BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College men's basketball team dropped a 66-63 decision to Otterbein College this afternoon at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. With its loss, B-W falls to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. With its win, Otterbein improves to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the OAC.
B-W placed three players in double figures, led by junior forward Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door) with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. In addition, freshman Tori Davis (Elyria/ Open Door) had 15 points and six rebounds and junior point guard Tom Harrington (North Royalton/ Parma Heights Holy Name) had 11 markers, including three three-pointers. Otterbein also had three players in double digits, led by senior forward Aaron Mister with 16 points and seven rebounds and junior forward Scott Hadley with 16 points and nine rebounds. In addition, junior point guard Tony Borghese had 11 markers.
In the first half, Otterbein led by seven points at 21-14 with 6:44 before halftime before B-W went on a 15-2 run to lead by as many as six points at 29-23 with 2:15 left before intermission when Harrington canned a three-pointer. But Otterbein scored the last seven points before halftime to lead 30-29 at the break. In the second half, Otterbein took the lead for good at 62-61 with 2:43 left when Borghese canned a jumper. After a Hadley basket made the score 64-61 with 1:47 left, Thad Davis got B-W back within one point, at 64-63, with a dunk with four seconds left. Then Borghese closed out the scoring with two foul shots with two seconds left.
The Yellow Jacket men will be back in action next Saturday when they host Wilmington College at the Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea at 3:00 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Baldwin-Wallace College 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. To contact Head Coach Cheri Harrer, please call her at (440) 826-3299, FAX her at (440) 826-2192 or e-mail her at charrer@bw.edu.
The BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE YELLOW JACKET men's basketball team will open 2003-2004 Ohio Athletic Conference play when it hosts OAC rival Otterbein College on Saturday, December 6, 2003 at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea at 3:00 p.m.
RADIO -- All B-W men's basketball games, home and away, are broadcast on campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM. This game will also be broadcast across the B-W InterNet Web Site at www.bw.edu/athletics.
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic NEXT GAME: Dec. 10 @ Wittenberg; 7:00 p.m.
BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE
OTTERBEIN COLLEGE
LOCATION : Berea, Ohio
LOCATION: Westerville, Ohio
NICKNAME: Yellow Jackets
NICKNAME: Cardinals
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic
2003-2004 RECORD: 4-1
2003-2004 RECORD: 4-1
OAC RECORD: 0-0
OAC RECORD: 1-0
HEAD COACH: Steve Bankson
HEAD COACH: Dick Reynolds
B-W RECORD: 331-283
OC RECORD: 550-301
YEAR AT B-W: 24th
YEAR AT OC : 32nd
CAREER RECORD: 38 Yrs./612-397
CAREER RECORD: same
LAST MEETING: B-Wwon, 76-72, in Berea on Feb 2, 2003
SERIES STREAK: B-W, one game
SERIES BEGAN: n/a
SERIES RECORD: OC leads, 46-34
NEXT GAME: DEC. 13 HOST WILMINGTON; 3:00 P.M.
The Pregame Notes -- The Baldwin-Wallace College men's basketball team will look to win its fifth straight game when it opens Ohio Athletic Conference play by hosting powerful Otterbein College. This is also a battle between two of the greatest head coaches in OAC history in B-W's Steve Bankson and Otterbein's Dick Retnolds.
The Yellow Jackets enter this game with a 4-1 overall record and are coming off a 75-66 win on Wednesday at Oberlin College. B-W has won four straight games since a season-opening, 59-50 loss to 10th-ranked Randolph-Macon (Va.) College in the first round of the Dickinson (Pa.) College Tournament. Since that game, the Yellow Jackets have beaten host Dickinson (65-31), Cleveland cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University (80-67), Thiel College of Pennsylvania (75-60) and Oberlin.
Otterbein enters today's game with a 4-1 record following its 96-72 win against Heidelberg College in Westerville on Wednesday night. It was Otterbein's OAC opener. To date, the Cardinals have beaten Brockport State of New York (79-72), lost to nationally-ranked Wooster (76-72), beat nationally-ranked Washington University of Missouri (74-72), beat Fontbonne of Missouri (112-70) and Heidelberg.
The Baldwin-Wallace Versus Otterbein Series-- This is the 80th all-time meeting between Baldwin-Wallace College and Otterbein College in men's basketball. Otterbein leads the series, 46-34, but the Yellow Jackets won the last game, 76-72 on February 2 in Berea.
Bankson and Reynolds -- B-W Head Coach Steve Bankson and Otterbein's Dick Reynolds have combined to win 881 games as coaches at OAC schools and 1,162 overall in 70 years of coaching. Bankson is B-W's winningest coach with 331 wins in Berea and 612 overall and Reynolds has 550 at Otterbein.
The Baldwin-Wallace College Starters -- See scoring averages and other information in the box to the right. Look for Steve Bankson to start 6'3" junior Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School) and 6'3" freshman Tori Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School) on the inside. At the wing positions, 6'5" freshman Matt Marks (Boardman) and 6'0" sophomore Keith Aufmuth (Brooklyn) will start. The point guard will be 5'11" junior Tom Harrington (North Royalton/ Parma Heights Holy Name). Thad Davis leads the team in scoring at 17.2 ppg. and in rebounding at 13.0 rpg. Keith Aufmuth is second in scoring at 14.2 ppg. and has the most three-pointers with 11 and steals with seven. Tori Davis is third in scoring at 12.6 ppg. and second in rebounding at 8.6 rpg. Tom Harrington tops the team with 17 assists.
Off the bench, look for Bankson to play 6'2" freshman guard Nick Meyer (Mentor), 6'4" junior post Jeremy Coffey (Hudson/ Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and 6'1" sophomore point guard Greg Williams (Euclid) as well as 6'2" wing Dan Gundert (Wellington). If B-W needs extra help in the most, Bankson may call upon 6'6" sophomore Mark Belkofer (Millbury/ Genoa).
The Otterbein Probable Starters and Preview-- The starters are listed in the box below and to the right. Look for Head Coach Dick Reynolds to play at least nine solid players. He will start 5'11" junior guard Tony Borghese and 6'1" freshman guard DeQuan Owens in the backcour. At the wings will be 6'5" senior Aaron Minster and 6'5 junior Scott Hadley, and 6'7" sophomore center Tyler Ousley will play at center. Borghese is the top scorer at 17.6 ppg. and tops the team in three-pointers with 12 and assists with 26. He is also shooting 56.4 percent from the floor, 50 percent from 3-point range and 87.5% from the foul line. Owens is second in scoring at 15.2 ppg. and has 12 assists. Minster is third at 13.4 ppg., grabs 5.4 rpg. and tops the team with 10 steals. Hadley averages 13.0 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. and has the ability to shoot the trey. Ousley is scoring 6.2 ppg. and grabbing 4.0 rpg.
Off the bench, look for Reynolds to play 6'5" junior forward Neil Hohman, 6'5" senior forward Mo Ross, 6'2" sernior guard Kyle Walton and 6'7" senior center Phil Susi. All four average in double figures in minutes per game. Hohman scores 5.4 ppg. and grabs 3.4 rpg. Ross, who missed most of the preseason with a health problem, scores 6.6 ppg. and had six treys. Walton scores 3.8 ppg. and has nine assists and will add depth in the backcourt. Susi scores 2.6 ppg. and grabs 2.8 rpg.
In B-W's Last Game: B-W -- 75, Oberlin -- 66 on Wednesday, December 3 in Oberlin, Ohio -- The Yellow Jackets won their fourth straight game as they beat non-conferenece rival Oberlin College, 75-66,at the Phillips Gymnasium in Oberlin, Ohio. Sophomore guard Keith Aufmuth led B-W with a career-high 21 points, including five of six three-pointers. He had 16 of his 21 markers in the second half. Aufmuth was joined by the Davis brothers, Tori and Thad who both had double-doubles. Tori Davis tied his career-high with 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots and Thad Davis had 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Also, freshman Matt Marks, making his second career start, had a career-high 10 points. Keys for B-W included canning six of 11 three-pointers, a 25-shot advantage at the foul line (32-7) and outrebounding the much taller Yeomen, 46-32.
In Otterbein's Last Game: Otterbein -- 96 -- Heidelberg -- 72 on Wednesday, December 3 in Westerville, Ohio -- The Cardinals opened OAC play and dominated visiting Heidelberg College at the Rike Center, 76-72, in winning their third straight game and fourth in five to open the season. The Cardinals led by 17 points at halftime, 48-31, and coasted to victory. In the win, Tony Borghese topped Otterbein with 21 points and was joined in double figures by DeQuan Owens with 17 points, Aaron Minster and Mo Ross with 12 each and Tyler Ousley with 10. Owens, Ousley and Neil Hohman each had a team-high seven rebounds each. Keys for Otterbein included shooting 60.3 percent from the floor (35 of 58) and 64.3% from 3-point range (nine of 14).
Yellow Jacket Chatter
Davis Doubles Pleasure -- Junior Thad Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian) has five straight double figure scoring and rebounding games to begin the 2003-2004 season.
Aufmuth Has Quick Finish -- Sophomore guard Keith Aufmuth (Brooklyn) has shown a propensity to finish with a flourish. He had 17 points, all in the second half of an 80-67 win at Case Western Reserve on November 26 and scored 16 of his career-high 21 points in the second half in Wednesday's 75-66 win at Oberlin. In his last five halves of play, Aufmuth has scored 53 points which equates to a better than 20 points per game overall.
Marks Finds Mark -- In just his second career start, freshman Matt Marks (Boardman) scored a career-high 10 points in the win at Oberlin.
B-W Picked Sixth in the OAC -- The B-W Yellow Jackets were tabbed to finish sixth in the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference in the OAC Preseason Coaches poll.
Bankson is the Winningest B-W Basketball Coach -- With his 331 victories at Baldwin-Wallace, Yellow Jacket Head Coach Steve Bankson is the winningest coach in school history. Bankson, who has been at B-W for 24 years as the basketball coach and athletic director, has a career mark of 612-397 in 38 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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