WESTERVILLE, Ohio –The No. 25-nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated Otterbein University in an Ohio Athletic Conference game by a final score of 79-66 inside the Rike Center.
BW (12-3, 6-2 OAC) had three players score in double figures led by junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) scored a game-high and season-high tying 23 points. Senior All-OAC guard Cam Kuhn (Vermilion) chipped in 16 points Junior guard Kyle Nader (Vermilion) came off the bench to score a season-high tying 10 points. Senior All-OAC forward Jake Fetherolf (Norwalk) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and added nine points.
Otterbein (0-15, 0-8 OAC) had two players score in double digits led by junior guard Andre Bradley as he scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman guard Maurice Beavers tallied 13 points.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early 6-2 lead when Battle scored on a layup at the 18:11 mark. The Cardinal answered with a 5-3 run to cut the lead down to 9-7 on a three-pointer by Bradley at 17:08. BW extended its lead to 23-11 when Fetherolf buried a triple at the 13:27 mark. Otterbein cut the lead down to 36-24 when Bradley converted the traditional three-point play at 6:14. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Cardinals, 12-8, down the stretch to lead 48-32 at the half. BW go its final points on a three-pointer from sophomore forward Tyler Colombo (Strasburg/Tuscarawas Central Catholic) with eight seconds remaining in the opening stanza.
Otterbein went on a 9-5 run to open the second half and cut the lead down to 53-41 when sophomore guard Austin Springer knocked down a pair from the charity stripe at the 14:41 mark. The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead to 65-48 on a layup by freshman guard Luke Schaefer (Medina) at 10:51. The Cardinals cut the lead down to 76-66 when Beavers scored on a fast break layup with 1:03 remaining. BW scored the final three points of the game as Kuhn scored all of them from the foul line with the last coming with 45 seconds remaining.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, January 17 when they play the first game of a four game OAC homestand against crosstown rival and No. 23-nationally ranked John Carroll University at 7 p.m.
