By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Paige Phillips '23

BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team hosted non-conference opponent Hiram College in the 2022-23 season and home opener. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Terriers by a final score of 85-77 in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.

BW (1-0) Leaders

• Senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Jackson) led BW with 24 points and one assist.
• Senior forward Jack Simmons (Wadsworth) notched a double-double, leading the team in rebounds with 10 and contributed 15 points.
• Senior All-OAC guard Jake Snyder (Stow/Archbishop Hoban) tallied 13 points with one assist and six rebounds while sophomore guard Ashton Price (Bay Village/Bay) totaled 12 points

Hiram (0-2) Leaders

• Kevin Beans Jr. led the Terriers with 18 points and six rebounds.
• Brodgie Gordon recorded nine rebounds, 14 points, and five assists.
• Dushawn Hill added 14 points.

First Half (BW, 47-38)

• Hiram got the scoring started immediately with a layup.
• Some back-and-forth action ensued with neither side scoring until a three from Mazzeo put the Yellow Jackets on the board.
• Hiram quickly responded with a 4-0 run, taking the lead.
• A 6-0 run from Hiram was ended with a three from senior guard Lian Levesque (Brook Park/Berea-Midpark).
• The Yellow Jackets claimed the lead with 3:17 left when Simmons went on a 7-0 scoring run.
• Both teams battled to the end of the half, with the Yellow Jackets leading 47-38.
• Mazzeo led the scoring in the first half with 15 points.
• Sartain led Hiram with 10 points in the first half.

Second Half (BW, 85-77)

• The Yellow Jackets came out hot in the second half with an immediate five points from Mazzeo and another four from Price
• The Terrier's fought to catch up, cutting BW's lead down to 7 points just before the media timeout.  
• A three from Freshman guard Ray Ellington (Westlake) in addition to a layup from sophomore forward Zoltan Nagy (Lakewood/St. Edward) extended BW's lead to 12.
• The Yellow Jackets maintained their 12-point lead through throughout the half.
• Hiram cut BW's lead down to five with 5:05 remaining, however BW was able to immediately build it back up to nine.
• Hill drained a three just before the media timeout, shrinking the lead down to six with 2:09 remaining.
• Mazzeo closes the game with two free throws, securing the win for the Yellow Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Friday, November 18^th when they travel to Crawfordsville, Indiana for the Great Lakes Invitational at Wabash College. They will face Rose-Hulman (Ind.) at 3:00 p.m.