Written by BW Athletic Communications Student Assistant Colin West '27

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team defeated Capital University in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup, 79-76, inside the Performance Arena in a game that saw four BW players score over double-digits to give them their first OAC win of the season.

BW Leaders (2-8)

• Freshman guard Josh Byers (Strongsville/Strongsville) led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points, shooting 6-7 from the field
• Two-time All-OAC selection Ray Ellington (Westlake) made an immediate impact in his season debut, dropping 17 points and hauling in six rebounds
• Junior forward AJ Pestello (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow-Munroe Falls) recorded 12 points and six rebounds
• Senior guard Myles Reynolds (Cleveland/St. Edward) added 11 points and three rebounds
• Sophomore guard Brock Beech (Medina/Medina) dished out a team-high four assists

Capital Leaders (5-6)

• Sophomore guard Se'Ron Calloway-White led Capital with a game-high 22 points along with eight rebounds and four assists
• Junior forward Chris Mitchell recorded a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds
• Freshman center Kamran Ensley scored seven points and collected seven rebounds

First Half (BW 35-31)

• Mitchell kicked off the scoring with a free throw in the first minute
• Capital jumped out to a 21-14 lead after an 8-0 run from 12:18 to 9:27
• The Yellow Jackets answered with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 23, shooting three of three from beyond the arc
• The Brown and Gold ended the half on a 7-2 run, led by Byers with four points and Pestello with three points
• The lead changed seven times in a back-and-forth half
• Byers led the Jackets with 11 first-half points

Second Half (BW 79-76)

• Byers continued his first-half dominance with a three-pointer to open the half
• BW went on a 6-0 run to expand their lead to 12 at 15:36
• The Comets broke off a 6-0 run of their own, cutting the Yellow Jacket lead to five at 8:59
• The Brown and Gold extended their lead back to seven before Capital went on a 9-0 run, giving them a two-point lead at 5:03
• Ellington knocked down a massive three-pointer at 3:45 to give BW a three-point lead
• Junior Academic All-OAC guard Titus Baskerville IV (Stow-Munroe Falls) gave the Yellow Jackets a four-point lead with a free throw and a layup at 3:05 and 2:30
• BW secured the victory with free throws from Reynolds, junior forward Andrew Griffith (Akron/Archbishop Hoban), and Byers in the final seconds

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets travel to Bluffton College for a non-conference matchup at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 31, inside the Sommer Center.