Jimmy Embrescia
jje001@marietta.edu
The Marietta Pioneers men’s basketball team concluded a historic season with a 87-91 loss to Wheaton College.
The teams exchanged blows all night long, the lead shifting hands for most of the game. It was the second trip to the elite eight for the Pioneers. After rolling through Oswego State 78-61 the night before, the Pioneers had their sights set on a chance to reach the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament.
Wheaton senior Aston Francis led all scorers with a record setting 62 points in the game. It seemed that no matter what the Pioneers did, Francis still found a way to score. It was his three-point shooting that suffocated the Pioneers. Francis made 12-of-27 three-point buckets to propel Wheaton over Marietta College.
Freshman Lukas Isaly led the Pioneers in scoring, tallying 16 in the game. Sophomore Tim Kreeger followed Isaly with 15.
The game capped off a season that will be unforgettable for the Pioneers. Early in the season, the Pioneers were like a steam roller, beating nationally ranked opponents and amassing a nine game winning streak before meeting Elmhurst College in the Desert Invitational. The Pioneers returned home after the new year and continued OAC play, beating Heidelberg. Then the Pioneers met their largest OAC contender, Capital University. The Pioneers dropped in a 78-82 game with the Crusaders. This was only the beginning of the trouble that the Pioneers would have with Capital.
The Pioneers went on and won five straight games against OAC opponents before they met the Crusaders again. The Pioneers needed to win the game if they wanted to be the lone champion of the OAC. The game was more competitive than the score shows, with the Pioneers losing 57-74.
As the regular season concluded, the Pioneers shared the OAC title with both Capital University and Baldwin Wallace University.
Marietta made an early exit from the OAC tournament, losing at home to John Carroll University. The opponent was familiar and came ready to give the Pioneers their best game. The blue Streaks often perform well in the Banjo. In the past three seasons, the Blue Streaks have won in Marietta three times in the past three seasons.
Enter the NCAA tournament.
The Pioneers were selected as the host site for the first two rounds of play. The pioneers easily blew past their opponents in these rounds, thumping Maryville 101-77, and rolling through Arcadia 88-76. Students and fans alike packed the Banjo for both games, both opposing coaches cited the crowd and the noise level in post-game remarks.
The Pioneers then traveled to Augustana for the quarterfinals of tournament play. In this round, the Pioneers first met Oswego State of New York. Marietta cruised by with a 78-61 victory in the first game. The next day, Marietta was to play Wheaton College. Wheaton guard Aston Francis was on the radar for division three player of the year.
Based on his performance in the game against the Pioneers, Francis earned the title. He carried Wheaton in the game, scoring 62 points against the Pioneers. No matter how much the Pioneers defense tried to suffocate his efforts, Francis was coming through with shots from all over the court.
The loss against Wheaton ended an end to a historic season for the Pioneers. It was one where the team stayed in the top 25 nationally ranked teams for the whole of the campaign. The trip to the quarterfinals was a highlight that only one other team in Pioneer history has achieved .
Pioneer fans can continue to follow Marietta athletics at the following site. https://pioneers.marietta.edu/index.aspx
