WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team dropped an overtime thriller to Wilmington College in the Fred Raizk Arena, on Hermann Court.
BW (10-5, 4-4 OAC) had four players in double figures led by senior two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) with a career-high 31 points. Sophomore guard Matthew Dimitrijevs (Broadview Heights/Brecksville Broadview Heights) contributed with 18, while senior guard Kyle Nader (Vermilion) poured in 12 and junior Academic All-OAC guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) recorded 11. Junior forward Drew Sova (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Wilmington (9-5, 5-3 OAC) had four in double figures also as Kevin Lewis and DaeShawn Jackson had 19 points. Will Patrick threw in 15 and Abdul Kanu had 13, with two coming in the final seconds.
BW grabbed their first lead of 3-2 off a Battle trey at the 18:09 mark. The Quakers went on a 6-0 run to answer, bringing the score to 8-3. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 6-0 run of their own, capped off by a four-point play from Quiring, at 12:16. Over the next eight minutes, the teams traded leads four times and BW would hold onto a 17-16 advantage with under five minutes left to play. Wilmington closed out the first half on a 14-9 spurt and headed into the locker room ahead 30-26.
Nader got the Yellow Jackets rolling in the second half with a block at one end and a layup on the other, decreasing the Quaker lead to 30-28. Wilmington responded with an 11-3 run, capped off by a Will Patrick three at 13:59, bringing the score to 41-31. BW battled back with a 19-7 spurt and took a 50-48 lead, forcing Wilmington to take a timeout at the six minute mark. The two squads tied five times in the final minutes and as Wilmington held onto a 63-61 lead, Battle would tie the game at 63 with a layup, forcing overtime.
The Quakers opened the scoring in extra time with a 4-0 run. With 3:47 left, each team scored eight points, bringing the score to 75-71 with 41 seconds remaining. Wilmington went to the free throw line and nailed one of two free throws. BW came back down the court and Quiring drilled a trey to bring the score to 76-74. With the score tied at 77,Abdul Kanu sunk a game winning layup as time expired and came away with the 79-77 victory.
BW will end their two-game road trip with a contest against John Carroll University on Wednesday, January, 16 and will be back home for a one-game stint with No. 10 Nationally Ranked Marietta College on Saturday, January 19.
