BEREA, Ohio –After trailing by as many as 23 in the second half, the Bethany College men’s basketball team chopped its deficit down to three with less than a minute to go, but the Bison ran out of time, as Baldwin Wallace held on for an 80-75 victory Saturday in Berea, Ohio.
The Yellow Jackets’ Kevin Krakowiak started his big day by hitting consecutive threes to open the scoring and B-W sprinted out to a 15-4 lead five minutes into the game. Bethany (1-1) answered with a 10-2 spurt to get within three, but the home team pulled away through the rest of the half. After leading by as many as 16, Baldwin Wallace, who sank 8-of-18 from the arc in the first half, carried a 41-30 advantage into halftime.
While B-W was lighting it up from deep in the first half, Bethany made just 1-of-6 from three-point land and shot only 38 percent (11-29) in the first 20 minutes.
Things did not improve for the Bison when the second half opened. The Yellow Jackets scored the first seven points of the half and then Krakowiak drained three more three-pointers to help B-W surge out to a 61-38 advantage, which prompted a BC timeout with 12:53 to play in the game.
Following the stoppage, Bethany turned up the pressure on defense to climb back into the game. The Bison forced 11 Yellow Jacket turnovers over the final 12 minutes and BC turned those into 20 points to aid in the rally. Bethany’s first big push came when it trailed 65-51 with just under seven minutes to go. Junior Leslie Addy (Columbia, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) scored five and freshman Nate Weldon (right – Las Vegas, Nev./Cimmaron) had two dunks in a 9-0 charge that brought BC within five at 65-60 with five minutes left.
Baldwin Wallace seemed to regain momentum when Krakowiak knocked down a jumper and a trey on back-to-back possessions to swell the hosts’ cushion back to 10 and their lead stood at 76-62 with 1:23 on the clock. That’s when Bethany made its final run. Senior James Barton (Bethel Park, Pa.) fired in two triples and converted a three-point play in a 13-2 surge and when an Addy steal led to a lay-in by senior Nick Wilcox (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township), the Bison had shaved B-W’s lead down to 78-75 with 41 seconds to go.
That would be as close as Bethany would get, as their comeback ran out of time. The Yellow Jackets’ hit two free foul shots to extend the margin to 80-75 and BC missed two threes in the final seconds, as Baldwin Wallace was able to stave off the Bison.
Bethany put five scorers in double digits in the setback, led by Weldon with 17 points and seven boards in just his second collegiate game. Senior Reece Mabery (right – Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands) packed the stat sheet with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Barton’s late shooting spree gave him 14 for the game. Wilcox also posted a solid all-around line with 12 markers, seven steals and five boards and Addy capped off the top scorers with 10 points.
Leading the victorious effort for Baldwin Wallace was Krakowiak, who matched a single-game school record with eight three-pointers on his way to a game-high 28 points. Forward Kyle Payne turned in a big game too with 23 points on 15-of-17 shooting from the foul line and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Bison will be back on the road for its next contest, as BC travels to Muskingum (Ohio) University Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
