BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University took down Hamilton (N.Y.) University in a non-conference game by a final score of 94-87 in overtime in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (3-0) was led by junior guard Anthony Mazzeo (North Canton/Massillon Jackson) who finished with 44 points and five assists. Sophomore forward Christian Pfeiffer (Amherst) had a double double with a career high 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds along with three blocks on the defensive end.
Hamilton (1-1) was led by senior guard Nick Osarenren who had a double double with 26 points and 11 boards. Senior guard/forward Eric Anderson also had a double double with 18 points and 10 boards. Junior guard Conner Rood added 19 points.
Mazzeo came out firing for the Yellow Jackets as the game got underway. He scored BW's first seven points and added a steal. The Continentals would be back down in this one. They went blow for blow with the Yellow Jackets as neither team got a major lead. In the half there were 13 lead changes and nine ties. Hamilton got the biggest lead near the end of the half at six points. The Continentals distributed the scoring evenly as three players had with double figures.
The back-and-forth action continued throughout the first half. Hamilton went on a 7-0 run to close the half and take a 40-34 lead into halftime.
BW came out of the locker room with a fast start. Just 2 minutes into the half, they tied it up at 40 with a 6-0 run. The two teams continued to battle but the Yellow Jackets started to pull away with a 5-0 run with 14 minutes remaining as freshman guard Ashton Price (Bay Village/Bay) splashed a three to give BW a 51-46 advantage. The Continentals did not back off and were able to keep the game close and with 7:50 remaining they regained the lead at 60-59. But again, the Yellow Jackets rattled off a 6-0 run to get a five point advantage. With 4:26 left in the half Hamilton tied things up at 68-68 and the teams went back and forth until the end of the half. The Continentals hit a big three with a under a minute to go to go up two points. But BW responded a huge basket of their own from Mazzeo to tie things up at 79-69. With Hamilton regaining possession with 35 seconds left, the Yellow Jackets defense needed to step up. With eight seconds left, senior guard Shane Zalba (Mentor) got a steal and timeout as BW got one last possession. However, the Continentals defense showed up and forced overtime.
Pfeiffer came up for big for the Yellow Jackets in the overtime period as he scored four points and grabbed four boards. Hamilton made an early advantage as they got six foul shots but were only able to convert three. The next BW possession Zalba got a huge offensive rebound and dished it out to junior guard Jake Snyder (Stow/Archbishop Hoban) who connected on a three to give BW an 84-82 lead. The Yellow Jackets never looked back finishing the game on a 12-5 run to secure the victory.
BW returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, November 23 when they play in the second game of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader at 7:00 p.m. against Penn St. – Behrend in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
