Nov. 22, 2008
ADRIAN, Michigan — The Marietta College men’s basketball team opened its 2008-09 season with an 86-67 victory over Marygrove College from Detroit, Michigan, in the John Dawson Tournament, hosted by Adrian (Mich.) College Saturday (Nov. 22) afternoon. The Pioneers improved to 1-0 on the season, while the Mustangs, a NAIA team, fell to 0-5.

The Pioneers built a 27-point halftime lead and cruised to the 19-point victory to win their second season opener in the last three years. Freshman wing Trevor Halter (Malvern) led the way with 15 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Fellow freshmen Kevin Knab (Lakewood) and Joe Puch (Brunswick) followed with 14 points and 10 points, respectively, in their Pioneer debuts. Senior guard Isaiah Creasap (Wooster/Northwestern) added nine points and five assists, hitting 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Junior post Daun Lutes (New Matamoras/Frontier) pulled down a team-best nine rebounds in the win.

Marcus Hopkins led Marygrove with 17 points. Nick Roberts had 15 points, Justin McKinney added 13 points and Dustin Kellar contributed 11 points off the bench in the loss.

The Pioneers used their hot shooting to build commanding 46-19 lead at the half. Marygrove scored the first basket to take it only lead of the day. Creasap’s first three-pointer of the game made it 3-2 and set the tone for the rest of the game. Marietta steadily added to its lead throughout the half and would lead by as many as 29 before leaving with the 19-point victory.

Marietta finished 29-of-60 (.483) from the field, 12-of-28 (.429) from three-point range and 16-of-20 (.800) from the free throw line. Marygrove was 26-of-72 (.361) from the floor, 3-of-15 (.200) from beyond the arc and 12-of-16 (.750) from the free throw line. The Pioneers out-rebounded the Mustangs 43-39 but lost the turnover battle 19-16.

The Pioneers are back in action on Sunday (Nov. 23) afternoon when they take on host Adrian College at 3 p.m. Live statistics will be available at http://www.adrian.edu/sports/livestats/xlive.htm.

Freshman Trevor Halter had 15 points in his collegiate debut on Saturday.

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