Friday night: Big rallies, big performances

More news about: Baldwin Wallace | Bluffton | Marietta | St. John-s
Jan 29, 2021
Sylvie Sonneman scored 14 points for Baldwin Wallace in her collegiate debut.
Baldwin Wallace athletics photo by Hailey Owens
 

The Baldwin Wallace women won in double overtime, Bluffton got a big performance to pick up its 11th win, while the Marietta and St. John's men had big performances in their first games of the season.

Through Friday night's action, 125 men's teams have played at least one game, as have 125 women's teams.

Baldwin Wallace rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, finishing regulation scoring 40 of the final 64 points, then outlasted Marietta in double overtime by a 77-73 score. A Maighread Laliberte 3-pointer jumpstarted the offense, which immediately responded with a 12-1 run. Eight players scored for the Yellow Jackets in the third quarter as BW outscored Marietta 25-15 to close the deficit to three.

An improper substitution by Marietta following a trip to the free throw line by Lilly Edwards resulted in a technical foul that allowed the Yellow Jackets to take the lead for the first time at 49-48.

Edwards scored a game-high 25 points, including seven of the 13 points scored in the overtimes, while adding 13 rebounds.

Bluffton improved to 11-1 behind a huge performance from Brianna Gillig, who scored a school-record 41 points and addded 10 rebounds in an 85-68 win against Manchester. It's the fifth meeting between the two teams, and the sixth is scheduled for Saturday. Bluffton has won all five, with its only loss coming Dec. 12, 83-61 at Transylvania (6-4).

The John Carroll women improved to 3-0 under their new coach, as the Blue Streaks went 13-for-14 from the foul line in overtime to defeat Mount Union 83-73. Nicole Heffington hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 64-64 and although she missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer, Abby Adley scored six of her 11 points in the extra session to put the game away. Heffington finished with a game-high 23 points, while Mount Union (0-3) got 21 points from Kelsie Glass off the bench.

After 11 ties, 15 lead changes and five extra minutes, Randolph came away with a win in its season opener, defeating Ferrum in overtime 72-70. Kylie Stark had an impressive collegiate debut for Randolph as she led with 24 points while adding nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Friday's men's action

The Marietta men got on the board for the 2020-21 season, rolling up a huge first half en route to an 107-87 win against Baldwin Wallace. The Pioneers, playing their first game of the year, shot an incredible 11-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half to take a 64-33 lead into the locker room.

"Our first group came out and played really hard and bumped the lead up and then we got away from what we do," said Marietta coach Jon VanderWal. "It is amazing in college basketball when you stop doing what you're supposed to do, how quickly the tide turns. I wish I felt a little bit better than I do about a 20-point win."

Jason Ellis went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 27 points, while Mason Lydic added 16. It was Marietta's first game since an 89-73 lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March 6.

MIAC teams took the floor for the first time, as St. John's picked up right where it left off last season, rolling past St. Mary's (Minn.) 87-64. The Johnnies, who were one of the last 16 teams remaining alive when the season ended because of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, made nine of their first 13 shots. St. John's missed just one of their nine 3-point attempts in the first half before finishing 12-for-18 for the game. Zach Hanson and Colton Codute scored 21 points apiece.

In a game arranged after a contest against Centre fell apart, Millsaps went to Oglethorpe and fell by a 72-52 score. The Stormy Petrels (4-1) broke open a game which was tied-36-36 in the second half, going on a 31-9 run. Millsaps (1-4) got within 11 with four minutes left but Oglethorpe scored the last nine of the game.

The Majors shot just 5-for-36 from beyond the 3-point arc. "Our defense won us the game," said Oglethorpe coach Philip Ponder. "We came out slow offensively, and really struggled shooting the ball in the first half before finally getting it going in the second. It's always good to get a win when you're not shooting it particularly well, so I was proud of our defense tonight."

Benedictine went on an 18-0 run in the first half to open up a lead and the Eagles went on to cruise to a 68-54 win at Concordia-Chicago. The Cougars (0-2) got as close as four points midway through the second half, but Benedictine (1-1) went on a 17-6 spurt to put the game away. Nate Shead scored a team-high 14 points to lead three Eagles in double figures.

Alma went on an 19-4 run over the final 6:28 of the game, capped off when Cole Kliever hit the go-ahead shot with eight seconds left as Alma ruined Hope's season opener 65-64. Kliever's runner in the lane was just his eighth basket of the night on 24 attempts, but it was enough to give him a game-high 23 points and give the Scots their first victory of the season against three defeats.

Hope forward Evan Thomas tried to answer, but his off-balanced layup hit the front of the rim. After Alma missed two free throws, Hope got one last shot with .4 seconds left but Thomas' second attempt at a game-winner was also off the mark. Thomas finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.