the Season at the Gettysburg (Pa.) Tourney
BEREA, OHIO — Sophomore forward Tori Davis (Elyria/ Open Door) scored a team-high 17 points tonight as the Baldwin-Wallace College men’s basketball team opened the 2004-2005 season with a 64-57 victory against highly-touted the University of Mary Washington (Va.) in the first round of the Gettysburg College Tournament in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Yellow Jackets will now play the winner of Gettysburg and Farleigh Dickinson-Florham (N.J.) in tomorrow's championship game at 4:00 p.m.
B-W, picked to win the Ohio Athletic Conference title this year, led by as many as five points in the first half at 11-6 with 11:31 left when freshman guard Tyler Sekerak (Corry, Pa.) scored on a layup. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to as many as 12 points in the second half at 35-23 at the 17:48 mark when Tori Davis scored on a layup.
Mary Washington then came back with a 20-6 run to take a brief, 43-41 lead at the 11:22 mark. B-W then went on an 11-0 run, capped by two three-pointers by sophomore Nick Meyer (Mentor) to again build its lead to as many as 10 points at 54-44 with 6:09 left. The closest Mary Washington would get was three points, at 58-55, with 1:58 left before B-W closed out with its victory.
In addition to Tori Davis, junior point guard Tom Harrington (North Royalton/ Holy Name) scored 12 points and senior forward Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door) had 10 points for the Yellow Jackets. The Davis brothers also led B-W on the boards as each had seven rebounds.
With his 10 points tonight, Thad Davis now has 1,351 career points and is 13th prior on the all-time Yellow Jacket scoring list.
For Mary Washington, sophomore guard Mike Lee led the Eagles with a game-high 19 markers.
Following tomorrow's championship game, B-W returns home to prepare for its home opener on Tuesday, November 23, against Cleveland cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University at 7:30 p.m. in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea.
FOR MORE B-W SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.
Game Notes vs. Mary-Washington (Va.)
The BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE YELLOW JACKET men's basketball team will travel to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to participate in the 2004 season-opening Gettysbrug (Pa.) College Tournament on November 19-20 at the Bream-Wright-Hauser Athletic Complex. B-W plays the University of Mary Washington (Va.) in its first game on November 19 at 6:00 p.m. The consolation and championship games are on Saturday, November 20 at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., respectively.
RADIO -- All Baldwin-Wallace College men’s basketball games, home and away, are broadcast on campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM. Today’s game between B-W and Mary Washington College will be broadcast on a delayed basis and immediately following the women’s broadcast from the Greater Cleveland College Tournament at Notre Dame College of Ohio at 6:00 p.m. Tomorrow’s broadcast in either the consolation (2:00 p.m.) or championship game (4:00 p.m.) will be broadcast live on WBWC. The pregame show generally begins 15 minutes prior to tip-off. For more information regarding B-W basketball broadcasts, please visit the B-W InterNet Web Site at www.bw.edu/athletics.
BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE
LOCATION : Berea, Ohio
NICKNAME: Yellow Jackets
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic
2004-2005 RECORD: 0-0
OAC RECORD: 0-0
2003-2004 RECORD: 20-8
HEAD COACH: Steve Bankson
B-W RECORD: 345-290
YEAR AT B-W: 26th
CAREER RECORD: 39 yrs./ 626-404
LAST MEETING: First Meeting
SERIES STREAK: First Meeting
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
NEXT GAME: November 20: Consolation (2:00 p.m.) or Championship (4:00 p.m.)
UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON
LOCATION: Fredericksburg, Virginia
NICKNAME: Eagles
CONFERENCE: Capital Athletic
2004-2005 RECORD: 0-0
HEAD COACH: Rod Wood
MWC RECORD: 112-97
YEAR AT MWC : Ninth
CAREER RECORD: same
NEXT GAME: November 20: Consolation (2:00 p.m.) or Championship (4:00 p.m.)
The Pregame Notes -- The preseason nationally-ranked Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jacket men's basketball team opens the 2004-2005 season at the Gettysburg (Pa.) College Tournament against a solid University of Mary Washington (Va.) team. The winner of that game will play the winner of host Gettysburg versus Farliegh Dickinson-Madison (N.J.) game the next day.
B-W enters the tournament as the team picked to win the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference title in 2004-2005 and ranked 16th in the D3hoops.com InterNet Web Site preseason national Division III poll. The Yellow Jackets return all five starters from last year’s 18-8 overall squad that tied for second during the OAC regular season.
Mary Washington, which is listed among the “Others Receiving Votes” in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, is coming off a solid season that it finished 20-8 overall and 12-2 in the Centennial Athletic Conference. The Eagles lost in the CAC Championship game.
The Baldwin-Wallace Versus Mary Washington Series-- This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
The Baldwin-Wallace College Starters -- Look for veteran Yellow Jackets Head Coach Steve Bankson to start senior two-time All-OAC forward Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School), sophomore All-OAC forward Tori Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School) at the post positions. At the point guard will be senior Academic All-OAC playmaker Tom Harrington (North Royalton/ Parma Heights Holy Name). At the wing positions will be junior All-OAC choice Keith Aufmuth (Brooklyn) and sophomore swingman Matt Marks (Boardman).
Thad Davis was tabbed as the OAC Preseason Player of the Year by DIII News. He averaged 19.0 points and led the OAC with 10.4 rebounds per game. His younger brother, Tori Davis, was a second-team All-OAC pick last year after averaging 14.3 ppg. and 7.7 rpg. He also led the OAC with 56 blocked shots. Harrington is a three-year starter at the point and averaged 8.6 ppg. aand led the OAC with 139 assists. Aufmuth was an honorable mention All-OAC pick last year after scoring 13.5 ppg. and canning a team-leading 46 three-pointers. Marks returns after starting 20 games last year and averaged 7.7 ppg. and made all 22 of his free throw attempts.
THE B-W BENCH BUNCH -- Off the bench, look for Bankson to play 6'2" freshman guard Nick Meyer (Mentor), 6'4" senior post player Jeremy Coffey (Hudson/ Cuyahoga Valley Christian), 6'1" sophomore guard Greg Williams (Euclid) and 6’2” wing/ post player Dan Gundert (Wellington). Meyer started once last year and averaged 5.9 ppg. and canned 21 treys. Coffey started three games and averaged 3.5 ppg. and 2.4 rpg. and canned 10 treys. Williams, who missed the final 16 games last year with an injury, scored 4.0 ppg. Gundert can play inside or outside and scored 1.4 ppg., grabbed 1.5 rpg. and canned all 10 of his foul shots.
In addition, look for junior 6’5” transfer forward Charod Hale (Lakeland Community College/ Akron Kenmore H.S.) and freshmen guards Brendan Schuler (Fairview Park/ Fairview) and Tyler Sekerak (Corry, Pa./ Corry) to also compete for playing time.
The Mary Washington College Probable Starters and Preview-- Look for Head Coach Rod Wood to start 5’10” sophomore A.J. Fitzgerald at the point guard, 6’3” transfer Justin Baker and 6’3” junior Ian Summers at the guard/ wing positions and 6’8” junior Kevin Moore at center. Either 6’5” sophomore Josh Wilson or 6’6” sophomore Drew DeMartini have the inside shot at starting at forward. Or Wood could go with four guards and start 6’0” sophomore Mike Lee.
Fitzgerald was the backup point guard a year ago and averaged 2.7 ppg. with 42 assists and 13 steals. Baker, who began his collegiate career at Div. I William & Mary (Va.), will add outstanding athleticism to the Mary Washington attack. Summers is the number two returning scorer and averaged 10.6 ppg. and was the top rebounder at 4.9 rpg. Moore, who is listed at 6’8” but has a much larger “wing span”, scored 7.0 ppg. and grabbed 4.7 rpg. and blocked 35 shots a year ago. Lee, the Centennial Athletic Conference “Rookie of the Year” in 2004, is the top returning scorer with 12.5 ppg. and ranked among the Div. III leaders with 75 treys. In addition, 5’8” sophomore guard Paul Ruhmann and 6”0” junior guard Mike Mattson are also back and Wood has an outstanding freshman class to compliment all of his returning upperclassmen.
Yellow Jacket Chatter
The National Polls -- The Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets are ranked 16th in the d3hoops.com Division III national preseason poll.
B-W Picked First in the OAC -- The B-W Yellow Jackets were tabbed to finish first in the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference in the OAC Preseason Coaches poll. B-W received eight of nine first place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team so only nine first place votes were possible).
Three Return as All-OAC Players and One as an Academic All-OAC selection -- Senior forward Thad Davis returns as a first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference player from a year ago. He was also a second-team All-Great Lakes Region pick by the D3hoops.com Web Site. Joining Thad Davis on the 2003-2004 All-OAC team were sophomore forward Tori Davis as a second-team pick and junior guard Keith Aufmuth as an honorable mention choice. In addition, senior point guard Tom Harrington was an Academic All-OAC selection.
Bankson is the Winningest B-W Basketball Coach -- This is Steve Bankson’s 40th year as a head coach. With his 345 victories at B-W, Bankson is the winningest coach in school history. Bankson, who has been at B-W for 25 years as the basketball coach and athletic director, is 345-290 at B-W and has a career mark of 626-404 in 39 years overall.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, Please visit the Baldwin-Wallace Athletics website at www.bw.edu/athletics for up to date results and statistics. For further inquiries, please contact B-W SID Kevin Ruple by phone at (440) 826-2327, by FAX at (440) 826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. For more Yellow Jacket men's basketball information, please contact Head Coach Steve Bankson by phone at (440) 826-2039, by FAX at (440) 826-2192 or via e-mail at sbankson@bw.edu.
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