BEREA, OHIO - Otterbein junior wing Brice Rausch scored a game-high 23 points as the visiting Otterbein University Cardinals defeated Baldwin Wallace University, 76-56, tonight (Thursday, February 3, 2011) in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center in Berea. This was a rescheduled game from yesterday.
With its loss, Baldwin Wallace falls to 7-13 overall and 3-10 in the OAC and was held to a season-low for points in a game. The Yellow Jackets were led by freshman forward Kyle Payne (Brunswick) with 12 points while All-OAC junior guard Promis Cabbil (Elyria) chipped in 11. With its win, Otterbein is now 10-10 overall and 6-7 in the OAC. In addition to Rausch, freshman forward Max Van Meter scored 18 points while junior center Chris Davis tallied 12.
In the first half, Otterbein jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Rausch made a lay-up at the 19:40 mark. After the Cardinals built an 8-0 lead, BW got on the board when freshman forward Payne made a layup at the 16:38 mark. The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to one, 8-7, when Cabbil hit a jumper at the 15:20.
Otterbein used a 6-0 run that was fueled by Davis with four points. BW ended the run when Payne hit a hook shot at the 11:53 mark to make the score 14-9 in favor of the Cardinals. Otterbein opened up a 10 point lead after freshman guard C.J. Julian converted the traditional three point play by hitting at the 9:16 mark.
The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit back to eight, 21-13, when sophomore forward Scott Branchick (Mentor) made a layup at the 8:46 mark. The Cardinals opened up 14 point lead when freshman guard Matt McCollister hit a three at the 5:37 mark to make the score 33-19. Freshman guard Grant Fairhurst (Ashland) gave the Yellow Jackets some life when he knocked down his second trey of the game at the 4:49 mark to cut the lead back to 11.
The Cardinals opened up their largest lead of the game when Rausch made a layup at the 3:19 mark to make the score 39-22. A jumper by sophomore guard Ben Umbel (Poland/Seminary) at the 2:17 mark sparked a 5-0 run by the Yellow Jackets.
BW cut the lead to 12 when Payne finished off a traditional three point play at the 1:58 mark. The Yellow Jackets were able to cut the lead to seven when sophomore forward Chris Ameen (Broadview Heights/Walsh Jesuit) scored six straight points including a three as time expired to make the score 41-34 at intermission.
In the second half, BW could not get any closer than the halftime deficit of seven points. Otterbein increased its lead to as many 23 points on layup by Raush at the 6:19 mark for the game's largest margin.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, February 5 when they travel to New Concord, Ohio to play OAC-rival Muskingum University in the John Glenn Gymnasium at 4:00 p.m. This game is the nightcap of a women's and men's doubleheader. The BW and Muskingum women tipoff at 2:00 p.m. In addition, fans can listen to all of the action on either campus radio station WBW, 88.3 FM, or via the WBW Internet web site at www.wBW.com.
FOR MORE 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 Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.BWyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
