By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Paige Phillips '23

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated La Roche College by a final score of 85-69 in a nonconference game on Coach Scott Lang Court. 

BW (2-0) had three players in double figures. Sophomore guard Drew Wennes (Huron/Huron) led with 19 points. Junior guard Jake Snyder (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) recorded 14 points and two assists, while senior guard Shane Zalba (Mentor/Mentor) added 13 points and two assists.

La Roche (0-3) was led by sophomore guard Joe Pipilo with 17 points and two assists, and freshman guard Isaiah Thomas with 13 points.  

La Roche came out fast in the first half, racking up the first four points of the game. BW quickly caught up, thanks to some big steals by Zalba, to take the lead in two minutes. The score was close until the Yellow Jackets got hot, going on a 9-0 streak with Wennes contributing six points to the board. The Red Hawks fought to catch up, but BW remained in control. The next six minutes featured back and forth action as La Roche went on a 7-0 scoring streak in an attempt to catch BW. However, the Yellow Jackets held them off, going into halftime with an 11-point lead. 

The Yellow Jackets kept up the momentum in the second half, adding points to their lead early. The Cardinals fought back, and the game went scoreless for three minutes until sophomore forward Rob Watson III (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) made a layup. For the next two minutes, La Roche worked on cutting BW's lead on a 9-3 run. With six minutes left in the half, Snyder made a three-point jump shot to boost BW's lead yet again. BW controlled the rest of the game, adding seven more points to the board before claiming the 85-69 victory.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, November 20th when they host Hamilton (N.Y.) College in their home opener at 2:00 p.m. inside Ursprung Gymnasium.