Nov 20, 2013 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – This was a game that won’t make Jason Propst’s scrapbook or have a lasting place in his memory.

Propst, the talented 6-5 junior basketball forward from Waynesburg University, had what could be considered a down game. He scored three points in the first half and finished with nine against a Marietta defense that was intent on not letting Propst anywhere near the basket.

And when he did venture into that territory, it must have felt like three people were guarding him.

That’s the type of attention a 22-points-per-game scorer attracts.

Keeping Propst under wraps for much of the game, controlling most rebounds and sinking nearly every free throw in the second half were enough to send Marietta to a 78-65 nonconference victory Wednesday at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

“Oh yeah, we talked about No. 34,” said Marietta head coach Jon Vanderwal. “We wanted to shut him down.”

When Kenny Klase hit a short jump shot 1:10 in, it gave Waynesburg a 4-2 lead, the last of the game for the Yellow Jackets. Marietta used its muscle inside to push out to a six-point lead eight minutes and Waynesburg could never make up that ground.

“It was not a real pretty game,” said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. “It was physical, like one of our (Presidents’ Athletic Conference) games. Last year, we were beaten there by nearly 30 points, so I guess this is progress.”

It’s nice to be physical. It’s better to be physical and shoot well, and that was where Waynesburg struggled. The Yellow Jackets sank just six of 20 shots from three-point range and made just seven of 15 free throws.

Marietta managed a 10-point lead, 52-42 midway through the second half, but Waynesburg kept its composure and chipped away.

Six seemed to be the number Waynesburg could not make up, trailing 52-46 at the 10:32 mark, 60-54 at 7:01, and 61-56 with 4:03 to play.

Marietta finally went on an 11-5 run that pushed the lead to 72-61 with 1:07 left.

“We need to clean up around the boards better,” said Christner. “They had 16 offensive rebounds. We did a little better in the second half.”

A.J. Davis, a 6-4 junior, and RaNeal Ewing, a 5-11 sophomore, each scored 19 points for the Pioneers (3-0), but in different ways. Ewing sank 10 of 11 free throws, including six in a row in the second half, and Davis had eight of his points within a few feet of the basket.

“Sixteen offensive rebounds is a lot for us,” Vanderwal said. “We came up with some key offensive rebounds when we needed them.”

Brennan McKean, a 5-11 junior guard, scored 16 points and tied Davis with three three-point field goals.

Klase had a strong game for the Yellow Jackets, who feel for the first time in three games this season. He had 15 points and 17 rebounds. Klase and Jacob Fleegle, a 6-4 junior, combined to score 12 straight points for Waynesburg to start the second half.

“We are definitely improving,” said Klase, “but we still need to work on some things. In the second half, they were focused on Jason in the post. I had some openings and just did my job. We put together a couple of runs, but couldn’t finish.”

Propst didn’t let Marietta keep him from unleashing a physical game underneath. He pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, including 10 on defense.

“Propst has come a long way,” Christner said. “He needs to get to the free throw line more. He fought hard. He was giving up about 20 pounds underneath.

“Klase was very solid. He’s a competitor and a key part to what we want to do this year.”