DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The Marietta College men's basketball team opened play in the Florida Sunshine Shootout with a convincing 75-53 win over Bates College Thursday (Dec. 29) evening.  Marietta improves to 7-3 on the season, while Bates falls to 4-7 overall.
 
Both teams got off to a slow start and suffered from cold shooting. The Pioneers held a two-point lead, 15-13, with 8:54 left in the first half. Marietta took control of the game closing the first half on a 15-2 run over the final five minutes and took a 38-19 lead into halftime.
 
Stephon Baxter scored on a fast break layup cutting the Pioneer lead to 14 points, 43-29, with 15:28 left in the game. Bates would get no closer as Marietta responded with the next 14 points pushing the margin to 28 points, 57-29.
 
During the 14-0 run, Marietta got three-pointers from Ryan Magill, Jake Singleton and Danny Flood. Frank Waganfeald added three free throws during the spurt.
 
Waganfeald led the Pioneers with his first career double-double. The sophomore finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. David Sanford chipped in with 12 points. Sahmi Willoughby, Jac Alexander and Danny Flood each added seven points, while Willoughby grabbed 12 rebounds.
 
Baxter and David Omasombo led Bates with nine points each. Cam Riley grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Marietta closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday (Dec. 30) with a 5:00 p.m. game against Lebanon Valley College.