MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 13 Marietta College opened Ohio Athletic Conference play with a 35-point drubbing of Ohio Northern University Saturday (Dec. 4) afternoon. The Pioneers cruised to a 94-59 victory improving to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the OAC. The Polar Bears move to 4-2 on the season and 0-1 in the OAC.

"It was a great team win for us today. We had some guys really step up and play well," said Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal. "We've been a little banged up and had to adjust our line up and some new faces made a lot of plays today. It's nice to see our guys playing with confidence."

Landon Long hit a three-pointer in the opening minute to give Ohio Northern a 3-2 lead. It would be their only lead of the afternoon as the Pioneers scored the next eight points of the game and never looked back.

A jumper from Mason Lydic at the 14:44 mark pushed the Marietta advantage into double digits, 17-6, where it stayed for all but a few seconds the rest of the game. The Pioneers steadily increased the margin and took a 20-point lead, 52-32, into halftime.

Any hopes of a Polar Bear comeback were erased when Marietta went on a 12-0 run over a three-minute span. Jac Alexander capped the run with a jumper making it 66-38 with 13:04 left in the game.

Ryan Reidy gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the day, 36 points, with a layup at the 6:38 mark that closed a 11-2 run as Marietta led 81-45.

Marietta's bench outscored ONU's 48-19 in the game. After VanderWal pulled his regulars, the Pioneer offensive onslaught continued with three-pointers from Torin Lochow, Jalen Greiser and Sam Oliver.

Jason Ellis led Marietta with 17 points. Lydic finished with 15 points and Jac Alexander added 11. Brennen Crawford chipped in with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Brandon Waugh led the Polar Bears with a game-best 20 points. Landen Long added nine points and five rebounds.

Marietta plays at Baldwin Wallace University next Sunday (Dec. 12) at 5 p.m.