MARIETTA, Ohio — A thunderous dunk from senior RaNeal Ewing was the exclamation point on Marietta College's 100-78 win over the University of Mount Union Thursday (Feb. 23) evening in the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals.

The No. 8 ranked Pioneers advance to the OAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday (Feb. 25) against Baldwin Wallace University. Marietta, 23-4 overall, is making its third straight appearance in the title game and fifth in the last seven years. BW is back in the championship game for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. Tip off in Ban Johnson Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.

Mount Union (15-12 overall) came out firing on all cylinders as the Purple Raiders raced out to a 15-point lead. Led by Tommy Stenger, who hit his first four shots including three from downtown, Mount Union was shooting over 70% through the first 10 minutes of the game.

The raucous Ban Johnson crowd helped the Pioneers chip away at the Purple Raider lead. Marietta used a 16-2 run to level the game, 36-36, with 1:49 left in the first half.

A layup from Ewing in the final minute of the period gave Marietta its first lead since scoring the opening basket of the game. But DeAllen Jackson scored on a driving layup to put Mount Union back in front at halftime, 41-40.

Stenger opened the second half with another three-pointer extending the lead to four points. Marietta went on a 19-5 run turning the four-point deficit into 10-point lead with 13:13 left in the game. Ewing drained a three-pointer and hit a pair of free throws for the final five points of the run.

A triple from Jackson cut the Pioneer lead to three, 75-72, with just under six minutes left on the clock. But once again, Marietta responded with a 19-2 run to push the lead back into double digits.

Marietta led by as many as 22 points down the stretch. Senior Tyler Irish hit a jumper for MC's 100th point. It's the seventh time this season Marietta has hit the century mark.

Ewing finished with a career-high 29 points connecting on 11-of-16 shots including four three-pointers. A.J. Edwards finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Keith Richardson added 16 points. Jack Thome came off the bench to score 12 points.

Jackson and Stenger both scored 17 points for the Purple Raiders. Stenger finished with five three-pointers, five rebounds and four assists. Thomas Mason added 13 points and Nathan Bower-Malone had 10 points.

For the game, Marietta shot 59.0% (36-of-61) from the floor, 52.6% (10-of-19) from behind the arc and 81.8% (18-of-22) at the free throw line. Mount Union was 28-of-60 (46.7%) from the floor, 10-of-22 (45.5%) from three-point range and 12-of-20 (60.0%) at the line.

Marietta edged the Purple Raiders on the glass, 33-31. The Pioneers forced 12 Mount Union turnovers, while committing just six. Marietta's bench outscored Mount Union's 46-18.