Marietta finally breaks through

More news about: Marietta
Mar 17, 2022
One trophy down, one to go for Marietta.
Marietta athletics photo
 

MARIETTA, Ohio — Watching the celebration unfold, Marietta coach Jon VanderWal took a moment to reflect on how far the men's basketball program has grown since he arrived in 2007.

Back then, Marietta was playing in front of 75 fans and the Pioneers barely scratched out six victories. VanderWal's faith in what he could build at Marietta never wavered, though.

And on Saturday night, his commitment to MC was rewarded again as the Pioneers rallied in the second half to defeat No. 4 Christopher Newport 81-79 in the NCAA Division III Sectional Final at Ban Johnson Arena. Next up is a rematch with top-ranked Randolph-Macon, who easily defeated WPI 76-53. The Yellowjackets defeated Marietta 82-74 in the Great Lakes Invitational on Nov. 20 — the last time Marietta lost a game this season.

For right now, though, Marietta is going to enjoy what it accomplished as it was a historic night for the program as the second-ranked Pioneers (29-2) earned their first trip to the Final Four. Marietta broke the school record for wins in a season with 29.

In its most recent Elite 8 visit, Marietta was edged out by one of the most impressive NCAA Tournament performances at any level of basketball, when Wheaton's Aston Francis poured in 62 points and had 12 rebounds to lead his Thunder team to a 91-87 overtime win in 2019. The previous time, Marietta was not able to keep up with Augustana, as the Vikings ran away with a 100-51 win in 2015.

"It's obviously so much joy right now, but also a lot of relief to get this close a couple times before and not quite able to get it done," VanderWal said. "There's just a ton of emotions running through my body right now. I'm really grateful and feel blessed."

Entering the season, VanderWal knew he had a talented and experienced group that could accomplish this goal. But nothing has come easy during back-to-back weekends of hosting NCAA games.

Defeating CNU for the second time this season may have been the toughest task to date. Marietta opened the season with an 86-83 win over the Captains on a neutral site in November.

"They're a great team. I think a top three team in the country," VanderWal said. "They're the only team that beat Randolph Macon. Crazy to think we played that team the first game of the year and now our 31st game of the year. They're incredible."

Marietta, whose biggest lead of the night was five points, needed a big second half and another unbelievable performance from senior Lukas Isaly to come from behind and earn a spot in Fort Wayne, Indiana, next week.

Isaly, who is averaging 25.75 points a game in this year's NCAA Tournament, poured in a career-best 38 points (24 in the second half) to lift the Pioneers.

"Obviously, Marietta has a great team and a great program," said CNU coach John Krikorian. "For what Lukas Isaly was able to do, I thought we did about everything we could do, (but) he really took over the game when it was in the balance. You've got to tip your hat. That was an incredible performance."

After four years of coaching Isaly, VanderWal said there is nothing that surprises him anymore.

"We just keep repeating this. He just keeps stepping up and making these big-time plays," VanderWal said. "His performances this weekend and last weekend have been just incredible. He's a big-time player and he has a ton of guts. He's who you want to ride and that's why we brought him here."

Isaly said being a part of this moment is why he wanted to be a Pioneer.

"Once that buzzer hit it kind of hit me, not only did we make it to the Final Four, but this is my last showing here in Ban Johnson Arena. It couldn't have been more special," he said. "Credit to the coaches, the players. What a weekend this has been. Two weekends it has been here and we played in front of our home crowd and it's been huge. I'm sure we'll have a great following next week."