BEREA, Ohio – In the night cap of the men and women's basketball doubleheader, the Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated Trine (Ind.) University by a score of 73-69 inside the Ursprung Gymnasium, in the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (5-3) was led by senior forward Drew Sova (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), who marked his fifth career double-double as he registered 13 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 3-of-4 from the field. Senior forward Alex Nahra (Mayfield) poured in 10 points off the bench, grabbed five boards and added two assists. Freshman guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Jackson) threw in 10 points and snagged two boards. Senior two-time Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Michael Quiring (Brunswick) chipped in eight, while distributing five assists and junior guard Matt Dimitrijevs (Broadview Heights/Brecksville Broadview Heights) also scored eight.
Trine (4-5) was led by junior guard Jake Daniels as he tallied a game-high 18 points. Senior guard Langston Johnson contributed 14 while senior guard Marcus Winters senior forward Maurice Hunter each recorded 12.
BW, who is on a three-game win streak, improves to 5-0 in the all-time series with Trine. In last years December 17th matchup, the Yellow Jackets emerged with a 67-58 victory.
Both squads managed five points in the first two minutes and thirty-six seconds. BW went on a 10-0 run to give the Yellow Jackets a 15-5 advantage with 12:59 left in the first half. Trine responded with a 7-0 spurt to cut the lead to 15-12 at 11:41. Dimitrijevs snapped a three minutes and forty-eight second scoring drought for BW with a corner trey to take an 18-12 lead with 9:11 left in the first. The Thunder answered with an 11-4 run to retake a 23-22 lead with 4:43 left in the half. The Yellow Jackets reestablished 24-23 lead after two free throws from Sova at 4:22. BW closed out the first half with a 12-5 run and headed to the locker room with a 36-28 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a 12-10 run, capped off with a steal and old-fashioned three point play from Sova, to give BW a double-digit lead of 48-38, with 13:34 left in the second. With just under eight minutes left to play, Trine trimmed the lead to 58-55 with a 17-7 run. The Yellow Jackets retaliated with a 9-4 run that was fueled by three consecutive offensive rebounds, which led to a wing three from Zach Cebula (Brunswick) and a 67-59 BW lead with 2:10 left in regulation. The Thunder cut the lead to 72-69 with a 10-5 run after a trey from Jason Clune with 22 seconds left in the game, but the Yellow Jackets would hold them off for the 73-69 non-conference victory.
BW outrebounded Trine, 38-30 and facilitated one more assist with 13. The Yellow Jackets also won the turnover battle as they lost it eight times to the Thunders' 11.
BW closes out the year at the McDonalds of Bluffton Holiday Classic, hosted by Bluffton University, the weekend after the holidays. First game is on Saturday December, 28 against Albion (Mich.) College at 2 p.m and the last contest of the classic is against Bluffton on Sunday December, 29 at 7 p.m.
