MARIETTA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team was defeated by Marietta College in the first game of a home-and-home Ohio Athletic Conference weekend series by a final score of 107-87 inside the Ban Johnson Arena.
BW (0-3, 0-3 OAC) had four players score in double figures led for the third straight game by sophomore guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Perry) as he scored 22 points. Freshman guard Drew Wennes (Huron) tallied 14 points. Sophomore forward Jackson Simmons (Wadsworth) recorded a career-high 11 points and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds. Freshman Christian Pfeiffer (Amherst) contributed 11 points.
Marietta (1-0, 1-0 OAC) had five players score in double figures led by junior All-OAC guard Jason Ellis as he scored a game-high 27 points. Sophomore guard Mason Lydic scored 16 points and freshman guard Cooper Parrott chipped in 14. Senior All-OAC forward Tim Kreeger tallied 12 points while freshman guard Jac Alexander added 10.
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 6-3 lead on a three-pointer by Lydic at the 18:57 mark. After the Yellow Jackets cut the lead down to 6-5 on a layup by sophomore guard Jake Snyder (Akron/Archbishop Hoban), Marietta went on a 15-4 run to push its lead to 21-9 on a triple from Lydic at 14:31. BW responded with an 9-5 run to cut the lead down to 26-18 on a layup by sophomore guard Lian Levesque (Brook Park/Berea-Midpark) at the 11:11 mark. The Pioneers outscored the Yellow Jackets, 38-15, the remainder of the half to take the 64-33 lead into the half.
Marietta kept up the scoring attack as it opened the second half on an 15-2 run to push its lead 79-35 on a layup by Kreeger at the 16:45 mark. BW answered with an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to 79-43 on a jumper by Wennes at 14:39. The Pioneers pushed its lead to 89-51 on a Lydic layup at the 11:01. The Yellow Jackets scored six unanswered points to cut into the lead on a layup by Pfeiffer to put the score at 89-56 with 10:33 left. BW went on a 22-6 run to cut the lead down to 95-78 on a dunk by Pfeiffer at the 4:01 mark. Marietta outscored the Yellow Jackets, 12-9, the remainder of the game.
BW closes out the weekend series on Saturday, January 30 when it hosts the Pioneers in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center at 6 p.m.
