MARIETTA, Ohio — A much-anticipated re-match between two top-20 teams never materialized as fourth-ranked Marietta cruised past 17th-ranked Wittenberg, 87-63.
The two teams met on the same court in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament last March, with Marietta winning on a last-second shot to cap a thrilling back-and-forth duel. This time, the Pioneers scored the game's first six points and never looked back.
Marietta improved to 4-0 on the young season, with three wins coming against North Coast Athletic Conference teams. Wittenberg dropped to 1-2, heading into a pair of key conference games against Oberlin and Wooster over the next eight days.
The Pioneers pushed the lead out to 17 points at the 4:43 mark of the first half before the Tigers produced their lone counterpunch of the entire game with an 8-0 run. However, Wittenberg missed its last four shots of the first half — all three-pointers — and Marietta drilled its last long-range attempt of the half to move the lead back to 45-33 at intermission.
The Pioneers essentially put the game out of reach with a 6-0 run to start the second half. The margin reached 29 points late in the half.
Ball security was a significant issue for the Tigers, who committed a whopping 22 turnovers, compared to 10 for Marietta. That countered a seven-rebound edge for the Tigers while complementing a Marietta offensive attack that featured 52 percent shooting from the field, including 10-of-25 from three-point range.
Wittenberg, which shot 43 percent from the field and just 4-of-13 from the free throw line, was led by sophomore Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) with 13 points and six rebounds in 22 productive minutes off the bench. Freshman Ben Syroka (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) added 11 points off the bench, while senior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) finished with 10 points and five boards. However, Black was one of three Tiger starters without a point deep into the second half.