BEREA, OHIO -- Three Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball players combined for 64 points as the Yellow Jackets beat Cleveland cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University, 88-75,  in its season and home opener in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center. This game was the nightcap of a women's and men's doubleheader. In the opener, the BW women beat Case, 89-63.

 

BW (1-0) was led by senior three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference forward Kyle Payne (Brunswick) and junior point guard Jaron Crowe (Mentor) with 20 points each and senior two-time All-OAC guard Kevin Krakowiak (Valley City/Holy Name) had 20. Case (2-1) was led by sophomore guard Jimmy Holman's 17 points.

 

BW grabbed an early 7-3 lead at 18:02 when senior forward Skyler Simpson (Centerburg) made a three-pointer. The lead grew to eight points at 17-9 at 14:15 when Simpson canned another trey. The lead grew to double digits at 24-13 at 12:11 when senior guard Grant Fairhurst (Ashland) made a trey.

 

Case came right back with a 13-2 run to tie the score at 26-26 at 8:18 when sophomore forward Spence Boyd made a layup off a fastbreak.  The Spartans gained their first lead at 30-29 at 5:56 when Chung made a rainbow shot in the lane.

 

BW retook the lead with a 9-0 run to lead 38-30 at 3:26 when Krakowiak made his second of back-to-back triples.  The Yellow Jackets, powered by Crowe's 15 first half points, led 41-34 at the intermission.

 

BW gained its biggest lead at 19:22 when Crowe made a runner in the lane, was fouled and made the free throw for a 46-34 advantage. After Case cut the lead to eight points, BW went on an 8-2 run to take a 16-point lead at 58-42 at 15:42 when freshman guard Zack Brady (Hudson) nailed a trey from the left corner.

 

Case again clawed back and closed to within seven at 74-67 at 7:04, but BW came right back with its own 7-0 run to regain a 14-point bulge at 4:39 when Fairhurst nailed a triple. The closest Case would get after that point was 11 points at 82-71 with 2:49 left.

 

BW returns to action this weekend, November 22-23 when the Yellow Jackets travel to Wooster, Ohio to play at The College of Wooster Al Van Wie Tournament. BW opens play on Friday, Nov. 22 against eighth-ranked Wooster at 8:00 p.m.  The consolation and championship games are on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., respectively.

 

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]kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at [jefmille@bw.edu]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.