Sports
Marietta Opens Tournament With Ohio Wesleyan
By: Kellen Becoats
Posted on:
The holiday break ends early for the No. 15 Pioneers, as they take on the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops in the Defiance College Purple and Gold Tournament.
Marietta (8-1, 4-0 in OAC) is riding a 4-game win streak, winning two of those games in fantastic fashion by more than 20 points.
Ohio Wesleyan (7-2, 3-1 in NCAC) is in excellent form as well, coming off a thrilling 69-67 win against Hiram on Dec. 14 that saw them bring their win streak to three games.
The game will test the Pioneers as the last game they played against an above-.500 team was against the No. 2 College of Wooster on Nov. 27, which handed Marietta its first loss of the season.
The tournament looks to be extremely competitive, as the four teams included in the tournament – Defiance College, Albion, Marietta and Ohio Wesleyan – have a combined record of 28-6.
The Pioneers have been without starting senior point guard Tyler Hammond as he served a 4-game suspension, but junior wing player Andy Dollman has been spectacular in his place.
Dollman leads the team, averaging 12.3 points a game while shooting 57.1 percent from beyond the perimeter and 53.4 percent from the field. He also averages 2.3 assists a game.
Marietta has also seen a lot of production from sophomore wing player RaNeal Ewing who entered the starting lineup four games ago and already averages 12.2 points a game with 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game.
The Battling Bishops will rely on the game of senior wing player Dre White who averages 15.0 points a game and 8.5 rebounds. They will also look for senior post player Reuel Rogers to continue his strong contributions of 13.5 points a game and 7.5 rebounds a game.
Tipoff will be at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 29. Should the Pioneers win this game, they will play in the championship game at 7 p.m. the next day.
Should they lose they will play in the Consolation game at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 30.