Men's Basketball Corrals the Polar Bears

By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24

ADA, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team rode a second half surge to a 72-64 victory over Ohio Northern University in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup inside the ONU Sports Center.

BW LEADERS (10-12, 6-9 OAC)

• Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Anthony Mazzeo (Canton/Massillon Jackson) led all scorers, tying a season-high with 28 points. He also added a team-high six rebounds.
• Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Jake Snyder (Stow/Archbishop Hoban) played a critical role down the stretch, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the second half. He also recorded game-highs in assists (six) and steals (four).
• Sophomore forward Zoltan Nagy (Lakewood/St. Edward) matched Mazzeo's team-high six rebounds on the boards.

ONU LEADERS (8-13, 5-10)

• Senior All-OAC forward C.J. Napier led the Polar Bears with a team-high 22 points and game-high nine rebounds.
• Freshman guard Will Miller and senior guard Landen Long also cracked double digits for the Polar Bears, tallying 15 and 13 points respectively.

FIRST HALF (26-24 ONU)

• An 8-0 run put the Yellow Jackets ahead at the first media timeout.
• BW forced three turnovers and held ONU to a 2-of-11 mark from the field over the opening eight minutes.
• Mazzeo accounted for 10 of BW's first 16 points, as the Yellow Jackets led 16-15 with just over seven minutes left in the half.
• ONU took a 26-24 lead into the break, after a tightly contested half in which neither team led by more than four points.
• Mazzeo led all scorers with ten first half points.

SECOND HALF (72-64 BW)

• Sophomore guard Ashton Price (Bay Village/Bay) connected from beyond the arc on the opening possession of the half, jump-starting a 10-2 BW run out of the break.
• BW scored 19 points in the opening 5:14 of the second half, taking a 43-37 lead in the process.
• After ONU pulled within one, Snyder scored on three consecutive possessions to extend the lead to 52-44 with 11:06 remaining.
• The Polar Bears rallied to cut the lead to 64-62 with 4:01 to play, but the Yellow Jackets held ONU scoreless for the next 3:34 to pull away down the stretch.
• Mazzeo went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe down the line, sealing a critical 72-64 OAC win.

The Yellow Jackets return to the court on Saturday, February 11, as they host Muskingum University on Seniors' Day in the first game of men's and women's OAC doubleheader. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.