MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 22-ranked Marietta College men's basketball team blew open a close game in the second half to easily defeat Wilmington College by the score of 98-77 Saturday (Dec. 7) afternoon. The Pioneers move to 6-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Quakers fall to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the OAC.

Marietta scored on its first four possessions of the game, including a pair of three-pointers, to jump out to an early lead. The Pioneers led 19-9 with 13:04 left in the first half.

Wilmington's one-two punch of R.J. Leppert and Malcolm Heard kept the Quakers close. A layup from Heard at the 8:32 mark tied the game, 24-24. Following a Pioneer bucket, Klarke Ransome drained a three and was fouled. He converted the free throw putting Wilmington in front, 28-26, with 7:36 remaining.

The Pioneers responded with a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead for good. Marietta pushed the lead back to eight points, 45-37, at halftime.

The second half was all Marietta. Wilmington closed to within five points, 46-41, in the first minute of the period but could get no closer. The Pioneers quickly pushed their advantage back to double figures where it remained the rest of the game.

Marietta led by as many as 25 points, 90-65, at the 4:43 mark. The Pioneers' depth was evident in the second half as Wilmington couldn't stay up with Marietta. MC's bench outscored the Quaker bench, 37-17.

Marietta sophomore RaNeal Ewing led all scorers with 26 points. Ewing hit four three-pointers and was 10-of-13 at the free throw line for a new career-high in points. Ewing also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Junior Andy Dollman was 2-of-2 from three-point range and finished with a career-high 16 points. Sophomore Eddy Grenert led the Pioneer reserves with 12 points and four rebounds. Freshman Keith Richardson had a career night with 11 points and sophomore Luis Garcia drained a pair of treys and finished with 10 points.

Heard was 10-of-18 from the floor and poured in 23 points to lead the Quakers. He also pulled down five rebounds. Leppert chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Dwight Johnson had 10 points.

Wilmington edged the Pioneers on the boards, 41-10. But the Quakers committed 14 turnovers that resulted in 22 Marietta points. The Pioneers turned the ball over just eight times, three of which happened after Marietta cleared its bench in the final minutes of the game.

Marietta shot 47.5% (29-of-61) from the floor, 48.0% (12-of-25) behind the arc and 80.0% (28-of-35) at the free throw line. Wilmington was 27-of-69 (39.1%) from the floor, 7-of-28 (25.0%) from three-point range and 16-of-21 (76.2%) at the line.

The Pioneers are off until next Saturday (Dec. 14) when Marietta plays at Heidelberg University. Tip is set for 3:00 p.m.