Henry Hinkle poured in a team-high 25 points and got plenty of help as the Ohio Wesleyan men’s basketball team used a balanced attack to outlast host Hiram for an 83-79 North Coast Athletic Conference win Wednesday night at Price Gymnasium.
The Bishops (9-5, 4-1 NCAC) led by as many as 10 points in the first half, taking a 30-20 edge when Jack Clement connected on a short jumper with 5:13 left. A couple Terrier (8-5, 3-2) three-pointers — one from Doug Sartain and another from Trent Jakacki — got the hosts back into things, but they still trailed by four, 37-33, at the break.
Another Sartain triple got Hiram back to even midway through the second half, but, after Hinkle and Ricky Esdel traded layups, Hinkle hit a three of his own to give OWU a lead it never relinquished.
A Grant Spicer layup ballooned the lead to 12, 75-63, with 1:28 left. The Terriers hit four threes in the final minute and change to make it a one-possession game before a Clement free throw with seven seconds left all but sealed the deal.
Spicer (16), Clement (15) and Curtis White (12) all backed Hinkle in double figures for the Bishops. Tony Carter also had a nice night, hauling in a game-best 14 rebounds.
Jakacki led all scorers with 30 points in the setback.
The win was just what Ohio Wesleyan needed after an up and down holiday break in which it won a couple games in the Wittenberg Holiday Classic and dropped a pair a week later in the BSN Winter Classic. Next up, the Bishops are slated to take on host Denison next Wednesday at 8 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Ohio Wesleyan was dominant in its NCAC opener, outscoring the host Owls in all four quarters on the way to a 76-44 win Wednesday night in Gambier.
Kenyon (3-8, 0-2 NCAC) jumped out to an 8-2 lead less than three minutes into the action, getting three early hoops from Claudia Cooke.
OWU (6-6, 1-0 NCAC) took over from there, though, outscoring the Owls 16-3 the rest of the quarter to take control. Graci Semptimphelter and Mia Guscoff hit back-to-back threes to make it an 18-11 game heading into the second — a quarter the Bishops won 20-15 before all but wrapping things up with 17-4 third.
Kasey Schipfer led Ohio Wesleyan with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Lauren Denison also had a nice night, finishing with 20 points, while Alyssa Griner finished with 12 points and nine boards in the win.
Alexis Newman had a team-best nine points for the Owls.
The Bishops return to action Saturday against visiting Wooster. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Branch Rickey Arena.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Buckeye Valley nearly shook off a slow start with a strong fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the comeback as host North Union held on for a 44-39 non-league win Wednesday night.
The Barons, who scored just three points in the first quarter, outscored the Wildcats 15-8 in the fourth to turn a 12-point second-half deficit into the eventual tight loss.
Addison Graham led Buckeye Valley with 10 points while Ella Hazelrigg had nine.
