ALLIANCE, Ohio –The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team fell to the University of Mount Union in an Ohio Athletic Conference game by a final score of 74-61 in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Center.
BW (16-8, 10-7 OAC), who split the season series for the second straight season, had four players score in double figures led by senior All-OAC forward Jake Fetherolf (Norwalk) as he scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high tying seven rebounds. Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) and sophomore guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) each chipped in 11 points. Senior All-OAC guard Cam Kuhn (Vermilion) contributed 10 points.
Mount Union, (12-12, 8-9 OAC), who now has won five of the last six games at home in the series and has won eight of the last 12 games, had three players score in double digits led by sophomore guard Nathan Bower-Malone as he scored a game-high 30 points. Junior Academic All-OAC guard Andrew Francesconi and junior forward Diallo Niamke each poured in 15 points.
The Purple Raiders jumped out to a 7-4 lead on a layup by Niamke at the 17:54 mark. The Yellow Jackets tied the game at 9-9 on a jumper by Quiring at 16:30. Mount Union pushed the lead to 15-12 on a jumper by Niamke at the 14:32 mark. After two minutes of no scoring, BW cut the lead down to 15-14 on a jumper by sophomore forward Tyler Colombo (Strasburg/Tuscarawas Central Catholic) at 12:27. The Purple Raiders responded with an 8-2 run to extend their lead to 23-16 when Francesconi knocked down a three-pointer at the 10:07 mark. The Yellow Jackets fought back to cut the lead down to 24-20 on a layup by Fetherolf at 7:02. Mount Union pushed its leads to 31-22 on a triple from Francesconi at the 4:29 mark. BW used a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to 31-29 on a layup by Kuhn at 2:17. The Purple Raiders closed out the half on a 5-2 run to lead 36-31 heading into the locker-room.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second half on a 15-8 run to take a 46-44 lead on a jumper by Fetherolf at the 15:31 mark. After the game was tied at 50-50 with 13:12 remaining, Mount Union closed the game on a 24-11 run.
BW closes out the 2017-18 regular season portion of their schedule on Saturday, February 17 when it hosts an OAC game against Wilmington College on Seniors' and Parents' Day in the Ursprung Gym at 3 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets will enter the 2018 OAC Men's Basketball Tournament as the fourth seed when it hosts a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m.
