ALLIANCE, Ohio—The Mount Union men's basketball needed a second half rally to defeat Baldwin-Wallace, 62-57, Wednesday evening in its final game at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex this season.

In the final home game of their collegiate careers, seniors Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) and Matt Wier (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) scored  five straight points to put the Raiders ahead for good in the closing minutes.

The Purple Raiders (10-14, 6-13) found themselves trailing 15-5 just eight minutes into the contest as the Yellow Jackets made a trio of early three-pointers. A layup by sophomore T.J. GIlespie (Toledo/St. John's) trimmed the deficit to four, but Baldwin-Wallace extended the lead back to six and took a 29-23 lead with them into the locker room.

Still trailing by six with 13:30 remaining in the second half, freshman Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) scored eight straight points to give the Raiders their first lead of the game. A drive and layup by junior Keith Williams (Louisville, Ky./Brown) capped a 10-0 run that put Mount Union ahead 41-37 with 11:30 remaining.

Baldwin-Wallace battled back to take a 54-50 lead with 2:33 remaining. A three-pointer by Wood and a pair of free throws by Wier put the Raiders ahead for good, 55-54, with 1:50 to play. Jacubec tallied the next five points and the Raiders took their largest lead at 60-54.

Jacubec scored 17 of his career-high 24 points after halftime. Wood finished with nine points and a team-best five rebounds while Wier and Gillespie added eight points apiece.   

Baldwin-Wallace (15-9, 10-7) got 22 points from Kevin Krakowiak, who made all four of his three-point tries. Grant Fairhurst was also in double-figures for the Yellow Jackets with 11 points.

Mount Union plays at Heidelberg Saturday afternoon at 3 pm. A win clinches a berth in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament for the Raiders.

Newspaper Box Score

Baldwin-Wallace vs Mount Union
02/15/12 7:30 pm at The MAAC - Alliance, Ohio
At The MAAC - Alliance, Ohio

MOUNT UNION 62, BALDWIN-WALLACE 57

BALDWIN-WALLACE (15-9, 10-7 OAC)
Kevin Krakowiak 8-13 2-2 22; Grant Fairhurst 3-10 3-3 11; Jaron Crowe 2-5
1-2 7; Kyle Payne 1-4 2-4 4; Skyler Simpson 1-1 0-0 3; Chris Ameen 1-2 0-0
3; Tyler Ferrell 1-3 1-2 3; Aaron Selmek 0-1 2-2 2; Ben Umbel 1-6 0-1 2;
Sean Rothermel 0-0 0-0 0; Scott Branchick 0-2 0-1 0; Brandon Schmidt 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 18-47 11-17 57.

MOUNT UNION (10-14, 6-11 OAC)
Nate Jacubec 6-11 10-11 24; Jimmy Wood 4-12 0-0 9; Matt Wier 2-5 4-4 8; T.J.
Gillespie 3-8 2-2 8; Matt Kiger 1-1 3-4 5; Justen Little 1-3 0-0 3; Keith
Williams 1-2 0-0 2; Clayton Patton 1-3 0-0 2; Jimmy Darnley 0-0 1-2 1; Matt
Piloto 0-1 0-0 0; Stevie Griffin 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 20-23 62.

Baldwin-Wallace...............   29   28  -   57
Mount Union...................   23   39  -   62

3-point goals--Baldwin-Wallace 10-21 (Kevin Krakowiak 4-4; Grant Fairhurst
2-7; Jaron Crowe 2-4; Chris Ameen 1-2; Skyler Simpson 1-1; Ben Umbel 0-1;
Kyle Payne 0-2), Mount Union 4-14 (Nate Jacubec 2-3; Jimmy Wood 1-5; Justen
Little 1-1; Stevie Griffin 0-2; T.J. Gillespie 0-3). Fouled
out--Baldwin-Wallace-None, Mount Union-None. Rebounds--Baldwin-Wallace 35
(Jaron Crowe 6), Mount Union 32 (Jimmy Wood 5). Assists--Baldwin-Wallace 10
(Ben Umbel 4), Mount Union 10 (Justen Little 4). Total
fouls--Baldwin-Wallace 18, Mount Union 18. Technical
fouls--Baldwin-Wallace-None, Mount Union-None. A-412