BEREA, Ohio – Junior guard Jake Snyder (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) scored a career-high 17 points to lead six Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball players in double figures as the Yellow Jackets closed out their home-and-home weekend series with an 83-80 Ohio Athletic Conference victory over Marietta College in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
In addition to Snyder for BW (1-3, 1-3 OAC), sophomore guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Perry) scored in double figures for the fourth straight game as he tallied 14 points. Freshman guard Drew Wennes (Huron) scored 13 points. Junior guard Shane Zalba (Mentor) and freshman guard Luke Driscoll (Carmel, Calif./Stevenson School) chipped in 12 points apiece, which was a career-high for Driscoll. Freshman Christian Pfeiffer (Amherst) contributed 11 points for the second straight night.
Marietta (1-1, 1-1 OAC) had four players score in double digits led by sophomore guard Mason Lydic as he scored a game-high 19 points. Junior All-OAC guard Jason Ellis and freshman guard Jac Alexander each tallied 13 points. Senior All-OAC forward Tim Kreeger chipped in with 11 points.
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on a layup by sophomore forward Sahmi Willoughby at the 16:54 mark. The Yellow Jackets cut the lead down to 15-10 on a layup by Snyder at 14:29. Marietta responded with a 6-2 run lead to extend its lead to 21-12 on Ryan Reidy layup at the 12:43 mark. BW answered with a 24-9 run to take a 36-30 lead on a Snyder layup at 5:57. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Pioneers 13-9 down the stretch for the 49-39 lead at halftime.
Marietta opened the second half on a 9-3 run to cut the lead down to 52-48 on a Kreeger layup at the 17:33 mark. BW extended its lead to 59-50 on a Zalba three-pointer at 15:24. The Pioneers fought back and cut the lead down to just one point at 59-58 on a traditional three-point play by Kyle Matoszkia at the 13:37 mark. The Yellow Jackets pushed their lead back up to 10 points at 68-58 on a three-pointer from Driscoll at 9:39. Marietta would not go away as it used a 18-7 run to take a 76-75 on a layup by Ellis at the 3:45 mark. BW got its final points of the game from Wennes on a layup with 56 seconds remaining. The Pioneers had a look at tying the game but their three point attempt as time expired fell off the rim.
The Yellow Jackets return to action on Friday, February 5 when travel to University Heights to take on crosstown rival John Carroll in the first game of the home-and-home weekend series in the inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center at 7 p.m.
