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MC men win OAC tourney

Marietta College's Keith Richardson goes in for a layup during an OAC tournament match against Baldwin Wallace Saturday at the Ban Johnson Arena.

MARIETTA — A.J. Edwards owned the paint

The Marietta College senior All-American brushed off the Baldwin Wallace defenders with a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds as the top-seeded Pioneers won 83-74 in an Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament men’s basketball final at sold-out Ban Johnson Arena Saturday night.

“It was us Marietta PioNation versus everybody,” said the 6-foot-5 Edwards, who was named the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.

“It’s a team thing,” he added. “It’s a team game. No one person can win the game for a team.”

Anthony Wallace, also a tournament honoree, added 19 points, while Keith Richardson had 14 points for the NCAA D3 eighth-ranked Pioneers (24-4), who won the program’s third OAC tourney title. Non-starters’ RaNeal Ewing and Jack Thome chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively. Ewing also collected seven caroms.

“I do my role,” Wallace said. “I come out and play defense. I hit my open shots and let the rest of the game fall in place.”

With the OAC tourney victory, Jon VanderWal-coached MC — which also claimed the regular-season crown — received an automatic NCAA D3 tournament bid. The Pioneers are scheduled to host a game on a date to be announced.

Sixth-seeded Baldwin Wallace (15-13) was paced by all-tourney honorees’ Jay Battle and Michael Quiring, who tallied 16 and 15 points, respectively. Jake Fetherolf chipped in with 13, while Cam Kuhn and Jake Fetherolf netted nine markers apiece.

Marietta never trailed in the contest.

Down in the low blocks, Edwards was fed early and often. The 2015-16 OAC Player of the Year scored nine of the Pioneers’ first 11 points.

“We have such good shooters,” Edwards said. “They spread the floor and make my job a lot easier.”

Edwards said that he was also on a mission.

“For a reason, too,” said Edwards, who last week was named an OAC first-teamer but did not repeat as Player of the Year. “Everyone knows the reason, because of the voters and the haters — and the people against us.”

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