Men's Basketball

BEREA, OHIO -- Junior forward Curtis Stevens canned a jumper with 4.3 seconds left in the game tonight to give host Mount Union College a 72-71 win against rival Baldwin-Wallace College in an Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the Timken P.E. Building in Alliance. The jumper by Stevens, who scored 12 points, was Mt. Union's only lead of the night.

With its win, Mount Union improved to 11-7 overall and 6-6 in the OAC. With its loss, B-W dropped to 10-8 overall and 6-6 in the OAC and ended a three-game winning streak.

In addition to Stevens, junior forward Rob Paulauskas scored a team-high 19 points and sophomore guards Brad Gerard and Aaron Brownsword scored 13 abd 12 points, respectively. B-W was led by sophomore forward Thad Davis (Elyria Open Door High School)' 20 game-high points, senior forward Shawn McCormick (Massillon Jackson H.S.) had 19 points and sophomore guard Tom Harrington (North Royalton/Holy Name H.S.)had 16 points, including four three-pointers.

In the first half, B-W led by as many as six points on three separate occassions with the last one at 27-21 with 4:51 left before the intermission when McCormick canned a jumper. B-W also led at halftime, 36-31. In the second half, B-W extended its lead to as many as nine points on three more separate occassions with the last one being at 60-51 with 6:41 left in the game when Harrington canned a three-pointer. Mt. Union then began its comeback and outscored B-W, 21-11, to claim the victory.

B-W returns to action on Saturday, February 1, when it travels to New Concord to play OAC rival Muskingum College at the HPER Center at 3:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES #18 vs. MOUNT UNION

The Pregame Notes -- The Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jacket men's basketball team will look to win its fourth straight game as it travels to Alliance to play OAC rival Mount Union. This is also a key midseason OAC game. The Yellow Jackets are 6-4 in OAC play and tied with Otterbein for fourth place. Mt. Union is 5-5 in league action and all alone in sixth place.

The Yellow Jackets enter this game with a 10-7 overall record following their 100-75 win against Wilmington College last Saturday at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. B-W also beat Muskingum College last Saturday in Berea, 78-64, and Heidelberg College, 67-57, last Wednesday in Tiffin.

Mount Union enters this game with a 10-7 overall record following its 81-77 overtime loss against Otterbein College on Saturday in Alliance. The Purple Raiders are in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

The Baldwin-Wallace vs. Mount Union All-Time Series -- This is the This is the 106th meeting between Baldwin-Wallace and Mt. Union in men's basketball. It is the longest standing series with any OAC opponent. B-W leads the all-time series, 64-41, including an 87-83 win against the Purple Raiders in Berea on December 18 of this season. The last Mount Union win came on February 6 of last season when the Purple Raiders defeated the Yellow Jackets, 75-72, in Berea. B-W also won 89-84 in Alliance a year ago.

In the Last Meeting on December 18, 2002 in Berea -- Baldwin-Wallace -- 87, Mount Union -- 83 in Berea -- The Yellow Jackets defeated Mount Union, 87-83, on December 18 of this season. That victory marked the 600th in the coaching career of B-W mentor Steve Bankson. Leading the Yellow Jackets in victory was sophomore forward Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door) with 20 points and nine rebounds as all five Yellow Jacket starters scored in double figures. Sophomore point guard Tom Harrington (North Royalton/ Parma Hts. Holy Name) also had a career-high 19 points and canned three of five three-pointers. Chris Blakely led Mt. Union with 19 points.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets -- The Yellow Jackets are led by its starters, 6’ 4" senior three-time All-OAC forward Shawn McCormick (Massillon Jackson), 6’0" senior two-time Academic All-OAC guard Jon Carroll (Berea/ Midpark), Thad Davis, Tom Harrington and 6'3" junior forward Eric Reminder (Brunswick). Off the bench, look for veteran Head Coach Steve Bankson to play 6'3" sophomore forward Jeremy Coffey (Hudson/ Cuyahoga Valley Christian), 6'0" freshman guard Keith Aufmuth (Brooklyn), 6'0" freshman guard Greg Williams (Euclid) and 6'6" freshman forward Mark Belkofer (Millbury/ Genoa).

In B-W's Last Game on Saturday, January 25, 2003 versus Wilmington in Wilmington, Ohio: Baldwin-Wallace-- 100, Wilmington -- 75-- The Yellow Jackets won their third straight game and improved to 10-7 overall and 6-4 in the OAC with a 100-75 victory against Wilmington at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. Leading the way for B-W was senior guard Jon Carroll with a game-high 23 points, including six three-pointers and eight assists. Senior forward Shawn McCormick had 18 points, sophomore forward Thad Davis and sophomore point guard Tom Harrington each had 14 points and junior forward Eric Reminder scored 13 points. Harrington was four of four from three-point range. As a team, B-W canned 67 percent of its field goals (36 of 54) and 63.2 percent of its three-pointers (12 of 19).

The Yellow Jacket Statistical Leaders -- After 17 games, Shawn McCormick leads the team in scoring at 19.9 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding at 5.4 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in free-throw shooting at 86.2 percent (56 of 65 attempts) and with 34 steals. Thad Davis is second in scoring at 15.8 ppg. and leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 rpg and 25 blocked shots. Jon Carroll is third on the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg. and leads the team with 78 assists. Tom Harrington is fourth in scoring at 8.0 ppg, second in assists (68) and second in steals (26). Eric Reminder is fifth in scoring at 7.6 ppg.and third in rebounding with 4.5 rpg. Keith Aufmuth is the top scorer off the bench and is averaging 3.4 ppg and is shooting a team-leading 56.3 percent from "three-point land" (9 of 16).

Scouting the Purple Raiders of Mount Union College-- The Purple Raiders are led by 6'6" junior post Rob Paulauskas and 5'11" sophomore guard Brad Gerard. Also in the backcourt, look for 6'2" junior guard Aaron Brownsword and 5'10" sophomore Clay Sanders to start. Joining Paulauskas on the inside is 6'5" freshman post Andrew Fairman. Off the bench, look for Head Coach Lee Hood to ultilize the services of 6'0" freshman guard Serge Gentile, 6'5" sophomore guard Chris Blakely, 6'3" sophomore guard Brett Hershberger, 6'6" freshman forward Kyle Karpinski and 6'8" junior forward Curtis Stevens.

In Mount Union's Last Game on Saturday, January 25, 2003 versus Otterbein in Alliance, Ohio: Mount Union -- 77, Otterbein -- 81-- The Purple Raiders lost their third straight game,this time 81-77 to Otterbein in overtime in Alliance last Saturday. Despite the loss, junior post Rob Paulauskas led Mt. Union with a game-high 24 points. In addition, Curtis Stevens scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

The Purple Raiders Statistical Leaders -- After 17 games, Mount Union is led in scoring by Rob Paulauskas with 14.4 points per game. He is second in rebounding at 4.8 per game and he shoots 79.7 percent from the free-throw line (94 of 118). Brad Gerard is second at 12.2 ppg, 27 steals, and leads the team with 53 three-pointers. Aaron Brownsword is third at 10.1 ppg and shoots 46.9 percent from the field. Curtis Stevens is fourth in scoring at 9.5 ppg and has a team-high 13 blocks. Chris Blakely is fifth at 8.7 ppg and leads the team with 5.4 rpg. Clay Sanders averages 5.2 ppg and leads the team with 106 assists and 29 steals.

McCormick is Fourth All-Time in Scoring at B-W -- Senior three-time All-OAC forward Shawn McCormick (Massillon Jackson) scored 18 points in a 100-75 win on Saturday against Wilmington and is fourth on the all-time scoring list with 1,684 points. The top three all-time leading scorers are Dean Martin (1969-73) with 2,062 points, Kevin Braaten (1993-97) with 1,867 points and Bob Walters (1959-63) with 1,840 points.

Carroll Moving Toward 1,000-Point Club -- Senior two-time Academic All-OAC guard Jon Carroll (Berea/ Midpark) enters tonight’s game with Mount Union with 983 career points . Carroll needs 17 more points to become the 27th player to join the Yellow Jacket 1,000-Point Club.

The Century Mark -- The 100 points B-W scored against Wilmington was its first game at the century level since December 30, 1997 when the Yellow Jackets beat Kenyon College, 100-69, at the Centre College Tournament in Danville, Kentucky.