BEREA, OHIO Junior guard Zach Ross scored 17 points today (Saturday, February 12, 2005) as the Muskingum College upset 20th-ranked Baldwin-Wallace College, 65-62, in an Ohio Athletic Conference basketball game at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. It was Muskingum's secon win against B-W this season.
With its win, Muskingum is now 15-8 overall and 10-6 in the OAC and is now tiedd with B-W. The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 17-6 overall and 10-6 in the league.
In the first half, Muskingum jumped out to a 5-0 advantage and led by as many as seven points at 16-9 with 11:30 left when sophomore guard Jeff Smallwood canned a jumper. B-W then went on a 7-0 run to tie the score at 16-all when sophomore forward Tori Davis (Elyria / Open Door) scored on a jumper at the 9:35 mark. B-W took its first lead at 19-16 at 8:15 when senior point guard Tom Harrington (Parma / Holy Name) canned a three-pointer. The game was then tied five times before Muskie center Roy Skidmore scored on a layup to give Muskingum a 36-34 lead at the intermission.
In the second half, Muskingum had its biggest lead of five points on two occassions with the last being at 54-49 at the 10:20 mark when Smallwood canned a three-pointer. B-W then went on an 8-2 run to lead 57-56 with 6:17 left when Harrington canned a trey. Muskingum regained the lead at 59-58 when Ross canned a three-pointer. B-W would get as close as one point twice, but Muskingum answered the Jackets each time, including four key one-and-one foul shots by junior center Cole Pittis in the final 33.92 seconds. Pittis' last two foul shots with 9.92 seconds left sealed the win. A Harrington trey with two seconds left to tie the score was off target.
Joining Ross in double figures for the Fighting Muskies was Pittis with 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Matt Dansby led Muskingum with 10 rebounds as the Fighting Muskies outrebounded the Yellow Jackets, 40-27, including 15-7 on the offensive end of the court.
B-W was led by Tori Davis with a game-high 20 points, Harrington had 18 with four three-pointers.
B-W next plays on Wednesday, February 16 when it travels to Ada, Ohio for an OAC game against Ohio Northern University at the ONU Sports Center at 7:30 p.m.
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.
The BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE YELLOW JACKET men's basketball team will host Ohio Athletic Conference rival Muskingum College in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium on Saturday, February 12, 2005 at 3:00 p.m. This is the 23rd of 25 regular season games.
This game is also designated as AlSirat Grotto Day. The Grotto is a local philanthropic group. Partial gate proceeds will go to benefit children afflicted with cerebral palsy.
RADIO -- Baldwin-Wallace College campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, broadcasts all home and away Yellow Jacket games both live and over the College internet Web site. The pregame show on radio starts 15 minutes prior to game time. 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: 17-5
OAC RECORD: 10-5
LAST GAME: B-W beat Mount Union 76-59 on Feb. 9, 2005 in Alliance.
HEAD COACH: Steve Bankson
B-W RECORD: 362-295
YEAR AT B-W: 25th
CAREER RECORD: 41 yrs./ 642-409
LAST MEETING: MC won, 66-62, in New Concord on Dec. 11, 2004
SERIES STREAK: MC, one
SERIES RECORD: MC leads, 48-34
NEXT GAME: Feb. 16: at Ohio Northern in Ada, Ohio at 7:30 p.m.
MUSKINGUM COLLEGE
LOCATION: New Concord, Ohio
NICKNAME: Fighting Muskies
CONFERENCE: Ohio Ahletic
2004-2005 RECORD: 14-8
OAC RECORD: 9-6
LAST GAME: Muskie beat Marietta 109-104 on Feb. 9, 2005 in New Concord.
HEAD COACH: Dr. Jim Burson
MC RECORD: 539-414
YEAR AT MC : 39th
CAREER RECORD: same
The Pregame Notes -- The 20th ranked Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jacket men's basketball team will look to win its second straight game when it hosts OAC-rival Muskingum College at the Ursprung Gym in Berea.
The Yellow Jackets enter this game with a 17-5 overall and 10-5 OAC record following a 76-59 victory at Mount Union College on Wednesday night (Feb. 9) in Alliance. B-W has won seven of its last nine games. B-W is currently tied for third in the OAC Standings, one game back of the leaders (see more below).
The Fighting Muskies enter this game with a 14-8 overall and 9-6 OAC record following their 109-104 win on Wednesday night against Marietta College in New Concord. The win was the third straight for the Muskies and kept Muskingum in a fifth place tie with Ohio Northern University.
The Current OAC Standings as of Feb. 9: John Carroll University and Otterbein College are currently tied for first place in the OAC at 11-4. Baldwin-Wallace and Capital University are tied for third at 10-5. Muskingum and Ohio Northern are tied for fifth place at 9-6.
The Baldwin-Wallace Versus Muskingum College Series-- This is the 83rd all-time meeting between B-W and Muskingum in mens basketball. Muskingum leads the series between the two schools, 48-34, and defeated the Yellow Jackets earlier this season, on December 11, 2004, in New Concord, 66-62. Prior to that game, B-W had won 10 straight games against the Muskies, including twice last season.
The National Polls -- Baldwin-Wallace College is ranked 20th nationally in this weeks Division III national poll by the D3hoops.com Internet web site. Muskingum comes into this game unranked.
The Baldwin-Wallace College Starters -- Look for veteran Yellow Jackets Head Coach Steve Bankson to start 64 senior two-time All-OAC forward Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School), his brother, 64 sophomore All-OAC forward Tori Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School) at the post positions. At the point guard will be 511 senior Academic All-OAC player Tom Harrington (North Royalton/ Parma Heights Holy Name). At the other two guard spots will be 60 junior All-OAC player Keith Aufmuth (Brooklyn) and 60 freshman Tyler Sekerak (Corry, Pa./ Corry). Sekerak made his first career start on Wednesday at Mt. Union. Thad Davis tops the team in scoring with 20.9 points per game, and grabs a team-leading 12.5 rebounds per game. He is also canning a team-leading 61.0 percent of his field goals (175-of-287) and has 44 blocked shots. Tori Davis is second in scoring at 17.3 ppg., second with 8.7 rpg., tops the team with 45 blocked shots, and is shooting 60.2 percent from the floor (142-of-236) and 63.4 % from the foul line (97-of-153). Tom Harrington is fourth in scoring at 8.9 ppg., leads the OAC with 133 assists and is second with 30 three-pointers. Keith Aufmuth is third in scoring at 10.3 ppg., first with 42 three-pointers and second with 80 assists. Sekerak scores 3.4 ppg., is tied for second on the team with 20 steals and has canned six three-pointers, including three of his last five attempts.
Off the bench, look for Bankson to play 511" freshman guard Brendan Schuler (Fairview Park/ Fairview), 64 sophomore forward Chad Clark (Fremont/ Ross), 62 sophomore guard Nick Meyer (Mentor), 62 junior forward Dan Gundert (Wellington), 65 junior forward Charod Hale (Akron/Kenmore), and 64 junior forward Matt Marks (Boardman). Marks has started six games this year and is averaging 5.4 ppg. and has canned 14 three-pointers. Meyer scores 4.1 ppg. and has 15 treys. Schuler has started five games and scores 3.7 ppg. with 42 assists. Clark is scoring 4.3 ppg. and grabs 1.8 rpg. and shoots 55.2 percent from the floor..
Muskingum College Probable Starters -- Look for veteran Head Coach Dr. Jim Burson to start 62 senior Matt Dansby, 63 junior Zach Ross and 59 sophomore Jeff Smallwood in the backcourt. On the inside, look for 63 senior Cliff Sprang and 64 junior Cole Pittis to start. Ross is the top scorer at 15.0 ppg. and has canned 50-of-136 three-pointers and 74-of-87 foul shots. He also grabs 2.6 rpg. and has passed for 43 assists. Pittis is second in scoring at 13.4 ppg., grabs 4.4 rpg. and has canned 109-of-177 field goalattempts for 61.6 percent. Senior Roy Skidmore, a 64 forward, comes off the bench and is third in scoring at 9.8 ppg. and grabs 3.4 rpg. He shoots 52 percent from the floor. Smallwood scores 5.6 ppg., has 36 assists and 13 three-pointers. The athletic Dansby scores 7.5 ppg. and tops the team with 7.0 rpg. and 30 steals. A versitile Sprang scores 3.0 ppg., grabs 4.7 rpg., has passed for a team-high 80 assists and made 26 steals. Ady scores 7.0 ppg. and haas 20 treys, 34 assists and 27 steals. Also look for 63 sophomore guard/forward Graig Turson, 66 sophomore forward Jason Dicken and 65 freshman forward/center Andy Glass to see playing time.
In the First Meeting This Season Between B-W and Muskingum, on Dec. 11, 2004 in New Concord: Muskingum -- 66, Baldwin-Wallace -- 62 -- In the first meeting this season between the Yellow Jackets and Fighting Muskies, on December 11, 2004, at the Muskingum HPER Center in New Concord, Muskingum defeated B-W, 66-62. Leading the way for the Muskies, was junior guard Zach Ross with a game-high 21 points, including six three-pointers. For the Yellow Jackets, sophomore forward Tori Davis had 17 points and 13 rebounds and his older brother, senior forward Thad Davis, had 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Matt Marks also scored 10 points for B-W.
In B-W's Last Game, on February 9, 2005 Versus Mount Union in Alliance: Baldwin-Wallace 76, Mount Union 59-- In B-Ws last game, a 76-59 victory against Mount Union College at the Timken Physical Education Building in Alliance, the Yellow Jackets improved to 17-5 overall and remained in third place with a 10-5 OAC slate. Senior forward Thad Davis led the way with game-highs of 24 points 24 and 15 rebounds. In additiopn, junior guard Keith Aufmuth had 17 points and sophomore forward and Tori Davis scored 12 and grabbed seven rebounds. A big key for B-W was making its final 12
In Muskingums Last Game on February 9, 2005 Against Marietta in New Concord: Muskingum 109, Marietta -- 104-- In Muskingums last game, a 109-104 victory against Marietta College at the Muskingum HPER Center in New Concord, the Fighting Muskies improved to 14-8 overall and remained in fifth place in the OAC. The Fighting Muskies overcame a 57-42 halftime deficit to earn the win. Muskigum outscored Marietta 67-47 in the second half. Junior guard/ forward Zach Ross scored a game and career-high 35 points and sophomore guard Jeff Smallwood had a career-high 20 points and canned all six of his field goal attempts. In addition, junior center Cole Pittis had 19 points. Muskingum made 39-of-61 shots from the floor for 61.9 percent and 27-of-33 foul shots for 81.8 percent.
Yellow Jacket Chatter
Thad Davis Continues to Climb on the Charts -- Senior two-time All-OAC forward Thad Davis enters the game with Mount Union with 1,796 career points and 930 career rebounds and stands fifth on the all-time scoring list and fourth on the all-time rebounding list. Next up on the scoring list is the legendary Bob Walters (1959-63), who scored 1,840 points. All-time leading scorer Dean Martin (1969-73), who had 2,062 career points, is next on the rebounding list with 1,146.
Tom Harrington Has 380 Career Assists -- Senior Academic All-OAC point guard Tom Harrington has 380 career assists and stands fifth on the all-time Yellow Jacket assist mark. Harrington led the OAC in assists a year ago with 139 and currently leads this year in assists with 133. Harrington was also named a finalist for the 2005 Bob Cousy Award which is given to the most outstanding point guard in all the NCAA, Division I, II and III.
Steve Bankson is the Winningest B-W Basketball Coach -- With his 362 victories at Baldwin-Wallace, Yellow Jacket Head Coach Steve Bankson is the winningest coach in school history. He is 362-295 in 25 years at B-W. Bankson has a career mark of 643-409 in 41 years overall, including a 232-90 mark in 12 seasons at Lorain (County) Community College and a 49-25 mark in three years at the high school level.
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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