Sports
Ewing, McKean Lead Marietta Over Heidelberg
By: Kellen Becoats
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A win seemed all but evident but sophomore wing player RaNeal Ewing needed to make sure, nailing a half-court pull up as time expired to add insult to Heidelberg’s injury.
Despite a slow start, the Marietta College Pioneers men’s basketball team used a strong second half to dismantle a struggling Heidelberg (5-15, 1-12) team 76-56 in Ban Johnson Arena.
The headline for the Pioneers (17-4, 12-2) was the play of Ewing, who contributed 14 of his 18 points in the second half.
But the point totals don’t tell the full story as the Westerville, Ohio, native went 6 of 8 from the field including a half-court prayer as time expired.
Ewing is beginning to look more comfortable in the point guard position as he replaced starting point guard Tyler Hammond due to off-court antics and backup guard Andy Dollman, who will likely miss the rest of the season due to an elbow injury.
Heidelberg’s guards didn’t fare too well, combining for six of the team’s 11 turnovers and going a combined 10 of 25 from the field.
The main problem from the Student Princes’ standpoint was the lack of offensive firepower in the second half. Heidelberg came out of halftime looking tired and lackluster despite a strong ending to the first half.
Marietta jumped out to a large lead early in the game, going up as much as 18-5 on a Ewing layup. But the Student Princes weren’t ready to give up as they went on a 15-2 run to knot the score at 20 all.
But their short offensive renaissance didn’t last, as Marietta regained control of the game and took a 37-31 lead in halftime.
Ewing controlled much of the next 20 minutes alongside 19 points from junior wing player Brennan McKean. Junior post player Andy Stegman provided strong contributions on defense, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds and blocking four shots, which were both career highs.
Marietta will now look to its next challenge at Capital University for the 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, Feb. 12.