38th Annual Marietta Shrine Tournament, sponsored by the Holiday Inn and Dixie Sporting Goods

Pioneers claim second straight Marietta Shrine title by defeating D-II Brevard 76-72
MVP Joe Puch scores 21 in victory

Dec. 30, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men's basketball team knocked off NCAA Division II Brevard (N.C.) College 76-72 to capture the 38th annual Marietta Shrine Tournament, sponsored by the Holiday Inn and Dixie Sporting Goods, on Tuesday (Dec. 30) night at Ban Johnson Arena. The victory, a perfect 30th birthday present for second-year Head Coach Jon VanderWal, gave the Pioneers their 17th Shrine title and second straight under VanderWal. Emory & Henry (Va.) College captured the consolation game with a 104-84 win against Westminster (Pa.) College earlier in the evening.

Championship Game Recap:[Box Score]
Marietta 76, Brevard 72

Jon VanderWal’s Marietta College Pioneers held off Division II Brevard (N.C.) College, 76-72, to claim its second straight Marietta Shrine Tournament title Tuesday (Dec. 30) night at Ban Johnson Arena. VanderWal, who turned 30 on Tuesday, is now 4-0 in Marietta Shrine Tournament games as Pioneer head coach. The Pioneers improved to 6-5 overall on the year, while Brevard fell to 5-3.

Marietta freshman Joe Puch’s (Brunswick) second straight 21-point effort earned him Shrine Tournament Cliff Rose MVP honors. The wing drained five of his 10 three-point field goal attempts to lead all scorers. Fellow freshman Rydell Chrisman (Coshocton) scored 16 off the bench, hitting 4-of-6 (.667) from behind the arc, on his way to earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Freshman Trevor Halter (Malvern) netted 11 points, while junior Daun Lutes (New Matamoras/Frontier) added 10 points in the victory.

All-Tournament Team selection Jonathon Whitson led the Tornados with 19 points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds. Guard Darin Dellinger joined Whitson on the All-Tournament squad after he scored 14 points in the loss. Christian Matus came off the bench to add 10 points for Brevard.

The Tornados jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, forcing an early Pioneer timeout. Marietta responded by out-scoring the Tornados 16-8 over the next 9:20 of the first half to tie the game at 16. A Chrisman three-pointer put the Pioneers up 24-21 with 1:52 left in the period. Chrisman dialed up from downtown again with 45 seconds left in the half to give Marietta the halftime lead, 27-22.

Puch came out of the locker room for the second half on fire for Marietta. The freshman guard scored 10 of the Pioneers’ first 12 points, hitting a three-pointer with 14:28 left to give the Pioneers the lead, 39-30. Marietta stretched its lead to as many as 11 points in the half before the Tornados made a run in the final minutes. A Dellinger three-pointer cut the lead to just one, 62-61, with 1:39 remaining in regulation. A Lutes three-point play and some key free throws down the stretch were enough hold off the Tornados and give Marietta the four-point victory.

The Pioneers finished the game by shooting 21-of-54 (.389) from the field, 10-of-28 (.357) from behind the arc and 24-of-29 (.828) from the free throw line. Brevard finished 26-of-61 (.426) from the field, 7-of-18 (.389) from three-point range and 13-of-17 (.765) from the free throw line. Brevard held the edge in rebounding, 40-33, but committed 10 turnovers to Marietta’s season low eight.

The Pioneers will have a week off before jumping back into Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play. Marietta will take on rival Muskingum College on Wednesday (Jan. 7) night in New Concord. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.

Consolation Game Recap:[Box Score]
Emory & Henry 104, Westminster 84

Emory & Henry (Va.) College blew past Westminster (Pa.) College, 104-84, in Tuesday (Dec. 30) night’s consolation game of the 38th annual Marietta Shrine Tournament. The win improved Emory & Henry’s record to 6-5 on the season, while Westminster fell to 1-11.

Joshua Brown earned All-Tournament Team honors for the Wasps, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the victory. Andrew Hart and Josh Lee each scored 15 points off the bench for the Wasps. Terrance Grigg and Robert Hudson both added 10 points in the 20-point victory.

Ryne Murray led the Titans with 23 points and 14 rebounds, earning him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Rob Briggs scored 14 points and collected seven rebounds. Max Spinner added 13 points off the bench and Steve Bielich finished with 10 points for the Titans.

Emory & Henry finished the game shooting 38-of-67 (.567) from the field, 7-of-16 (.438) from behind the arc and 21-of-31 (.677) from the free throw line. Westminster finished the game 30-of-67 (.448) from the field, 6-of-26 (.231) from three-point range and 18-of-24 (.750) from the charity stripe. The Wasps out-rebounded the Titans 40-37 and committed 12 turnovers to the Titans’ 19.

Marietta and Brevard will meet in the 38th annual Shrine Tournament finals
Emory & Henry takes on Westminster in consolation game

Dec. 29, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College, playing without two key seniors, had its starting five produce 71 of the team's 77 points in a 77-63 victory over Westminster (Pa.) College Monday (Dec. 29) night in the opening round of the 38th annual Marietta Shrine Tournament, sponsored by the Holiday Inn and Dixie Sporting Goods. NCAA Division II Brevard (N.C.) College overcame a five-point halftime deficit to cruise past Emory & Henry (Va.) College, 89-73, to set up a match-up between the Tornados and Pioneers in Tuesday (Dec. 30) night's championship game, which tips off at 8 p.m. The Titans and the Wasps will play in the consolation game at 6 p.m.

Game One Recap:[Box Score]
Brevard 89, Emory & Henry 73

The Brevard (N.C.) College Tornados defeated the Emory & Henry (Va.) College Wasps 89-73 in the first game of 38th annual Marietta Shrine Tournament on Monday (Dec. 29) night at Ban Johnson Arena. The win improved Brevard’s record to 5-2, while the Wasps fell to 5-5. Brevard will play host Marietta College in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) nights championship game at 8 p.m. Emory & Henry will face Westminster in the consolation game at 6 p.m.

Brevard was led by Darin Dellinger and Jonathon Whitson with 18 points a piece. Joseph Hilton scored 15 points off the bench, while Nathan Whitmire added 10 points in the win.

Emory & Henry was paced by JD Dyson and Camillo Weinz, each scored 13 points. Dyson also dished out a game-high eight assists. Kyle Huckins scored 11 points and Robert Hudson finished with 10 for the Wasps.

Brevard finished the game 32-of-55 (.582) from the field, 5-of-12 (.417) from behind the arc and 20-of-30 (.667) from the free throw line. The Wasps shot 24-of-80 (.300) from the field, 12-of-43 (.279) from behind the arc and 13-of-19 (.684) from the free throw line. Brevard held the edge in rebounding, 49-38, but lost the turnover battle, committing 25 to Emory & Henry’s 16.

Game Two Recap:[Box Score]
Marietta 77, Westminster 63

The Marietta College men’s basketball team held off the Westminster (Pa.) College Titans 77-63 in the second opening round game of the 38th Annual Marietta Shrine Tournament. The win improved Marietta’s record to 5-, while the Titans fell to 1-10. Marietta will face Brevard (N.C.) College in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) championship game at 8 p.m. Westminster will face Emory & Henry in the consolation game at 6 p.m.

The Pioneers never trailed despite missing two of their senior starters. Freshman Joe Puch (Brunswick) led the Pioneers with a career-high 21 points. Freshman Kevin Knab (Lakewood), who made his return after missing the last seven games, also recorded his career-high with 16 points. Junior Daun Lutes (New Matamoras/Frontier) and freshman Trevor Halter (Malvern) both recorded double-doubles in the win. Lutes scored 14 points and collected 14 rebounds, while Halter scored 14 points and grabbed 12 boards. It was Halter’s first career double-double, while Lutes collected the third of his career and first of the year. Freshman Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Kilbourne) also scored six points and collected nine rebounds in the victory.

Bobby Glass led the Titans with 12 points. Ryne Murray and Louie Pisani scored 11 points each. Max Spinner added 10 points off the bench in the loss. Murray led the Titans in rebounding with seven.

Marietta finished the game shooting 27-of-64 (.422) from the field, 6-of-15 (.400) from behind the arc and 17-of-30 (.567) from the free throw line. Westminster shot 21-of-71 (.296) from the field, 8-of-29 (.276) from three-point range and 13-of-16 (.813) from the charity stripe. The Pioneers out-rebounded the Titans 55-39 but committed 15 turnovers to Westminster’s 12. 

PARTICIPANTS


Brevard College

Emory & Henry College

Marietta College

Westminster College