KISSIMMEE, FLA. - Freshman guard Grant Fairhurst (Ashland/Senior) scored a career-high and team season-best 26 points as the Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated non-league foe University of Massachusetts-Boston, 82-71, today (Tuesday, January 4, 2011) to capture the championship of the ECAC Holiday Classic at the Kissimmee Civic Center. The victory was BW's third straight and marked the first meeting between the Beacons and the Yellow Jackets.

For BW, now 6-7 overall,  Fairhurst was 8-of-12 (.667) from the field, including 7-of-11 (.636) from three-point land and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line.  In addition for the Yellow Jackets, freshman forward Kyle Payne (Brunswick) scored 19 points and grabbed a game-high tying seven rebounds while sophomore forward Chris Ameen (Broadview Heights/Walsh Jesuit) tallied 13 points and grabbed five rebounds  For Massachusetts-Boston, now 6-5 overall, senior forward Pat Joseph scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed a game-high tying seven rebounds.

Fairhurst was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Payne.

In the first half,  the Beacons jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a layup by senior forward Pat Joseph just 13 seconds into the game. Neither team would score over the next three minutes until Mass-Boston increased its lead to 4-0 on a pair of free throws by junior guard Michael Mitchell, Jr. at the 16:33 mark.  BW got its first points of the game and cut the lead in half, 4-2, when Ameen scored on a layup at 16:22.   The Yellow Jackets took their first lead of the game, 5-2, when Ameen converted the traditional three-point play with 15:34 remaining.

The Beacons regained the lead at 6-5 on a jumper by freshman forward Dontreal Thomas at 14:57.  BW then went on a 23-0 run that was sparked by Fairhurst and Payne who combined for 19 of the 23 points. Fairhurst scored 11 of the first 13 points and started the run at 14:41 on his first of three three-pointers.

The Beacons snapped a six minute scoreless streak, 28-8, when Joseph scored on a layup at 8:07.  Mass-Boston then converted a pair of free throws by Thomas to cut the lead down to 18 points, 28-10, with 7:23 remaining.   The Yellow Jackets would snap a three minute scoreless streak, 30-10 at the 6:55 mark when freshman guard Kevin Krakowiak (Valley City/Holy Name) hit a jumper.

BW would outscored the Beacons 11-7 over the remainder of the first half and led 41-17 at the intermission.  The Yellow Jackets were led by Payne with seven points and Krakowiak with four during that stretch.   

In the second half,  Mass-Boston came out of the break on a 12-2 run to cut the lead down to 14 points, 43-29, on a jumper by Mitchell, Jr. with 15:23  left in the game.  The Beacons would  outscore BW 54-41 in the second half but could get no closer than eight points on six occasions with the last coming on a pair of free throws by Mitchell, Jr. with 25 seconds left.  The Yellow Jackets led by a game-high 25 points on a layup by Payne with 21 seconds remaining in the first half.

BW will resume Ohio Athletic Conference action on Saturday, January 8 when it hosts rival Capital University in the second game of a women's and men's doubleheader in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium of the Lou Higgins Center in Berea at 4:00 p.m.  The Yellow Jackets and Capital women tipoff at 2:00 p.m. 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.  

In addition, two BW women's and men's basketball doubleheaders will be telecast on SportsTime Ohio this winter. The games are the January 29, 2011 twinbill versus Wilmington College and the Third Annual Take a Kid to the Game Day doubleheader versus Ohio Northern University on February 19, 2011.

Also on Jan. 29 when the Yellow Jackets play Wilmington, it is Al Sirat Grotto Day with partial gate proceeds going to benefit the Grotto's two philanthropies of assisting handicapped children with dentistry expenses and assisting the expenses for children with cerebral palsy.

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.