BEREA, Ohio –The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team fell short to Heidelberg University in an Ohio Athletic Conference overtime thriller by a final score of 82-80 in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (14-4, 8-3 OAC) had four players score in double figures led by senior All-OAC forward Jake Fetherolf (Norwalk) as he recorded his OAC leading eighth double-double of the season, the 26th of his career and the second in the season series with a game-high 23points and a game-best 13 rebounds. Fetherolf scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the first game.
In addition, senior All-OAC guard Cam Kuhn (Vermilion) and junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) each scored 15 points. Sophomore guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) chipped in 12 points.
Heidelberg (8-10, 4-7 OAC, who snapped an eight-game losing skid in Berea and split the season series for the second straight season has not won in Berea since the 2008-09 season when they posted an 92-87 overtime victory. Entering tonight, the Student Princes had not won in Berea since the 2008-09 season.
Heidelberg had four players score in double digits led by junior Academic All-OAC forward Myron Prewitt as he scored 19 points. Senior All-OAC guard Kiere Bennie poured in 15 points. Senior guard Chris Moxley tallied 14 points and junior center Prince Benson contributed 13 points.
BW jumped out to an early 5-2 lead when Fetherolf scored on a reverse layup at the 17:12 mark. The Student Princes answered with a 5-0 run to take a 7-5 lead when junior center Prince Benson scored on a layup at 16:26. The game would be tied two more times over the next three minutes with the last coming at 9-9 when Bennie scored on a layup for Heidelberg at the 13:03 mark. The Student Princes then went on an 13-3 run to take an 22-12 lead when Prewitt knocked down a jumper at 8:54. The Yellow Jackets cut the lead down to 27-20 on fast break layup by junior guard Kyle Nader (Vermilion) at the 6:01 mark. BW closed the half on a 13-9 run to cut the lead down to 36-33 when Battle buried a triple with 1:18 remaining in the opening half.
BW opened the second half on a 6-2 run to take a 39-38 advantage on back to triples by Fetherolf and Battle with the last coming at the 17:49 mark. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 47-43 when Battle knocked down a three-pointer at 15:02. The Student Princes went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead down to 48-47 on a layup by sophomore guard Josh Dixon at the 14:07 mark. BW responded with a 10-5 run to push the lead to 58-52 when Nader knocked down a three at 10:53. Heidelberg regained the lead at 65-64 when freshman forward Bailey Croft hit a three-pointer at the 5:16 mark. The Yellow Jackets went on a 9-4 run to take a 73-69 lead on a Quiring triple at 2:06. The Student Princes forced the game into overtime when Benson hit a pair from the charity stripe with 53 seconds remaining to tie the game at 73-73.
Heidelberg opened the overtime period on a 5-0 run to take a 78-73 lead when Bennie buried a triple at the 3:26 mark. BW answered with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 80-80 when Fetherolf hit a three-pointer at 1:37. The Student Princes went 2-of-4 from the foul line in the final minute, including with just 3.5 seconds remaining when senior Academic All-OAC forward James Hanley only knocked down one. The Yellow Jackets had a look at the win but Battle's three-point attempt at the buzzer was just off the mark.
BW is back in action on Saturday, January 24 when it hosts an OAC game against No. 25-nationally ranked Marietta College in the Ursprung Gym at 3 p.m.
