BEREA, Ohio – In an Ohio Athletic Conference contest, the Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated John Carroll University, 82-77 in the Lou Higgins Center, inside the Ursprung Gymnasium.
BW (10-6 overall, 6-3 OAC) was led by senior forward Alex Nahra (Mayfield) as he recorded 18 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Drew Sova (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) recorded his sixth career double-double with a line of 11 rebounds and 10 points, off 5-of-6 shooting.Senior two-time Academic All-OAC guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) chipped in 12, dished out six assists and snagged four rebounds. Senior guard Zach Cebula (Brunswick) also scored 12 off four threes, and grabbed four rebounds. Freshman guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Jackson) threw in 11 and junior guard Luke Schaefer (Medina) contributed with 10.
John Carroll (11-5 overall, 4-5 OAC) was led by senior guard Jimmy Berger, who registered a game-high 22 points. Senior guard Ryan Berger poured in 16 while senior guard Connor Fitzgerald scored 12. Junior guard Jackson Sartain chipped in 11 and senior guard Sean Flannery threw in 10 with five steals.
BW improves to 64-61 in the all-time series with the Blue Streaks and have won four of their last five with their cross-town rival, to hold onto the third spot in the OAC. The Yellow Jackets held John Carroll, the league leader in field goal percentage(41.5) to 34.8.
Through the first five minutes, both teams looked evenly matched as the score was all tied at 11. At 11:38, neither squad was able to take an advantage as the game remained tied at 18 apiece. At 8:56 John Carroll grabbed 25-23 lead with a 7-5 run. The Yellow Jackets established the first double-digit lead of the contest with twelve unanswered points, off four threes, to take a 35-25 advantage with 6:46 left in the first. Both teams scored 14 points to finalize the half and BW went into the break with a 49-39 lead.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a 11-8 spurt, capped off with an old-fashioned three-point play from Nahra, to take a 61-47 lead at the 12:40 mark. The Blue Streaks shrunk the lead to 65-60 at 6:03 with a 13-4 run. Quiring broke a three minute and thirty-nine second scoring drought with a wing three to spark a 5-0 run for BW, giving them a 70-60 advantage with 3:52 left in the second half. John Carroll tied the contest at 72 apiece with a 12-2 run with 1:28 left in regulation. Mazzeo came back down on the following possession and banked in a driving layup, plus the foul to take a 75-72 lead with 1:16 left. The Blue Streaks answered with a layup of their own before a corner trey from Cebula put the Yellow Jackets up 78-74 with under forty-five seconds left to play. Mazzeo sank two free-throws on the next possession to take an 80-74 lead, before John Carroll answered with a three to bring the score to 80-77 with sixteen seconds left in regulation. BW scored the final two points and walked away with the 82-77 victory.
BW hits the court next on Saturday January 25 at No. 6 Marietta College at 3 p.m, inside the Ban Johnson Arena.
