Sophomore guard Isaac Ward and junior wing David Rice scored 4 points apiece during an 11-0 first-half run that helped the Ohio Wesleyan men’s basketball team pull away for a 76-65 non-conference win over La Roche on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
Freshman wing Aidan Schmidt hit a 3-pointer to break a 14-14 tie and put the Bishops ahead to stay, and baskets by senior guard Joey Duke and Schmidt, followed by a 3-pointer from sophomore wing Jessee Battle, increased the margin to 24-16.
The Redhawks closed to within 31-28 on a 3-pointer by Joe Starzynski with 5:49 left in the first half, but the Bishops answered with a 3-point play from junior guard Henry Hinkle. Ward and Rice each contributed a pair of hoops as Ohio Wesleyan built a 42-28 lead with 30 seconds left in the first half.
Midway through the second half, La Roche pulled within 60-51 after buckets by Bryce Epps and Dawson Summers only to see the Bishops counter with a 9-0 burst that included lay-ins by Hinkle and Rice, a lay-in by senior post Cole Metzler, and a 3-pointer from Battle, and the Ohio Wesleyan lead would remain in double digits for the remainder of the contest.
Ward led the Bishops with 19 points. Hinkle scored 16, Rice finished with 14, and Battle added 10 points. Senior post Tony Carter posted team bests of 11 rebounds and 4 assists.
WRESTLING
Junior Tyler Bodovetz recorded a pair of wins to lead Ohio Wesleyan at the Chocolate Duals, hosted by Messiah University on Saturday in Grantham, Pa.
Bodovetz posted Ohio Wesleyan’s only win in Saturday’s opener against Ithaca with an 18-10 major decision over Pedro Cruz at 165.
Sophomore Joe Shoup dropped a 5-3 decision to Jeremy Mazzella at 285, and sophomore Gabe Bulugaris lost by a 4-0 count to Brandon Ribeiro at 141.
Ohio Wesleyan then faced host Messiah, with Shoup standing out for the Bishops, taking Hayden Benner into overtime before losing a 2-1 decision at 285.
The Bishops closed out the afternoon against Penn College. Bulugaris put the Bishops on the scoreboard with a 6-5 decision over Ryan Trimber at 141, Bodovetz added a 16-12 decision over Liam Goodrich at 165, senior Christian Tesnow was a 4-2 winner over Travis Green at 174, and junior Des Perry won by forfeit at 184.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
