Written by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
In case you have not kept up with the Men’s basketball program this season throughout winter break, they are off to a slower start than last year, however, are still managing a winning record. Marietta’s start can be contributed to the loss of All-Star nominee Sahmi Willoughby who graduated last semester. However, this has given an opportunity to the younger classes to make an impact on the roster. The new team was able to do that at the beginning of the season.
The Pioneers hosted their first game of the season against first time opponent Mount Aloysius College. In front of a crowd over a thousand, Marietta dominated with a 118-72 victory.
The following week, Marietta hosted the annual Marietta Shine Tournament inviting Maryville, Mary Washington, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In the first round the Pioneers tipped off against Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a close matchup ending with a 64-62 win for Marietta. The Pioneers would move on to the finals of the tournament facing Mary Washington who connivingly beat Maryville. However, the home field advantage would be on the Pios side as they narrowly came over Mary Washington with a final score of 87-82.
Starting off 3-0, Marietta moved on to their first road games of the season traveling to Grand Rapids Michigan for the Great Lakes Invitational. Here, the blue and white lost their first game of the season to Wisconsin- La Crosse 99-75. Although, in their second matchup the Pioneers were able to beat formally ranked #21 Hope College 96-71.
With their first ranked win of the season under their belt, the team traveled back to the Banjo to host their first conference game of the season. The Pios carried this momentum gained in Michigan and outscored Wilmington College 71-57. The following week they moved onto another OAC matchup with John Carroll. Unfortunately, the Blue Streaks started off hot with a 46-32 lead, and while the Pios outscored them in the second half, it was not enough as John Carroll won 78-74.
Marietta’s next game went eerily similar. Otterbein University started off with an early 31-21 lead to end the first. In the second half, both teams went back and forth until the final three minutes. The Pioneers, down 50-36, scored 14 unanswered points to tie the game 50-50 forcing an overtime period. In overtime, the Pios came out hot and forced the Cardinals to play catchup. However, they ultimately were able to tie the game 65-65 and force a second overtime. The second overtime did not go as smoothly, as Otterbein this time came out with the quick lead and forced Marietta to catchup. However, Marietta missed many of the early chances. The Pioneers only scored five points off of free throws in the second OT resulting in a 77-70 loss.
The Pios did not let this loss discourage them as their last games of the calendar year came at the Nashville Music City Classic. Here, the Pios went undefeated with two convincing wins. The first was a 94-73 victory over Berea College. The second was a 76-56 win over the University of Lynchburg.
Heading into 2025 7-3, Marietta looks down the barrel of conference matchups to finish out the season. Marietta started the new year in Tiffin, Ohio facing Heidelberg University. Here the Student Princes were able to comeback in the second half and push the game into overtime. Marietta’s overtime luck would not change as they were outscored 17-10 in overtime resulting in a 93-86 loss. Following this loss came a tough matchup against OAC standings leader Mount Union. The Purple Raiders kept their first-place status as they defeated the Pioneers in a close 82-77 game.
At the halfway point of the season Marietta hosted Ohio Northern University. At home the Pioneers were able to bounce back with a conference win defeating the Polar Bears in a close 71-68 game. This win puts Marietta at an 8-5 record on the year with a 5-1 home record and a 0-3 away record.
The second half of the year is made up of exclusively conference matchups making Marietta’s home field advantage and the support of the crowd much more important. The Pios next game comes against rival Muskingum University on Wednesday January 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Ban Johnson Arena. After that Marietta will have three straight road games before they head home on January 29th to host Mount Union.
