Muskingum Squeaks by Pioneers 86-73

Following arguably it’s best two performances of the season, the last thing Marietta coach Jon VanderWal wanted was a 10 day lay-off. Unfortunately for the Pioneers first year signal caller, memories of their pre-New Year’s victories appeared quite fuzzy.

Paced by their 22-6 first-half closing run, rival Muskingum edged host Marietta 86-73 Wednesday night at Ban Johnson Arena.

Marietta (4-8, 0-5 OAC) found early success in the paint, getting 6 points from senior center Adam Rockhold (Olmsted Falls, OH) in the game’s first 4 minutes. Taking advantage of the Muskies overplays, Rockhold converted on 4 of his first 6 attempts staking Marietta to a slim 13-11 lead. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, defensive switches derailed post play success, forcing action to the perimeter.

With the score tied 23-23 and 10:00 to play in the first half, Muskingum tightened the defensive clams prompting the Pioneers to misfire on 7 consecutive attempts, while the Magenta and Black reeled off a 16-1 run.

“They played behind our post players and we told our guys to dump it down there and we will make plays off the entry, said VanderWal. We just struggled to make plays down low tonight. We got out-hustled and physically beat by a more experienced group out there.”

Falling behind by as many as 20, Marietta again tried to rally behind the hot shooting of freshman guard Nathan Edick (Westerville, OH). Collecting 12 points in the contest, Edick connected on 4 of 4 three point attempts, the final make pulling the Pioneers to within 10 with 3:49 to play.

Trailing 79-71 with 3:08 remaining, Marietta appeared ready to overtake Muskingum as a series of misses by Musky guards and a Rockhold blocked shot gave the Pioneers the ball with a shot at cutting even further into the lead. Unfortunately for Marietta, Muskingum again answered the call defensively forcing freshman guard Jordan Cox (West Union, OH) to fire an off-balance jumper with the shot clock dwindling.

The Cox miss was the final gasp for the Pioneers as back-to-back buckets by guard Brandon Todd and forward Tyler Felt stretched the final margin to 13.

When asked about the team’s 10 day lay-off following their impressive showing in the Shrine Tournament, VanderWal was quick to point out his team’s defensive inconsistencies.

“I don’t think what happened tonight was a result of the lay-off specifically. The lay-off I think helped us a bit. We were able to get some things worked on, and got a few good practices under our belt. Defense is our biggest thing, said VanderWal. We just have to work harder on defense. They came in scoring 67 a game and we gave up 83, that just doesn’t cut it.”

With the loss Marietta fell to 0-5 in OAC play and 4-8 overall. Marietta returns to action saturday when they travel for an OAC double-header at John Carroll.


Muskingum 86 Marietta 73

Muskingum 45 -41 --86
Marietta 29 -44 --73

Marietta: Isaiah Creasap 3-8, 1-1, 9; Jordan Cox 4-7, 0-0, 11; Daun Lutes 5-8, 1-1, 11; Adam Rockhold 8-19, 6-8, 22; Jordan Johnson 0-1, 1-2, 4; Matt Kubachka 3-6, 0-0, 7; Jay Chadwell 0-2, 0-0, 0; Nathan Edick 4-5, 0-0, 12; Bradley Hinton 0-1, 0-0, 0; Andrew Good 0-1, 0-0, 0.

Muskingum: Tyler Felt 6-10, 1-3, 13; Nick Hershberger 3-4, 0-1, 6; Pat Byrne 6-10, 2-4, 16; Brandon Todd 4-9, 5-6, 13; Jeremy Ady 1-7, 4-4, 6; Trevor Scott 5-9, 2-2, 13. Cory Bourquin 2-4, 2-2, 7; Andy Glass 1-4, 0-0, 2; Ben Miller 4-6, 2-4, 10.

Halftime Score: Muskingum 45-29

Team Stats:
Marietta: Field Goals 23-58 (46 percent); 3pt shooting 10-18 (55 percent); Free Throws 9-12 (75 percent); Rebounds 30 (Lutes 9); Steals 5 (Creasap 2); Assists 20 (Rockhold 5); Turnovers 11; Blocks 8 (Rockhold 4).

Muskingum: Field Goals 32-63 (50 percent); 3pt shooting 4-14 (28 percent); Free Throws 18-26 (69 percent); Rebounds 38 (Byrne 7); Steals 7 (Byrne Todd 2); Assists 15 (Todd 9); Turnovers 6; Blocks 3.