Written by BW Athletic Communications Assistant AJ Schultz '27

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team fell to Otterbein University in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup, 86-70, inside the Rike Center. 

BW Leaders (6-13, 3-7 OAC)

• Junior forward AJ Pestello (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow-Munroe Falls) had a team-high 15 points, to go along with his four rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal 
• Freshman guard Josh Byers (Strongsville) finished with 13 points to finish second on the team for this respective category
• Sophomore guard Brock Beech (Medina) tallied 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds 
• Junior forward Isaac Richardson (Avon Lake) recorded 11 points, six rebounds, one block, and one steal 

Otterbein Leaders (16-2, 8-1 OAC) 

• Junior forward Chase Garito finished with a game-high 22 points, while shooting an efficient 10-13 from the field 
• Senior center Troy Scowden had 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block 
• Senior guard Julian Heckman was all over the floor tonight as he scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked a shot, and had a game-high four steals 

First Half (Otterbein 47-30) 

• Garito started the scoring off with a layup in the opening minute 
• Going into the second media timeout, Jones split two shots at the line, as the Cardinals took an 18-11 lead at the 12:11 mark 
• As both teams went back and forth, junior guard Nick Timberlake (Stow/Munroe Falls) drained a shot from beyond the arc to make the score 27-19 at the 8:41 mark 
• Finishing the half strong, Otterbein went on a 9-2 run in almost four minutes to increase their lead to 45-26 
• BW made three three-pointers compared to the Cardinals' two 
• Otterbein out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 20-15 on the glass 

Second Half (Otterbein 86-70) 

• Pestello started the scoring off with a layup during the opening possession 
• Richardson and Junior Academic All-OAC forward Andrew Griffith rose up for some big-time blocks during the back-and-forth action by both teams 
• A layup from Scowden gave Otterbein a 78-55 lead, their largest of the game 
• BW went on an 11-5 run in the final 4:48, which included a Pestello dunk 
• The Brown and Gold outscored Otterbein 40-39 in the period 
• The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Cardinals 20-19 on the glass 

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return to the hardwood on Saturday, January 31, as they travel on the road to play Marietta College at 1 p.m. inside the Ban Johnson Arena.  Fans can catch all the action on FloCollege.