Marietta College opened its men’s basketball season with a win Saturday night, beating Bethany College 94-82 at Ban Johnson Arena behind a career-high 31 points from Trenton Collins, according to Marietta College Athletics.
Collins, a Newark native who played at Utica, led three Pioneers in double figures. Mason Wisniewski recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Toma Gasaj added his own double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Marietta College Athletics reported.
The Pioneers took control midway through the first half. Tied 10-10, Marietta scored seven straight points — a Collins layup, an old-fashioned three-point play from Gasaj, and a jumper from Jonny Kambani — and never trailed again. A three-pointer by Luke Powell at the 5:33 mark stretched the lead to 33-22, and Marietta led by as many as 13 before taking a 41-33 advantage into halftime.
Bethany refused to go away. A Wisniewski dunk with 16:30 remaining made it 52-40, but the Bison scored nine straight points to trim the margin to 52-49. Marietta answered, pushing the lead back to 67-56 with 8:35 left.
The game’s decisive moment came late. With Bethany trailing 75-73, Jayden Jackson went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie — he made the first and missed the second. Marietta then scored the next 12 points to put the game away, with Collins scoring the first seven of the run and Wisniewski adding the final four on a pair of layups, according to Marietta College Athletics.
Jackson led Bethany with 30 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. Jaden Stewart added 25 points and nine rebounds, and Semaj Marshall scored 19 for the Bison.
The opener starts year two of the Pioneers’ rebuild under head coach Andy Bucheit. Marietta finished 9-16 overall and 4-12 in the Ohio Athletic Conference last season after losing its three leading scorers from the year before, according to Marietta College Athletics’ season preview — making a 94-point opening night, with two double-doubles alongside Collins’ career night, an encouraging first step.
What happens next: Marietta hosts its annual Shrine Tournament at Ban Johnson Arena next Friday and Saturday, November 13-14, opening against Waynesburg on Friday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m., according to Marietta College Athletics.
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA