Following historic regular seasons, Marietta College basketball teams set for post season

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MARIETTA, Ohio (WTAP)- The Marietta College basketball programs have had historic regular seasons. Now, it is time for a "new" season: post season play.

The men's team opens up the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday by hosting Wilmington College at 8 p.m.

The Pioneers beat the Quakers by double digits in both contests this year.

Marietta college is on a four-game winning streak, rocks a 20-5 overall record and made another edition to the history books. It became the only team in the conference to win at least a share of the regular season title for four straight seasons.

It has been a year with plenty of challenges but the Pios have stood their ground.

"We've taken our losses and we've learned from those," said senior guard Dillon Young.

"We've watched the film and we know what we can't do and what we got to do to prevent that from happening again."

"We're playing 10 guys every night. We have a bunch of different guys that can hurt you," said head coach Jon VanderWal of his team's depth.

"We probably have seven or eight guys that can score 20 on any given night. So I think we're a pretty tough team to prepare for just because we have so many weapons."

The Lady Pioneers carry plenty of momentum into the OAC tournament.

Marietta College has won 21 games, the most in a season in the program's history.

The Pioneers prep for a John Carroll team that they have trampled in a pair of games this year. In the last meeting, Marietta College ripped the Blue Streaks by 36 points.

Marietta College has its sights set high. A conference tournament championship is a goal and so is making it to the next stage: the NCAA tournament.

This year is special but they are taking it one day at a time.

"We had a great team and we could make a big impact on the OAC," said senior guard Amisha Herd.

"So we thought this would be the year to do it, if any. Initially, it's not how we started it but we went 12-0 and it set the tone for the season."

"That competitive fire just took over," said second-year head coach Kole Vivian.

"The seniors lead that and everybody else feeds off of that. So the good thing is that they're so competiitve. They're resilient."

"Us being focused and just believing in ourselves no matter what happens has just been a big part in why we're getting to this point and why we're successful at this point," said senior guard Brooke Borich.

Tip off between Marietta College and John Carroll on Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. at Ban Johnson Arena.
