BEREA, OHIO -- Despite a game and career-high 22 points from freshman forward Chris Ameen (Broadview Heights/Walsh Jesuit), the Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team lost to 10th-ranked (www.d3hoops.com) Wilmington College, 79-65, tonight (Tuesday, December 22, 2009) in an Ohio Athletic Conference game in Wilmington. A key 17-2 in the second half propelled the Quakers to the win.
The Quakers were led by Tyler Ledford with 18 points. Ledford was joined in double figures by Brandon Rogers with 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds and Tyler White with 14 points. In addition to Ameen for BW, sophomore point guard Promis Cabbil (Elyria/Senior) scored 12 points, passed for six assists, and had five rebounds.
With its win, Wilmington is now 10-1 overall and is in first place at 5-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. BW drops to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the OAC.
In the first half, BW jumped out to an early 9-4 lead when Ameen scored on a layup at the 16:48 mark. BW extended its lead to as many as nine points on two occasions, with the last coming at the 10:08 mark when freshman guard Brandon Schmidt (Wellington) scored on a layup. Wilmington answered with a 9-2 run capped off on a dunk by Tyler White with 4:13 left in the half. Wilmington gained their first lead at 27-26 when Brandon Candella tipped-in a Rogers missed jumper with one second left.
In the second half, BW gained a five point lead with 15:32 left at 38-33 when Cabbil made a layup, was fouled and converted the three point play. Wilmington then went on a 17-2 run over the next four minutes, to take a 50-40 lead which was punctuated by another White throw down at the 11:44 mark. The Quakers extended their lead to 13 points on two occasions with the second coming at the 6:28 mark when Candella made two free throws, making the score 64-51. BW did not go down quietly as the Jackets cut the Wilmington lead to four points at 65-61 on two Cabbil free throws with 3:47 left in the game. However, the Quakers were quick to stop the BW upset bid as they went on an 11-2 run making the score 75-63 with 49 seconds remaining when Ledford made two free throws.
For the game, BW made just 13-of-25 free throws and comitted 21 turnovers.
BW is idle until Sunday, December 27 when it travels to Crestview Hills, Kentucky to play Indiana University East in the first round of the Thomas More College Coach Connor Classic at 5:00 p.m. Media and fans can listen LIVE to all Yellow Jacket men's and women's basketball games on campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM. BW also plays the host school, Thomas More, on Monday, Dec. 28 at 7:00 p.m.
In addition, the upcoming February 20, 2010 game versus Otterbein College will be taped by S&S Video Productions and telecast on SportsTime Ohio. The Feb. 20 game also is the Second Annual "Take a Kid to the Game" Day. For more information on that game, please call Meg Carney in the BW Athletic Department at 440-826-2140 or visit the "Take a Kid to the Game" web site at www.bw.edu/athletics/takeakid10.
FOR MORE BW Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Nick Minerd by phone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail at nminerd@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.