BEREA, Ohio – On Josh Herron Recognition Night, the No. 22 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated Hiram College 81-71 in Ursprung Gymnasium, inside the Lou Higgins Center.   

BW (2-0) had four separate Yellow Jackets score in double-figures, led by senior two-time Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick), who had 15 points and two assists. Senior forward Tyler Colombo (Strasburg/Tuscarawas Central Catholic) poured in 12 and grabbed four rebounds while senior forward Drew Sova (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) and senior forward Alex Nahra (Mayfield) each threw in 10. Sova led BW with nine boards.

Hiram (2-1) was led by junior guard Jalen Kirksey as he scored a game-high 27 points.

This victory improves BW's all-time series record with Hiram to 45-29. The last contest was in the 2010-11 season, where BW fell to the Terriers, 74-72.

In the first five minutes and four seconds, Hiram established a 13-10 advantage. The Yellow Jackets tied the game at 13 after a three from junior guard Matt Dimitrijevs (Broadview Heights/Brecksville Broadview Heights) and took the lead off a Sova layup at 13:27. The Terriers tied the game up at 15 before BW established their largest lead of 18-15, with an old-fashioned three-point play from sophomore guard Shane Zalba (Mentor) at the 12:40 mark. Hiram answered with a 15-4 run to establish it's largest lead of the half of 30-22, with 7:23 left to go in the first. The Yellow Jackets tied the game up 40 with an 18-10 run, capped off by a Nahra cutting layup, assisted by Colombo. BW went into intermission up 44-42.

The Terriers grabbed their first lead of the half with an 8-5 spurt at 16:14. Quiring swiftly gave the Yellow Jackets back the lead with a layup on the following possession. The lead changed hands three times in the next minute, until a Nahra layup at 14:08 put BW back on top, 56-55. Up one, the Yellow Jackets used a trey from Dimitrijevs and two made free throws from Sova, to turn their next possession into a rare five-point possession. Up 61-55, BW went on a 5-4 run that forced Hiram to take a timeout at 11:17. Hiram cut the lead to 73-69 off a Kirksey layup at 8:47. A 5-0 run from the Yellow Jackets, capped off with a block from Zalba and a trey by Dimitrijevs from Zalba 3:53, put BW ahead for good. The final minutes dwindled off the scoreboard and the Yellow Jackets defeated the Terriers, 81-71.

BW hits the courts next on Tuesday November 19 when they travel to New Wilmington, Pennsylvania to take on Westminster (Pa.) College at 7 p.m.