LEXINGTON, Ky. — Following a 10-day layoff, the No. 6 ranked Marietta College men's basketball team overwhelmed Transylvania University on its home court by the score of 107-61 Tuesday (Dec. 17) afternoon in the Don Lane Classic.
"I am extremely happy with our effort and intensity today after an extended layoff and coming off finals," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "Our guys were on a mission today and played really well. Now we need to duplicate it again tomorrow."
Marietta improves to 7-0 on the season, while Transylvania falls to 5-3 overall. For the third time in four seasons, Marietta has started the year with a perfect 7-0 record.
Junior Jason Ellis drained four shots from three-point range and led four in double figures for Marietta with 20 points. Lukas Isaly hit a trio of three-pointers and finished with 15 points, while Tim Kreeger had 12 points. Mason Lydic chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.
Once again, Marietta dominated the outrebounding Transy, 43-26. The Navy Blue and White turned 18 offensive boards into 24 second chance points, while limiting TU to just three second chance points on seven offensive rebounds.
Luke Schroeder was the lone Transylvania player in double figures with 12 points. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Transylvania scored first and then got a three-pointer from Lucas Gentry for a 6-5 lead in the opening minutes of the game. It would be TU's last lead of the afternoon. Isaly answered with a trey of his own triggering a 7-0 Marietta run and the Pioneers never looked back.
After managing to remain within striking distance for much of the half, Transylvania allowed Marietta to pull away with a 12-0 run over a four minute stretch late in the period. A pair of free throws from Ellis capped the run and stretched the lead to 22 points, 44-22, with two minutes left in the half. Marietta led 46-30 at the break.
Marietta continued to pull away in the second half. A 14-2 MC run midway through the period erased any hopes of a comeback from the home team. The lead ballooned to 40-plus points in the final minutes of play.
Marietta will face Albion College in the championship game Wednesday (Dec. 18) at 3 p.m. Albion was a 63-61 winner over DePauw in the first round.