of the first half. The lead was short-lived as an
Ethan Andersen (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) layup on the ensuing Pioneer possession gave Marietta the lead for good.
Capital stayed close until a 9-0 Pioneer run pushed the margin back into double figures, 39-28, with 3:46 left in the first half. A jumper from
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) just before the buzzer gave Marietta its biggest lead of the period, 47-31, heading into halftime.
The teams traded baskets in the first several minutes of the second half. A jumper from
Jac Alexander (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) extended the Marietta lead to 20 points, 55-35. The margin remained in the twenties for most of the period. Xavier Lovenson drained a three-pointer with 3:52 left in the game giving Marietta its biggest lead of the night, 89-63.
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) led four Pioneers in double figures with 16 points. He also grabbed four rebounds. Waganfeald had 15 points and Alexander finished with 14 points and six assists.
David Sanford (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) chipped in with 10 points.
Baden Forup was the lone Comet in double figures with 22 points. He also led Capital with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. McKane Finkenbine and Justin Nixon each scored eight points.
Marietta travels to Wilmington College on Saturday (Dec. 9) for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
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 X and Instagram.
