BEREA, OHIO -- Sophomore forward Thad Davis (Elyria/Open Door) scored 23 points tonight to lead Baldwin-Wallace College to a 73-71 victory against Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
The Yellow Jackets led by nine points, 67-58, with 4:13 left in the game before Thiel went on a 13-6 run and had a chance to win it but Thad Davis intercepted an errant pass as time expired and B-W improved to 2-1 overall.
In addition to Davis, senior forward Shawn McCormick (Massillon/Jackson) scored 17 points and now has 1,409 in his career and moved from a 10th place tie to eighth on the all-time scoring list. McCormick, who scored in double figures for the 78th time in his 80-game collegiate career, surpassed B-W legend Wynn Hawkins (1955-57) with his first points and then passed Howard Wright (1957-60) with his sixth. The win was also the 597th in the 38-year coaching career of Head Coach Steve Bankson, including his 316th in 23 seasons in Berea.
B-W raced out to an early 9-0 lead in the first five minutes of the contest before Thiel went on a 14-6 run to cut the advantage to 15-14 with 9:15 remaining. At that point, B-W senior guard Jon Carroll (Berea/Midpark) took over and scored nine of his 11 first half markers to lead the Yellow Jackets on a 20-14 run to lead by seven points at the intermission, 35-28.
In the second half, Thiel outscored B-W early, 15-9, and trailed by one point, at 44-43, with 16:18 left in the game, before Yellow Jacket sophomore forward Thad Davis took over. Davis then scored 10 points in a 15-7 B-W run and the Yellow Jacket again tied their biggest lead at nine points, at 59-50. Then Thiel began its comeback.
Thiel, 1-3 overall, was led by senior guard Shane Manley with a team-high 22 points, including six three-pointers and 20 points in the second half. In addition, senior preseason All-American forward A.H. Davis had 15 points.
B-W will be back in action on Wednesday, December 4 when it will open its home schedule against Bethany College of West Virginia at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on Baldwin-Wallace College athletics, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.
For more information on the Yellow Jacket men's basketball program, please contact Head Coaxch Steve Bankson by phone at 440-826-2069, by FAX at 440-826-2192 or via e-mail at sbankson@bw.edu.
275 Eastland Rd.