FORT WAYNE, Indiana — Over the past decade, the Marietta College men's basketball team has been one of the premier NCAA D3 programs. But one important milestone has escaped coach Jon VanderWal and the Pioneers — a national championship.
 
Two more wins in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this weekend and Marietta (29-2) will earn that elusive championship.
 
"This is a huge step for our program," VanderWal said. "We demand a lot of our players, and they have dedicated themselves to being the best. They earned this opportunity, and we are going to do everything we can to put them in the best position to win two more games."
 
Marietta will face a tough challenge in the semifinal game at 5 p.m. Friday when the Pioneers take on top-ranked Randolph-Macon College (31-1) inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
 
It will be the second time the Pioneers and Yellow Jackets have faced off this season. RMC defeated Marietta 82-74 back on Nov. 20 during the Great Lakes Invitational at Ban Johnson Arena. Marietta has won a program-best 27 consecutive games since then.
 
"We told our team after that game that it would help us when we got to the NCAA Tournament," VanderWal said. "We try to play the most challenging schedule we can so we are prepared for the postseason. It was a great, early season game and Randolph-Macon got the better of us. We know on Friday that we are going to have two confident and talented teams who are ready to battle."
 
The Yellow Jackets have been on cruise control during their four NCAA games, outscoring their opponents by an average of 26 points a game. The closest outcome was a 67-51 victory over Babson in the second game.
 
RMC advanced to the Final Four because of its stifling defense, which led to a 76-53 victory over No. 13 WPI in the Elite 8. The Yellow Jackets have held opponents under 70 points in 24 of their last 25 contests, including every postseason foe.
 
Senior guard Buzz Anthony, who many consider the best player in D3, averages 17.8 points while making 86 3-point baskets this season. He also averages an impressive 7.4 assists. The four-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference player of the year scored 23 points in the win over WPI. In the November game at Marietta, Anthony had 15 points.
 
Junior forward Miles Mallory, who scored 16 against Marietta, averages 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, while Josh Talbert is good for 12.6 points and 4.8 assists.
 
"This is one of the most talented D3 teams I have ever seen, and we know it's a tough challenge we face on Friday," VanderWal said. "But this is what we have been preparing for all season, and we are looking forward to giving it our best shot."
 
Marietta has been challenged in every postseason game, including an 88-83 overtime win over the University of Rochester. The second-ranked Pioneers also had an 81-79 program-defining victory against Christopher Newport in the Elite Eight this past Saturday.
 
A key reason why Marietta has reached the Final Four is the clutch shooting of senior Lukas Isaly, who has averaged 25.8 points a game during the four NCAA contests. He poured in 38 points against CMU. He also had 33 against Rochester.
 
"Every time I think I've seen his best performance, he goes out there and does something else amazing," VanderWal said. "He's a big-time player who has stepped up and led us during the postseason."
 
Senior Jason Ellis is the Ohio Athletic Conference player of the year and he leads the team with 17.4 points a game, while senior post Tim Kreeger is averaging 11.7 points and 4.8 rebounds. Senior Mason Lydic, who is averaging 10.6 points a game, is also a threat to score. Junior Sahmi Willoughby, who plays considerable minutes off the bench, leads the team in rebounding with 7.9 a game. He is also averaging 8.2 points a game.
 
In the other semifinal game, No. 15 Wabash (28-3) plays No. 15 Elmhurst (26-6) at 7:30 p.m. Marietta defeated Wabash 99-92 in the Great Lakes Invitational.