Sponseller breaks out for 36 against No. 15 Baldwin-Wallace; Yellow Jackets win the game 131-110

Jan. 29 2005
BEREA , Ohio - It may have been cold enough for snow flurries Saturday (Jan. 29) in northeast Ohio, but it was raining three-pointers inside Ursprung Dynamos in Berea, as No. 15 Baldwin-Wallace out scored Marietta 131-110 to capture the Ohio Athletic Conference victory.

Marietta's Chad Sponseller (Canton/GlenOak) was on fire from long range, connecting on 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also was 8-of-8 from the line and totaled a career-high 36 points in just 18 minutes. It is the most points a MC player scored since Ottmas Richards exploded for 38 in 2002-03, also against the Yellow Jackets.

With its loss, Marietta is now 2-17 overall and 0-12 in the OAC, while second place B-W improved to 16-3 overall and 9-3 in the OAC.

The first half proved to be a battle of runs, as each team put together scoring runs, B-W 12-0 and 28-6 and MC 16-9 and 12-5, but it was the Yellow Jackets that eventually took control and entered intermission with a 63-45 lead.

Baldwin-Wallace used a balanced inside and outside attack to extend its lead to as many as 30 points down the stretch; Marietta never came closer than 15 points in the final stanza.

MC finished 36-of-92 (39.1%) from the floor, including 18-of-53 (34.0%) from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets shot 51-of-73 (69.9%) from the field, including 5-of-9 (55.6%) from long range. B-W won the battle on the boards 52-42 and committed 18 turnover compared to MC's season-low 10 give-aways.

Freshman Craig Stewart (Circleville) attempted an OAC record-tying and new MC record 20 three-pointers. He connected on six to finish with 20 points.

Josh Hull (Nitro, WV/Poca) collected 16 points and Seth Amburgey (Champ manville) and Matt Rucker (Proctorville/Chesapeake) each added 10 in the loss, Marietta's eighth straight.

Thad Davis (28 points and 15 rebounds) and his brother Tori Davis (20 points and 14 boards) provided the spark in the paint, while Tom Harrington (15 points and nine assists) and Brendan Schuler (20 points and 11 assists) led the charge from the back court. B-W set a school record for points (131) and assists (38) in a game in the win.

The Pioneers return to action Wednesday (Feb. 2) when they play host to Otterbein at 7:30 p.m.

Sophomore Chad Sponseller poured in a career-high 36 points Saturday

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