With the victory, the Pioneers (1-0) advance to Saturday (Nov. 18) afternoon\'s championship game. Marietta will take on the winner of Medaille (N.Y.) and the host Spartans at 4 p.m. Thiel (0-1) will take on the loser at 2 p.m.
Despite moving away from the Fun & Gun this season, the Pioneers, who won their season opener for the first time in three years, used their long range shooters to jump out to an early lead, and, while it did get close midway through the second half, Marietta never trailed in the victory.
Sophomore guard Tyler Morando, who finished with a game-high 22 points, started off the game by hitting his first two three-pointers and sophomore guard Isaiah Creasap followed with a three-pointer of his own to help Marietta build a 10-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
A pair of free throws by Morando with 10:39 to play in the first period extended the Pioneers\' lead to 18 points, 27-9. Thiel cut the advantage to 12 two minutes later, only for a Morando three-pointer to move the lead back to 18 points, 34-16, with 6:30 to go in the half. Thiel closed the half on a 11-3 run but Marietta entered the locker room with a 37-27 advantage, thanks mainly to its hot shooting.
The Pioneers connected on 10-of-21 (.476) from the floor and 5-of-11 (.455) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, while the Tomcats shot just 8-of-25 (.320) from the field and made only one-of-nine three-point field goal attempts.
Thiel was able to cut the lead to five points, 41-36, three minutes into the final frame, but a lay-up by junior forward Matt Phillips and a pair of jumpers by senior center Matt Rucker gave Marietta some breathing room and a 47-36 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game.
The Tomcats put together a 16-5 run midway through the second half and cut the lead to one point, 56-55, with 6:03 to play. Marietta, however, held Thiel to just two field goals the rest of the way and closed the game on a 19-4 run to secure the victory. Morando (eight points), Phillips (six points) and Rucker (five points) accounted for all 19 of those important points.
Marietta finished the night shooting 20-of-44 (.435) from the field and 7-of-19 (.368) from long range. The Pioneers added 28-of-40 (.800) from the charity stripe. Thiel, meanwhile, went 21-of-49 (.429) from the floor, 2-of-15 (.133) from beyond the arc and 15-of-20 (.750) from the line.
Marietta forced 23 turnovers while committing 19 and out rebounded Thiel 34-20 in the win.
Morando, who was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line, shot 4-of-11 from the floor with all but one shot being a three-pointer.
Phillips and Rucker each finished one rebound shy of a double-double. Phillips had 18 points and two assists to go along with his nine boards. Rucker added 13 points and a team-high three assists with his nine rebounds.
Creasap also had double figures in the game, scoring 11 points, while senior Eric Lechlitner finished with a team-high four steals off the bench.
Thiel had two players in double figures, Sharron Summerville had 13 while Brandon Mirizio added 11.