MARIETTA, Ohio – The fifth-seeded Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team season comes to an end as they fell to top-seeded and No. 2 nationally ranked Marietta College in the Ohio Athletic Conference Semifinal by a final score of 82-70. Marietta advances to take on two-seeded and No. 8 nationally ranked the University of Mount Union in the OAC Championship at 7:30 on Saturday.
BW (15-10, 9-7 OAC) was led by sophomore forward Rob Watson III (Sagamore Hills /Nordonia) who had a career high 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Christian Pfeiffer (Amherst) added 13 points and six boards. Junior guard Jake Snyder (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) contributed 12 points and six boards. Junior All-OAC guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Jackson) scored 10 points.
Marietta (24-2, 17-0 OAC) was led by senior All-OAC forward Tim Kreeger who had 23 points and seven rebounds. Senior All-OAC guard Mason Lydic added 15 points. Senior All-OAC guard Lukas Isaly scored 14 points.
1st half
- The Yellow Jackets got the board first with a junior forward Jackson Simmons (Wadsworth) layup.
- The Pioneers got out to a 10-3 run following a 6-0 run.
- A 10-4 BW run tied things up at 16.
- The Yellow Jackets got their first lead off a senior guard Shane Zalba (Mentor) layup.
- A Pfeiffer three gave the Yellow Jackets their biggest lead at fun and forced a Marietta timeout.
- A 11-4 run over the final 5:30 gave the Pioneers a halftime lead.
- Mazzeo was the high scorer for BW with 8.
2nd half
- Pfeiffer started out the half hot getting the Yellow Jackets four of the first five points.
- Marietta started out the half hot from the three-point line to build up an 18 point lead.
- BW would not go away as they started to heat up behind Watson III and Snyder.
- The Yellow Jackets couldn't climb back enough as the Pioneers walked away with a victory.
- The BW defense held senior All-OAC guard Jason Ellis to eight points and 3/10 shooting.
- Marietta's free throw shooting was the difference as they went 22/34 from the line.
The Yellow Jackets end their season with a 15-10 overall record and a 9-7 mark in the OAC.