Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Schaefer Leads Men's Basketball to Sixth Straight Victory with Win Over Ohio Northern

Junior guard Luke Schaefer
Junior guard Luke Schaefer

BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team secured their sixth straight victory in part to a career day from sophomore guard Luke Schaefer (Medina) at the Lou Higgins Center, inside Ursprung Gymnasium.

BW (10-4, 4-3 OAC) had four players in double figures, led by Schaefer with a career-high 16 points. Sophomore guard Matthew Dimitrijevs (Broadview Heights/Brecksville Broadview Heights) poured in 18, while senior two-time Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) contributed with 14. Senior guard Kyle Nader (Vermilion) tallied 13.

Ohio Northern (4-10, 0-7 OAC) was led by three-time All-OAC center Ryan Bruns who scored 32 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior forward Daniel Donner marked 17 and sophomore guard Colton Bachman tallied 14 points.

This game snaps a five game regular season losing streak to the Polar Bears, as the last win for the Yellow Jackets was an 80-77 victory, in the 2015-16 season.

As BW held onto a 12-11 lead at the 15:30 mark, the Yellow Jackets went on a 14-3 run, bringing the score to 26-14 with 12:38 left in the first. Over the next six minutes, the teams scored nine points each and brought the score to 35-25. From there, BW went on an 8-0 spurt, capped off by Dimitrijevs' fifth three of the half. Up 43-25, the Yellow Jackets continued their momentum and closed out the half on a 9-7 run and went into the locker room with a 52-32 lead.

Seven minutes into the second half, Ohio Northern trimmed the 20 point Yellow Jacket lead to 11, 63-52 off a Bruns layup in the paint. At 10:36, the Polar Bears shrunk the lead to single digits off a Colton Bachman three-pointer. With the score at 66-59, Ohio Northern went on a 4-3 run and narrowed the lead to 69-63, the smallest lead of the half for the Yellow Jackets. BW was not wavered, and answered with a 16-10 run, capped off by Schaefer's layup, and career-best 16 points. BW went onto close out the game and secure their fourth conference victory at 90-75.

The Yellow Jackets open a two-game road trip with a contest against Wilmington College on Saturday, January 12 at 3 p.m. BW will be back at home on Saturday, January 19 when they host No. 10 Nationally ranked Marietta College at 3 p.m, inside Ursprung Gymnasium.