BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season by defeating the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg inside the Ursprung Gymnasium by a final score of 73-65 to get their first season-opening win in two years.
The Yellow Jackets were led by senior forward
Isaac Richardson, who scored 20 points in the afternoon while pulling down five rebounds. He headlined a Brown and Gold team that started four upper classmen in the victory.
Game Recap
The Yellow Jackets played from in front to start the day off. At the 10-minute mark of the first half, they had an 18-15 lead. In the opening 10 minutes they lead for all but 20 seconds. The team brought their lead up to seven points with 5:07 to play in the half after going on a 7-2 run over the course of two minutes. At that point, the Bobcats brought themselves back in it and they took a 35-34 lead heading into the break. BW was 14-31 (45.16%) from the field 20 minutes in.
Beginning the second half, Pitt-Greensburg was in front by as many as five, when they led 42-37 with 15:16 to play. The Yellow Jackets went on a 10-2 run going into the under-12 timeout, taking a 47-44 lead on a
Dylan Bartchak three. The Bobcats would not go quietly after this. They fought back with a run of their own to go up 58-57 with 3:32 to play. An and-one made by Beech and a
Ray Ellington jumper helped the Yellow Jackets keep their lead. The defense came in strong for the Brown and Gold at the end. They went on a 6-0 run to go up 67-61 with 1:13 to play. Titus Baskerville and
Josh Byers made a total of six free throws within the last 80 seconds of play to get in the win column to start the season. Richardson scored 20 points or more in four different games last season and he starts the 2026-27 season by doing it in his first game.
The Matchup
Since 2016, it marked the fourth time that the schools have played each other, with these meetings being tied at two games apiece.
Looking Ahead
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, November 11, when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on Chatham University for their first road game of the year. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
