Men's Basketball Drops Season Finale to Capital

By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24 

BEXLEY, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team's season came to a close with an 80-67 loss to Capital University in the team's Ohio Athletic Conference and regular season finale inside Capital's Performance Arena. 

The Yellow Jackets finished the season with a 12-13 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the OAC, and finished tied for fifth place in the OAC with Capital and Otterbein University. 

Capital and Otterbein will advance to the six-team OAC tournament due to OAC tiebreakers.

BW LEADERS (12-13, 8-10 OAC) 

• The Yellow Jackets were led by senior all-OAC and Academic all-OAC guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Jackson), as he recorded game-high 19 points and six rebounds. 
• Freshman guard Ray Ellington (Westlake) also reached double figures, totaling 12 points on four three-pointers. 
• Junior forward Rob Watson III (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) added nine points and four rebounds. 

CAPITAL LEADERS (12-13, 8-10 OAC) 

• The Comets were led by junior center Nate Gerber, as he tallied a team-high 18 points and game-high seven rebounds. He scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. 
• Sophomore forward Dom Moegerle (14 points) and freshman guard McKane Finkenbine (ten points) also cracked double-digits for the Comets. 

FIRST HALF (30-29 Capital) 

• BW struggled early, opening the game 5-of-16 from the field as Capital raced out to an early 20-12 lead. 
• A 12-2 Comets run extended Capital's lead to double-digits, forcing a Yellow Jackets timeout with 5:13 left in the half. 
• Ellington connected on back-to-back three-pointers out of the timeout to cut the deficit to 28-20. 
• BW closed the half on a 15-4 run but trailed 30-29 at the break. 
• Ellington led all scorers with nine first-half points, all of which came on three-pointers in the final four minutes. 

SECOND HALF (80-67 Capital) 

• Capital took a 41-39 into the first media timeout of the half. 
• On the heels of a 12-2 run, the Comets retook a double-digit, 56-46 lead at the 9:57 mark. 
• A Mazzeo three-pointer cut the deficit to six (58-52) with just over eight minutes to play. 
• Following Mazzeo's three-pointer, Caoital pulled away with a 9-0 run, taking a 67-53 lead with 4:27 to play. 
• The Comets went a perfect ten-for-ten from the charity stripe down the line to seal the 80-67 victory and clinch a spot in next week's OAC tournament.