MARIETTA, Ohio — Fresh off an upset of No. 8 ranked John Carroll University in the semifinal round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Marietta College will play the University of Mount Union, ranked No. 4 nationally, in the championship game on Saturday (Feb. 25). Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. in Alliance.
The Pioneers (17-10 overall) are going for the sixth OAC Tournament Championship in program history and third in a row. Marietta won the tournament crown in 2010-11, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2020-21, and 2021-22; all under head coach
Jon VanderWal.
Marietta defeated Mount Union, 63-61, in last year's championship game. The Pioneers also defeated Mount Union for the 2012-13 crown, while the Purple Raiders defeated Marietta for the 2014-15 championship.
Mount Union (24-2 overall) won both regular season meetings between the two schools this year. The Purple Raiders defeated Marietta, 73-71, in Alliance. They completed the season sweep with a 77-68 victory in Ban Johnson Arena.
Marietta's probable starting lineup includes senior post players
Brennen Crawford (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kiski School) and
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg), junior wing
Cooper Parrott (Willard, Ohio/Willard), junior Point guard
Jac Alexander (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) and sophomore wing
Lovenson Xavier (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples).
The Pioneer bench includes junior point guard
David Sanford (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield), sophomores
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) and
Ethan Andersen (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) in the post, junior wing
Torin Lochow (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington), sophomore wing
Jack Main (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange), freshman point guard
Jake Singleton (Senecaville, Ohio/Meadowbrook) and freshman win
Jayden Bradshaw (Blanchester, Ohio/Fayetteville-Perry).
Sanford, a second team All-OAC selection, is Marietta's leading scorer averaging 12.3 points per game. He ranks seventh in the OAC in three-pointers with 46 on the season. Parrott also earned second team all-conference honors. He is averaging 11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and ranks fifth in the OAC in three-pointers with 51.
Xavier scored 24 points in the upset of John Carroll and averages 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Alexander had a career-high 26 points in Marietta's quarterfinal round win over Otterbein. He averages 9.3 points and 2.4 assists per game.
Willoughby leads the OAC in offensive rebounds and averages 6.9 boards and 7.9 points per game. Crawford is averaging 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Mount Union will counter with five All-OAC players including the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Junior forward Christian Parker was named Player of the Year after averaging 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and blocking 52 shots. Senior guard Collen Gurley was named to the All-OAC first team averaging 14.6 points and 4.3 rebounds. He dished out 73 assists and drained 59 three-pointers.
Darrell Newsome and Braedon Poole, both fifth-year forwards, and senior guard Jeffrey Mansfield each earned honorable mention All-OAC recognition. Newsome averages 9.9 points and 2.3 rebounds and has 53 three-pointers. He was also named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.
Mansfield is averaging 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, while Poole averages 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing.
The winner of Saturday's championship game receives the OAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
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.
