BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated non-conference opponent Penn State University at Behrend by a final score of 69-64 after a late second half surge in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (4-0) was led by junior guard Jake Snyder (Stow/Archbishop Hoban) who scored a career-high 21 points. He also grabbed five boards, dished out four assists, and got three steals. Sophomore forward Christian Pfeiffer (Amherst) beat out his career-high, that he set last game, with 19 points. He nearly got a double-double with nine boards. On the defensive end he had three blocks.
Penn St. Behrend (3-2) was led senior guard Kenny Fukon who had 23 points, seven boards and four assists. Sophomore guard Tommy DiRienzo had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward PJ Gourley added 12 points and 10 board.
The Yellow jackets came out firing early in the first half with a 9-2 run, in which Pfeiffer had seven of the nine points. The Lions were able to tighten things up and get some offense going as they tied things at 13 with 12:36 remaining in the half. Things stayed close between the two teams throughout the half. Behrend got their first lead with 6:29 lead with a layup by Fukon. They carried the lead the rest of the way and took a 41-36 lead into the half after a turnaround jumper by junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Anthony Mazzeo (Canton/Jackson). Pfeiffer led all scorers with 15 points.
Both teams got an early basket in the second half to keep things within six. The Lions got a 9-0 run to get the largest lead of the game at 14. The BW offense was getting great looks on the offensive end, however, the shots were not falling. The Yellow Jackets took a timeout with 16:29 remaining and the game changed from there. Over the next eight minutes, the BW defense led by sophomore guard Luke Driscoll (Carmel, Calif/Stevenson School) and sophomore forward Rob Watson III (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) held Behrend scoreless. The offense found a grove as the shots started falling going with a 12-0 run. Over the course second half, Snyder scored 14 of his 21 and hit clutch shots as the BW climbed back from the 14-point deficit. With 5:22 left the Yellow Jackets took the lead off a layup from senior guard Shane Zalba (Mentor). BW didn't look back as they continued to gain a larger lead with their defense holding strong. The story of the half for the Yellow Jackets was their defense holding the Lions to 28.6% from the field. Some late layups and free throws gave BW a 69-64 victory.
BW returns to the hardwood on Sunday, November 28 with a trip to Angola, Ind. for a non-conference game against #7 nationally ranked Trine University at 2:00 p.m. in the MTI Center.
