BEXLEY, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team fell to No. 21 Nationally Ranked Capital Universit by a score of 81-76 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup inside the Capital Center Performance Arena.
BW (15-8, 9-7 OAC) was led by senior two-time All-OAC and two-time Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) who had a game-high and career-tying 31 points. Junior forward Tyler Colombo (Strasburg/Tucarawas Central Catholic) marked 13 while senior guard Kyle Nader (Vermilion) grabbed a career-tying eight rebounds, along with four points.
Capital (19-4, 14-2 OAC) had five players in double-figures, led by senior two-time Academic All-OAC forward Caleb Cox, who had 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior two-time All-OAC and two-time Academic All-OAC guard Austin Schreck marked 17 while senior All-OAC guard Joey Weingartner poured in 14. Senior forward Will Hannah recorded 12 and junior forward Ganiyu Yahaya contributed with 10.
The Crusaders opened the scoring with a jump shot from Schreck and would hold that lead until a three-pointer from Battle would tie the game at 10 at 13:43. Capital then went on their best scoring run of the half with six unanswered points to bring the score to 16-10 at 12:02. BW shrank the lead to 16-14 before Capital would extend their lead to 23-16 with 6:54 to play in the first. In the midst of an 18-14 Yellow Jacket run, Battle eclipsed Howard Wright (1956-1960) No. 14 on BW's All-Time scoring list with a layup and went into intermission trailing 37-34.
Capital started the second half with a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 44-34 with 18:22 in the second half. From that point the lead fluctuated between double and single-digits five times over the next nine minutes. At 9:52 the Crusaders established their largest lead of 64-47 off a Schreck jump shot in the paint. BW responded with a 12-4 run to trim the lead to 68-59 off a Battle trey with under seven minutes left in regulation. The Yellow Jackets went on a 14 -9 run over the next five minutes to cut the lead to 77-73 in the final minute. Capital drilled three of their next four free thows, before junior Academic All-OAC guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) banked home a three in the final seconds to bring the score to 80-76. Capital split a pair of free throws for the final point of the contest and for the 81-76 victory.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, February 13 for Seniors' Day against the University of Mount Union. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
