NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The Marietta College men's basketball team closed out 2024 with a pair of wins in the Music City Classic. The Pioneers defeated the University of Lynchburg by the score of 76-56 Monday (Dec. 30) afternoon. Marietta improves to 7-3 on the season, while Lynchburg falls to 7-4 overall.
"It was a tough, hard-nosed, gritty effort by our guys today. Lynchburg has a really athletic team and presented some challenges, but our guys willed themselves to victory today," Marietta head coach
Jon VanderWal said. "Although we didn't shoot the ball well, we really defended and rebounded the ball well today."
Lynchburg scored first on an old-fashioned three-point play and then added a lyup. Marietta responded with a layup from
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) and a three-pointer from jake Single ton to tie the game, 5-5. The Pioneers never trailed again.
After the fourth tie of the game, 18-18, with 11:35 left in the opening period, Marietta went on a 14-4 run. A three-pointer from
Darius Carden (Ooltewah, Tenn./McMinn Central) capped the run and gave the Pioneers a 10-point lead, 32-22.
De'Ovion Price (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge) hit a jumper in the final seconds of the half giving Marietta a 41-28 lead at halftime.
Marietta scored the first bucket of the second half and maintained its double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game. Another Carden triple pushed the margin to 20 points, 60-40, midway through the second half.
Waganfeald's double-double led the Pioneers. He finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Jayden Bradshaw (Blanchester, Ohio/Fayetteville-Perry) had 12 points and six rebounds, while Price finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Carden and
Jack Main (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) each chipped in with nine points.
Jake Hart led the Hornets with 11 points. Michael Gray and John Henderson each scored 10 points in the game for Lynchburg.
Marietta jumps back into Ohio Athletic Conference play at Heidelberg University on Saturday (Jan. 4) at 3:00 p.m.
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.
