Marietta College Pioneers vs. Wilmington College Quakers
Saturday – February 12th – 4:00PM
Match-Up History & Game Preview with Keys to Victory
February 11, 2022 by C. Jay Prescher
This past Wednesday evening in Alliance, Ohio, any lingering questions about how good this year’s Marietta College Pioneers men’s basketball team might be, were answered with a resounding exclamation point. If you’ve been watching this team gel throughout the season, getting a “W” on Wednesday wasn’t terribly surprising.
However, the thoroughness in which Marietta dominated a very talented Mount Union team was remarkable. A battle, which was rightfully advertised as a colossal match-up between a pair of nationally ranked Division III basketball teams, instantly turned into a romp. Playing on Mount Union’s home court, Marietta College answered the game’s opening bell by throwing a haymaker.
The Pioneers knocked the Purple Raiders to the canvas, and they never let them up. Marietta put 20 of the first 28 points on the scoreboard to lead by a dozen, midway through the first half. By the time these two top-ten D3 Hoops.com-ranked teams headed towards the locker room at halftime, Marietta College held an enormous 25-point advantage.
The Navy Blue never took their foot off the gas. It was a dominating big-game performance. Wednesday’s rout sent a message. This year’s Marietta College men’s basketball team is not only good, they’re very good. This team has the talent to be great. Next up for the Pioneers is another road trip. On Saturday, Marietta’s men’s and women’s teams travel across the state to Wilmington College.
The Lady Pioneers’ game will tip-off at 2:00 pm, with the men to follow at 4:00 pm. Let’s review the men’s match-up history against the Quakers and then preview Saturday’s game. We’ll touch on a couple of keys that will help the Pioneer men bring home their 20th victory of the season. We’ll finish with a list of some individual milestones and school records that this team and its players are working to achieve.
Match-Up History
On the basketball court, Marietta College has experienced overwhelming success against Wilmington College. In the 32 times these OAC teams have met, the Pioneers own 29 victories. Currently, Marietta College is in the middle of a seven-straight winning streak.
Surprisingly, the last time the Pioneers lost to Wilmington was likewise in the middle of February. It was almost three years ago to the day on the Quakers’ home floor. Heading into that 2019 game, the Pioneers were also highly ranked in the D3 Hoops.com poll. Strangely enough, that loss followed the week #9 poll, which is exactly where we are today.
It also came after the Pioneers traveled to Alliance to play Mount Union. However, Marietta headed over to Wilmington College after losing that game to the Purple Raiders. The Pioneers were in the middle of an uncharacteristically rough patch that season. In the February 9, 2019 Pioneer loss, Wilmington pushed out to a 10-point halftime lead and held on to upset the 11th-ranked Pioneers.
Three key Pioneer seniors from this year’s squad, Jason Ellis, Mason Lydic, and Tim Kreeger, saw minutes off the bench in that game. Fellow seniors Lukas Isaly and Ryan Reidy were on that 2018-2019 team, but did not see action. There are enough creepy similarities between that game and the one Saturday afternoon to certainly grab the Pioneers’ attention. However, the current version of the Quakers is not nearly as talented as that 17-8 squad was in 2018-19.
Prior to that surprising upset of an eventual “Elite-8” Pioneer team, Marietta had defeated Wilmington 11 straight times. In the most recent match-up back in January at “The Banjo”, the Pioneers beat the Quakers. That was a somewhat sloppy back-and-forth game for the first 10 minutes. However, Marietta clamped down defensively, holding the Quakers to seven points during the final 10 minutes of the half.
Eventually, the Pioneers hit their stride on offensive, building a 20-point halftime lead. Marietta held off a few second-half Quaker runs to secure a 17-point win. While Saturday’s game doesn’t appear to pose much of a challenge on paper, there are still a couple of things Marietta must do to avoid a devastating upset.
Game Preview & Keys to Victory
After losing to Marietta back in January, Wilmington won two-straight OAC home games. The Quakers used a torrid 11-point run over the last 2 minutes to knock off Muskingum, 65-63. Three days later, Wilmington trounced John Carroll by 21 points. However, Head Coach K.C. Hunt’s squad has experienced some rough sledding since.
At times, the Quakers have played fairly well. Wilmington was in every game, except a pair of lopsided losses to Mount Union and Heidelberg. Most recently, the Quakers went into New Concord and finished off a season sweep against the Muskingum Fighting Muskies. However, at 5-16 and 3-12 in the OAC, Marietta’s biggest opponent tomorrow could be themselves.
• Do Not Beat Yourself
The most dangerous part of tomorrow’s game against a less talented Quaker team will be complacency. While it’s highly unlikely that Head Coach Jon VanderWal allows the Pioneers to be overconfident, stranger things have happened. Wednesday night’s dismantling of the Purple Raiders was yet another high point in a tremendous season.
However, one low bottom at this juncture would prove devastating. If the Marietta College Pioneers play like they’re capable, they are too good to lose to Wilmington College on any court. All they have to do is avoid beating themselves.
• Stick the Defense
The defensive performance during the first half against Mount Union was incredibly impressive. Pioneer defenders cut off passing lanes and forced the Purple Raiders into taking poor shots. Marietta College held a Mount Union team, one which averaged over 80 points per game coming into the contest, to 18 first-half points. The Pioneers’ stifling defense held the Purple Raiders to seven made baskets and a single free throw in the first 20 minutes.
Back in January, the 61 points allowed to the Quakers was the fourth-lowest game total for Marietta this year. One key reason was the smothering defense the Pioneers put on Wilmington’s leading scorer, Jeffery Mansfield. Mansfield nets around 15 per points game, but was only able to score nine points on eight total shots that night. In fact, only 6’7” senior Aaron Collmann was able to hit double-digits, leading Wilmington with 10.
Three other Quakers scored nine points apiece, but the Pioneers’ defense was stellar. A key factor in that Marietta victory revolved around 18 forced turnovers. The Pioneers scored 22 points because of these Quaker mistakes created by a smothering defense. At various points during the year, we’ve seen this same “shutdown defense” by Marietta College. It’s a potent weapon in their arsenal.
The Pioneers’ ability to play stingy defense is as valuable as their outstanding shooting prowess. When they clamp down on defense, it sends an energy jolt throughout the entire team. Many a Pioneer run this season has been triggered by a timely steal, a blocked shot, or an impressive stand at the defensive end of the court. If Marietta College can bring this same level of defensive intensity on Saturday, it will create a tough afternoon for the Quakers offensively.
• School Record & Milestone Watch List
A Marietta College victory over the Quakers on Saturday will bring the Pioneers closer to an impressive conference record. Not since the 1985-1986 Otterbein Cardinals, has a team finished the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season men’s basketball schedule unbeaten. Marietta College is three wins away from attaining that elite status.
A 17th regular season conference victory would tie the record for most wins in OAC history. Multiple teams, including the 2015-16 Pioneers, hold this record. Finishing the 2021-2022 season at 17-0, however, would tie for the best record in OAC history while remaining unbeaten. It would equal the 17-0 mark set by the 1938-1939 College of Wooster Fighting Scots.
There are also some personal milestones and school records ahead for individual Pioneer players as well. Jason Ellis moved into the top-10 all-time scorers’ list at Marietta, passing former Pioneer star Jeff Faloba (1977). The next former Pioneers who the fifth-year senior can pass are Dick Sowar (1966), Matt Hines (2005), and Matt Littlefield (1985). Ellis needs 124 points to become only the seventh Pioneer to surpass 1,500 points in a career.
He would be the first to reach that milestone since Kevin Knab in 2012. Another Pioneer earned his way into the Pioneers’ elite 1,000-point club as well. Wednesday against Mount Union, senior big man Tim Kreeger surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career. Kreeger now has his sights set on climbing past such legendary Marietta College greats as Dave Copeland (1989), Art Clark (1976), Quinny Carter (1980), and Chuck Robinson (1975).
Another record easily within Jason Ellis’ grasp is both the Marietta College records for free throw percentage in a season and for a career. Currently, Ellis is hitting 86.5% for his career.
His mark for the 2021-22 season sits at 93.8% on 48 attempts. If he earns enough chances from the charity stripe to qualify, Ellis could surpass Dillon Young’s 2015-16 mark of 92.1%.
Ellis seems odds-on to eclipse Mitch Miracle’s impressive 1975-79 career mark of 84.5%. In addition, Lukas Isaly’s 89% foul shot accuracy this season and 82.3% career percentage are both within striking distance of the same Pioneers’ record.
Sahmi Willoughby is a long way from surpassing Jason Hayes’ impressive 1993-1994 school record of 309 rebounds in a single season. With 144 total rebounds thus far in 2021-22, Willoughby has a real chance to eclipse 200 total rebounds. However, there’s no record listed in the Pioneers’ basketball archives for offensive boards in a season. Willoughby has secured an astonishing 84 offensive rebounds this year.
The 6’3” junior can realistically surpass the 100 mark, a number that certainly must rank as one of the most impressive totals in Pioneer team history. Earlier this season, Willoughby just missed tying the single-game Pioneer record for rebounds as well. He pulled down 22 boards against Baldwin Wallace back in December, one shy of the Marietta College record of 23 rebounds in a game, a record set by both Adam Rockford and Ed Boyce. Boyce grabbed 23 boards in a single game twice during his Pioneer career.
Marietta College will head across the Buckeye State to Wilmington College tomorrow. They are clearly a more talented basketball team. The Pioneers need to continue to play stifling defense and refuse to beat themselves. If they do, Marietta College should return home to “The Banjo” for Tuesday night’s match with Capital, still unbeaten in the OAC.
Along the way tomorrow, individual Pioneers could inch their way up the list of school records and personal milestones. Wilmington College announced there will be a 50-spectator limit for Saturday’s game. Only those on a preset list will be permitted to attend in-person. However, Pioneer fans can catch all the action streaming live on BOXCAST. Good luck, Pioneers, and let’s see a packed house at “The Banjo” on Tuesday.
The Word Jester is not employed by Marietta College, and is not affiliated with the Ohio Athletic Conference or D3 Hoops.com
The opinions expressed in this article are the exclusive viewpoints of the author.
They do not reflect the points of view, policies, or principles of any outside agency or organization.
