MARIETTA, Ohio – Sophomore guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) hit a game-winning three-point shot as time expired to lift the Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team to a 73-72 victory over the defending Ohio Athletic Conference Champion and sixth-nationally ranked Marietta College in its OAC opener inside the Ban Johnson Arena.
BW (4-1, 1-0 OAC) had three players score in double figured led by Quiring as he scored a career-high and game-high 25 points, including the game-winner. Senior All-OAC guard Cam Kuhn (Vermilion) scored 12 points while junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) chipped in 10 points. Senior All-OAC forward Jake Fetherolf (Norwalk) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Marietta (5-1, 1-1 OAC) had four players score in double digits led by junior forward Avery Williams as he scored 17 points. Junior guard Anthony Wallace and junior guard/forward DeVaughn Wingard each poured in 15 points. Senior All-OAC guard Dillon Young chipped in 10 points.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 9-4 advantage when Quiring when knocked down a pair from the charity stripe at the 17:43 mark. The Pioneers rallied with a 4-0 run to cut the lead down to 9-8 when Wallace scored on a reverse layup at 16:56. Marietta tied the game at 15-15 when Wingard scored five straight points with the last coming on a three-pointer at the 12:13 mark. BW answered with an 13-4 run to take a 28-19 lead on a three-pointer by Fetherolf at 7:57. The Pioneers closed out the first half on a 19-7 run to take a 38-35 lead into halftime.
Marietta opened the second half on a 6-0 run to push its lead to 44-35 on back-to-back three pointers by Kyle Dixon with the last coming at the 18:38 mark. The Yellow Jackets fought back with a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to 44-40 on five straight points from Kuhn with the last coming on a layup at 17:38. Over the next three minutes, both teams would score four points to make the score 48-44 in favor of the Pioneers. BW went on an 14-8 to take a 58-56 lead when Quiring converted the four-point play at the 9:02 mark. Marietta rallied with a 5-0 run to regain the lead at 61-58 on triple from Wingard at 6:45 mark. During the next four minutes, the teams would exchange buckets but the Pioneers held a 68-64 lead with 2:50 remaining. The Yellow Jackets game on two separate occasions down the stretch as Battle hit four foul shots with his final two coming with 16 seconds left in game to knot the game at 70-70. Marietta regained the lead at 72-70 when Young knocked down a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining. BW won the game when Quiring to the pass from Battle and launched the three-pointer the banked in for the win as time expired.
The Yellow Jackets returns to action on Saturday, December 9 when they travel to New Concord to face Muskingum University in the second game of a men's and women's OAC doubleheader on Performance Court at 4 p.m.
