Marietta College Pioneers vs. Mount Union Purple Raiders
Wednesday – February 9th – 7:00 pm
Match-Up History & Keys to Victory
February 7, 2022 by C. Jay Prescher
The Marietta College Pioneers men’s basketball team continued to take care of business on Saturday at Ban Johnson Arena. The Navy Blue fought off an upset-minded John Carroll University Blue Streaks team. It was far from easy. Ohio Athletic Conference match-ups rarely are. Year in and year out, the OAC is one of the toughest small college hoops conferences in the nation. On Saturday, talented and determined players from both teams came to play. That’s exactly how this game played out.
To set the stage, the rivalry between the Pioneers and the Blue Streaks is well-documented. In recent seasons, John Carroll has handed Marietta College some bitter defeats. In typical JCU fashion, head coach Pete Moran’s squad rolled into Ban Johnson Arena with an upset on their mind. It took an outstanding effort by the entire Pioneers’ team to defend their currently unbeaten OAC regular season record. A William Wallace floater in the lane gave John Carroll a 55-53 lead at the 10:58 mark in the second half.
Just 17 seconds later, Senior guard Jason Ellis answered with a crowd-igniting three-pointer. Both Ellis and fellow senior Lukas Isaly stayed hot throughout the final 10 minutes, helping the Pioneers to steadily expand their lead to double-digits. Ellis’ game-high 32 points helped him earn his second OAC Player of the Week Honor of the season. Jason now ranks 13th on the Pioneers’ all-time leading scorer list. When the final buzzer sounded at The Banjo, Marietta owned a hard-fought 14-point win. But the margin of victory was in no way indicative of how close this game truly was. Again, it took a complete team effort, both offensively and defensively, to fend off the upset-minded Blue Streaks.
However, in typical OAC fashion, the road ahead for Marietta does not get any easier. Up next for the 18-2, (and probably the D3 Hoops 2nd-ranked Pioneers), is a critical road trip to Alliance, Ohio. Waiting for the Pioneers will be another nationally ranked basketball team. The Mount Union Purple Raiders should enter the new D3 Hoops.com top-10.
Obviously, Mount Union is an extremely talented basketball team. They will also have the “revenge motive” on their minds. Marietta made the Purple Raiders look bad a dominating second-half bombardment back in January. After a back-and-forth first 20 minutes, the Pioneers came out of the locker room after halftime, and buried Mount Union 84-59.
It’s likely, Purple Raiders head coach Mike Fuline has reminded his 18-2 squad of that embarrassing performance. Mount Union has played their way to an identical 18-2 record as the Pioneers because they’re good. Marietta College will need to produce yet another outstanding performance to keep their OAC regular season mark unblemished. Let’s review the recent match-up history between these two elite OAC basketball powers, and look at a couple of key factors that can help the Pioneers bring home another victory.
Match-Up History
Since they finished with back-to-back 9-9 OAC conference regular season records in 2016-17 and 2017-18, Mount Union has finished in the top three each year. Marietta College has been even better.
Since 2016, the Pioneers have finished first, or tied for first, in the final OAC regular season standings every year except one. That was during the 2019-20 season when Marietta College finished second in the standings behind Mount Union.
The season would eventually be cut short in the middle of March Madness. The Purple Raiders ended the OAC regular season with only one-loss. Mount Union stormed through the OAC tournament as well. The Purples Raiders ultimately had a realistic run towards a possible national title shutdown in the middle of the NCAA DIII Championship. They finished the year on a 19-game winning streak.
Last year, Mount Union ended the OAC-only schedule at 8-4. Half of those four losses came at the hands of the Pioneers. Wednesday night up in Alliance, Marietta will be looking to secure a second-straight season sweep over the Purple Raiders. It’s going to be a fight. Here are a couple of keys that can help Marietta College stay on course, and inch closer to another OAC regular season crown.
Keys to Victory
• All Hands on Deck
Make no mistake about it, like the Pioneers; the Purple Raiders are highly ranked for a good reason. Mount Union is an exceptional basketball team. They’ve notched eight-straight wins since being dismantled back in January at “The Banjo”.
Like most of the elite teams in the OAC conference, when the best players graduate, the Purple Raiders reload. Gone from that 27-3 Mount Union team in 2019-20, is second team Division III All-American guard Nathan Bower-Malone.
However, the 2021-22 Mount Union team is deep and talented as well. The Purple Raiders’ 6’6” sophomore forward Christian Parker has earned multiple OAC Player of the Week awards already this season. Parker has been especially strong of late. A week ago, Parker was named the United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week for NCAA Division III men’s basketball. He is arguably one of the best big men in the country.
In the last five games alone, Parker is averaging nearly 23 points per game and over 10 rebounds. He has notched three double-doubles during this stretch. Parker is second in the conference in scoring average, third in rebounds per game, and leads the OAC in shooting percentage. Christian Parker will be in the conversation for OAC Player of the Year, even though he’s only started in four games.
Christian Parker is not the only outstanding player on the Mount Union team. While not a regular part of the Purple Raiders’ starting lineup, Parker usually plays between 25 and 30 minutes per game. These numbers are fourth most on the team, so his coming off the bench is obviously by design. Besides their talented forward, other than 6’7” senior Logan Hill, every other member of Mount Union’s starting lineup averages double-digit points per game.
Another senior, 6’3” Ethan Stanislawski, is third in the conference for three-point shooting accuracy. Stanislawski scores over 14 points per game as well. Mount Union’s Braedon Poole nets over 12 points a game and is just one rebound shy of Parker’s team high of 163 boards. Back in November, the 6’5” senior earned his own OAC Player of the Week honor as well.
Just like the Marietta College Pioneers, this Mount Union squad is loaded with firepower all across the lineup. The Purple Raiders are deep, talented, and Mount Union is clearly one of the best teams in Division III basketball this season. Wednesday night’s critical OAC battle will require “all hands on deck” by the Pioneers to earn another victory.
• Answer the Opening Bell and Continue to Answer
Marietta College must answer the opening bell at The McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex (The MAAC). Similar to the tremendous home court edge the Pioneers enjoy at “The Banjo”, “The MAAC” provides Mount Union with a terrific advantage as well. Purple Raiders’ fans get out and support their team. During Mount Union’s storybook school-record 2019-20 season, they finished 11th in the country in attendance for NCAA Division III schools.
You can bet The MAAC will be packed on Wednesday night. It will be critical for Marietta to weather the opening bell. The Pioneers have not been an inherently strong starting team recently. Marietta uses depth and a ferocious persistence to wear teams down. However, busting “out-of-the-gate” faster will be critical against Mount Union, especially on their home floor. A strong start will help the Pioneers suck some air out of the crowd. Just like at The Banjo, when the stands start-a-rockin’, it can be very difficult to claw back from a deficit.
Likewise, the D3 Hoops.com panel, made up of 25 coaches and school administrators, believes these are both two of the ten best small college basketball teams in the country at this point in the season. Therefore, expect more than one solid run by each on Wednesday night.
Furthermore, the Purple Raiders are facing at a virtual mathematical elimination game for having any realistic hope of winning the OAC regular season title. Mount Union is well aware of the importance of this game. Marietta could also take a monstrous leap forward towards clinching that coveted honor themselves.
To put the importance of this upcoming game in perspective, the OAC tournament will run through whichever team finishes atop the regular season standings. Not to mention, the conference tournament winner will earn the OAC automatic bid into the 2022 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.
To say this game is important would be a gross understatement. To inch a step closer to realizing one of their primary 2021-22 goals, the Marietta College Pioneers must answer the opening bell on Wednesday night inside The MAAC. The Navy Blue need to take the crowd out of the game early. Then, they must continue to answer every Mount Union run for 40 minutes, because they’re going to happen.
• Taking Care of Business
Head Coach Jon VanderWal will definitely have the Pioneers fired up and ready for battle on Wednesday night. In his fifteenth season at Marietta College, coach VanderWal has guided the Pioneers into many such high-profile challenges. These are the types of games elite basketball programs seek out and thrive upon. Both teams are talented and deep.
It’s a colossal match-up between two of the best small college basketball programs in America. We expect another classic struggle Wednesday night in Alliance, Ohio. It must be “all-hands-on-deck” for the Pioneers. Marietta College must answer the opening bell and then be prepared to answer every Purple Raiders run.
Wise coaching pounds home the belief that good teams focus on “one-game-at-a-time”. But make no mistake about it, this one’s a biggie. For those Pioneer fans who can’t make the journey up to Alliance, you can watch every minute via livestream on BOXCAST. The broadcast is scheduled to begin around 6:30 pm, with tip-off at 7:00 pm. Let’s GO Pioneers – Bring Home Another Victory!
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.
