Janaury 22, 2007

Monday, January 22, 2007

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Tues. 23 Women's Basketball (A) Urbana University 5:30 pm

Men's Basketball (A) vs. Urbana University 7:30 pm (900 AM WCER)

Sat. 27 Women's Basketball (H) Cedarville University 2 pm

Men's Basketball (H) Cedarville University 4 pm (900 AM WCER)

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs' (18-3, 9-1 AMC S) Streak at 13/Share AMC Lead

NAIA No. 8 Walsh (18-3, 9-1 AMC S) picked-up two more American Mideast Conference South wins last week to remain tied with Mount Vernon Nazarene University for the conference lead.  The wins also extended Walsh's winning streak to 13 games.  This matches the Cavs streak in 2004-05, when the Cavs put together a 13-game win streak and won the NAIA Division Two National Championship.  The Cavs have also posted wins 15 of their last 16 games.  Walsh defeated Wilberforce University 92-78 at home on Tuesday and then routed Shawnee State University 73-46 on the road last Saturday.  This Tuesday, the Cavs hit the road for Urbana University at 7:30 pm, and then host Cedarville University on Saturday at 4 pm.  Both AMC South games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER, and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

Walsh won its 12th straight game, defeating visiting Wilberforce University 92-78, in a game that was much closer than the final score. There were seven ties in the first half, which ended with the Bulldogs ahead 42-40.  The contest remained tight the first 10 minutes of the second, with Walsh holding a slim 63-61 lead with 10:12 to play.  From that point the Cavs defense took control of the game, as they held Wilberforce to seven points in the next seven minutes in taking an 86-68 lead.  The Cavs nailed five three-pointers in the last ten minutes of the game, including four in row to give them an 89-72 lead with 1:48 to play.  The Cavs held their largest lead at 86-68.  Walsh's balanced attack was paced by Corey Jones (Jr., Avon Lake, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) game-high 23 points. Jason Hicks (Sr., Cleveland, OH/Villa-Angela St. Joseph) added 21 points off the bench.  Adam Lesch (Sr., Newark, OH/HS) and Brandon Weems (Jr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) each scored 16 points.  All of Weems points came in the second half. 

Walsh played one of its finest games of the season, in routing Shawnee State University 73-46. Walsh used a 13-1 run in the first half to wipe out a one-point deficit and take a 24-13 lead.  The Cavs would then take a 38-25 lead into the locker room.  The second half was all Walsh, as they outscored the Bears 35-21.  Walsh also dominated the boards, out-rebounding SSU 45-32, with a season-high 18 offensive rebounds. Eder Araujo (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete de Freitas) led the way with a double-double, scoring a game-high points and game-high 16 rebounds.  Corey Jones added 13 points, with Adam Lesch and Jason Hicks scoring 11 points each.  The Cavs held the Bears 30 points under their scoring average. 

Walsh and Urbana finish their season series at Urbana (7-14, 2-8 AMC S) on Tuesday.  The Cavs best the Blue Knights 101-63 at Walsh on January 3, behind 20 points from Corey Jones and 17 points and 10 rebounds from Eder Araujo.  Urbana is currently last in the AMC South and has lost their last three games.  Walsh has won seven straight from the Blue Knights and lead the all-time series 47-29.  Walsh and 16th ranked Cedarville University (14-5, 8-2 AMC S) square off at Alumni Arena on Saturday.  The Yellow Jackets handed the Cavs their only AMC South loss, 87-76, in overtime on December 9 at Cedarville.  The Yellow Jackets have won their last five games, two in overtime.  They host Mount Vernon Nazarene on Tuesday.  Cedarville is third in the AMC South, one game behind the Cavs and Cougars.  The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with Walsh 36-35. 

Brandon Weems leads the NAIA in assists and is averaging 8.1 per game. Jason Hicks has averaged 17.5 points in his first four games since returning on January 9.  Corey Jones is averaging 15.6 per game and shooting .873 from the foul line and .453 from three-point.  Eder Araujo is averaging 8.9 rebounds per game, tops in the AMC.  Derek Chappell (Sr., Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East) and Brandon Speck are both among the AMC stat leaders.  Chappell was sixth last week in field goal (.577) and Speck third in three-point percentage (.455).  Speck is also 10th in the NAIA (.483).  The Cavs are 34-5 at home under Head Coach Jeff Young since the start of the 2004-05 season.  Young's overall mark is 73-22, with a .768 winning percentage, tops in Walsh history.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (4-14, 2-8 AMC S) Edge Wilberforce, Fall at Shawnee State

Walsh (4-14, 2-8 AMC S) split a pair of American Mideast Conference South games last week.  The Cavs beat Wilberforce University 61-53 at Alumni Arena last Tuesday night, but fell 79-63 at Shawnee State University on Saturday.  This week, the Cavs travel to Urbana University on Tuesday (5:30 pm) and host AMC co-leader and fourth Cedarville University on Saturday 2 pm.

Walsh snapped a four-game losing streak with a 61-53 win over Wilberforce University.  The Cavs took the lead for good at 8-6 at the 14:56 mark of the first half and led by as many as 13 points (38-25) in the second half.  Wilberforce rallied and tied the game 53 with 4:39 to play on a three-point basket by Latoya Graham.  But Walsh came back and regained the lead at 55-53 on a basket by Eulise Dickerson (So., Warrensville Heights, OH/HS).  Walsh then held the Bulldogs scoreless the remainder of the game. Ingrid Brainard (Sr., Madison, OH/HS) led the Cavs and all scorers with 14 points, to go along with six rebounds and five assists.  Chrissy Summers (Fr., Doylestown, OH/Chippewa) added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Jessie Miller (R-Fr., Strasburg, OH/HS) had 10 rebounds and six steals.

Shawnee State (13-8, 6-4 AMC S) connected on a season-high 12 three-pointers, on their way to a 79-63 win over the Cavs.  Shawnee connected on 7 three-pointers in the first half in building a 40-30 halftime lead. The Cavs stayed close despite shooting only .325 (13-40) from the floor in the first half. The Bears shot .548 from the floor in the second half and led by as 20 points on two occasions. Ingrid Brainard paced the Cavs with 14 points. Amber Robinson (Jr., Canton, OH/North Canton) added 11 points and Jessie Miller (R-Fr., Strasburg, OH/HS) and Monika Mitchell (So., Garfield Heights, OH/HS) each tallied 10 points.

The Cavs and Urbana (110-10, 5-5 AMC S) finish the season series on Tuesday.  Urbana beat the Cavs 68-62 on January 3.  Urbana lost 78-70 to co-AMC South leader Ohio Dominican on Saturday.  Walsh leads the all-time series 23-15.  Walsh looks to snap a 10-game losing streak against Cedarville (16-5, 8-2 AMC S), when they host the Jackets on Saturday.  Walsh lost 82-56 at Cedarville on December 9 and last beat the Jackets in the 2000-01 season.  Cedarville fell into a tie for the AMC South lead, after losing 100-97 at Rio Grande on Saturday.  The Jackets two regular season AMC losses are the most in a single season since the 2001-02 year, when they finished 15-5.  They had been unbeaten in league play the last three years.

Ingrid Brainard leads the Cavs in scoring (12.7) and is the only player in double figures.  Brainard, Walsh's all-time assist leader (469), has 76 assists on the season, and leads the team in steals (48) and free throw percentage (.814).  Brittani Maddox (R-Fr., Cleveland Heights, OH/HS) leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.3 per game.