CLEVELAND, OHIO – Junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference forward Kyle Payne (Brunswick) scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team outlasted Case Western Reserve University, 78-76, tonight (Wednesday, November 28, 2012) in a non-conference game in the Horsbaugh Gymnasium inside the Veale Center.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets improved to 3-1 overall and won their first road game. Case falls to 3-2 overall.
In addition to Payne for BW, junior All-OAC guard Kevin Krakowiak (Valley City/Holy Name) scored 15 points and junior guard Grant Fairhurst (Ashland) added 13. Case was led by freshman guard Jimmy Holman with a game-high 24 points.
The Spartans opened the scoring at 2-0 when junior center David Thompson scored on a layup at 19:23. The Yellow Jackets cut into the lead when Payne split a pair of free throws at 19:02.
After another bucket from Thompson, BW would cut the lead to one at 4-3 on two free throws from Payne at the 17:59 mark. Case and the Yellow Jackets would exchange baskets with the Spartans extending their lead to as many as three points.
BW would take its first lead of the game at 12-11 when junior guard Justin Roth (Parma) drove the lane and scored the layup at 12:59. After another Spartan basket, the Yellow Jackets would once again regain the lead at 16-13 on a pair of baskets by Fairhurst and senior forward Chris Ameen (Broadview Heights/Walsh Jesuit) at 9:37.
Case would tie the game at 19-19 when freshman guard Jimmy Holman hit the jumper with 6:53 remaining in the opening half. BW would push its lead to four points at 30-26 when senior forward Sean Rothermel (Delaware/Hayes) scored on a layup with 2:09 to play. The Spartans would outscore the Yellow Jackets 8-4 over the remainder of the first half and tied the game at 34-34 when Holman nailed a trey as time expired.
BW would open the second half on a 7-3 run to take a 41-37 when Payne split a pair of free throws at the 16:14 mark. The Yellow Jackets pushed their lead to five points at 44-39 when Payne would convert the three-point play at 15:27.
The Spartans would use a 13-4 run to take a 52-48 lead when junior forward Dane McLaughlin hit the jumper at 11:29. After a pair of free throws by Fairhurst to cut the lead down to 52-50, Case would go on a 7-2 run to push their lead to a game high seven points at 59-52 on a jumper by Holman.
Undaunted, BW would use a 13-3 run to regain the lead at 65-62 as sophomore guard Jaron Crowe (Mentor) and Fairhurst would each hit a three while Krakowiak would score on a layup at 6:04.
Case would cut the lead down to two points at 76-74 on a pair of free throws from senior Austin Fowler with just 54 seconds remaining. The Spartans had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining but the layup rattled out. After a pair of free throws by Krakowiak, Case would close out the scoring at 78-76 on a layup by Holman with one second to play.
The BW men are back in action this Saturday, December 1 when they travel to Alma, Michigan to play the Alma Scots at 5:00 p.m. The Yellow Jackets open Ohio Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, December 5 when it hosts the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern University in the Ursprung Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. Fans can watch the game live via webcast at http://www.bwyellowjackets.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/videos/onu
FOR MORE BW 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.
