MARIETTA, Ohio —
Trenton Collins (Newark, Ohio/Utica) poured in a career-high 31 points leading Marietta College to a 94-82 season opening win over Bethany College Saturday (Nov. 7) evening in Ban Johnson Arena.
Collins was one of three Pioneers in double figures as
Mason Wisniewski (Farmington Hills, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Marys) and
Toma Gasaj (Novi, Mich./Spring Valley) both posted double-doubles in the game. Wisniewski finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Gasaj had 15 points and 12 boards.
Marietta broke a 10-10 tie with seven straight points midway through the first half. A layup from Collins coupled with an old-fashioned three-point play from Gasaj and a jumper from
Jonny Kambani (Solon, Ohio/Solon) accounted for the Pioneer run.
A three-pointer from
Luke Powell (St. Marys, W.Va./St. Marys) at the 5:33 mark pushed the Marietta lead to 11 points, 33-22. The Pioneers led by as many as 13 points in the opening period and took an 8-point lead, 41-33, into halftime.
A dunk from Wisniewski with 16:30 left in the game made it a 12-point game, 52-40. The Bison refused to go away and scored nine straight points to get within three, 52-49. Marietta regrouped and pushed the margin back into double digits, 67-56, with 8:35 left on the clock.
Bethany whittled away at the Marietta lead and had a chance to tie the game. Jayden Jackson went to the line for a pair of free throws with the Bison trailing 75-73. He made the first but missed the second.
Marietta scored the next 12 points to put the game away. Collins scored the first seven points of the run and Wisniewski added the final four with a pair of layups.
Jackson led Bethany with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Jaden Stewart had 25 points and nine boards, while Semaj Marshall added 19 points.
Marietta hosts the annual Shrine Tournament next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 13-14). The Pioneers play Waynesburg on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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 X and Instagram.
