January 14, 2008

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Monday, January 14, 2008

Tues. 15 Women's Basketball (H) Mt. Vernon Nazarene 6 pm

Men's Basketball   (H) Mt. Vernon Nazarene 8 pm *

Sat. 19 Women's Basketball at Cedarville University 5:30 pm

Men's Basketball at Cedarville University 7:30 pm *

Indoor Track at Marietta College

* Games to be broadcast on AM 900 WCER

MEN'S BASKETBALL: (13-2, 2-0 AMC S) Cavs Extend Streak to Five/Face Two Ranked AMC Foes

NAIA No. 4 Walsh (13-2, 2-0 AMC S) opened American Mideast Conference South Division play with back to back wins last week; the Cavs defeated Ohio Dominican University 76-70 on the road, and then downed Shawnee State University 74-60 at home.  This week, the Cavs host NAIA No. 6 Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Tuesday (8 pm) at Alumni Arena and play at NAIA No. 16 Cedarville University on Saturday (7:30 pm). Both games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us. 

Walsh outscored Ohio Dominican University (9-6, 0-1 AMC S) 23-9 in the final 5:22 of the game, to post a 76-70 come-from-behind win in the AMC South opener for both teams last Tuesday night in Columbus.  Walsh led by as many as ten points in the first half and posted a 34-28 halftime lead.  ODU rallied to take a 61-53 lead with 5:22 to play, mainly behind the scoring of Donald Suel who finished the game with a career-high 36 points.  Behind a host of heroes the Cavs would respond.  Lamar Skeeter (5-10, Fr., Dayton, OH/Kettering Alter) came off the bench to hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 63 with 2:24 to play.  After ODU regained the lead at 65-63, Eder Araujo (7-0, Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete Maria de Freitas) scored at the 1:59 mark to knot the game at 65.  With the game tied at 65 with 57 seconds left, Brandon Weems (5-10, Jr., Akron, OH/Saint Vincent-Saint Mary) scored on a driving lay-up on which he was fouled, for an old fashioned three-point play to give the Cavs the lead for good at 68-65.  Araujo led Walsh's balanced attack with 15 points.  He also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.  Josh Johnson (6-4, Jr., Warren, OH/Harding) added 14 points and Kyelce Cescato (So., Barra Bonita, Brazil/Colmeia Entec) added 12 points and seven rebounds.  Weems scored 12 points to go along with six assists.  Walsh shot 80% from the foul line, connecting on 20-25. 

Walsh overcame a slow start to win their fifth straight game, defeating Shawnee State 74-60 on Wall of Fame Saturday.  The Cavs scored just three points in the first 8 minutes of the game and trailed 8-3.  This would mark Shawnee State's largest lead of the game. The Walsh bench then provided a spark, scoring 14 first half points, as the Cavs roared back to take a 31-22 halftime lead. Ryan Butler (6-6, Fr., Hamilton, OH/HS) hit back to back jumpers to pull the Cavs to within a point at 8-7, and then Brandon Speck (6-0, So., Mansfield, OH/St. Peter’s) scored to give Walsh a 9-8 lead. Shawnee’s Aaron Davis hit a three to give the Bears their final lead of the game at 11-9 with 9:31 to play in the first half. Lamar Skeeter then hit a three to give Walsh the lead for good at 12-11 at the 8:42 mark. Walsh led 25-20 with 1:24 to play in the half, when they went on a 6- 2 run to close the half.  The Cavs settled the issue early in the second half, as they out scored the Bears 13-3 in the first 3:58 of the half to take a 44-27 lead. Their largest lead was 19 points at 54-35 with 10:18 to play.  The Cavs placed four players in double figures, led by Josh Johnson’s 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Kyelce Cescato started his second straight game and shot 6-7 from the floor in scoring 12 points and adding seven rebounds. Corey Jones (6-3, Sr., Avon Lake, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) added 11 points and Butler 10 points. Brandon Weems scored nine points and dished out a game-high 12 assists, while playing in front of high school teammate and Cleveland Cavalier star LeBron James. Weems is 23 points shy of 1,000.

Walsh's balanced scoring attack has six players scoring in twin figures, led by Eder Araujo's 13.6 ppg.  Araujo is also the Cavs' top rebounder at 7.8 per game.  Corey Jones is averaging 11.8 points and is shooting .552 from three-point range.  Weems, who has scored in double figures in five of his last six games, is averaging 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and AMC leading 6.6 assists. Lamar Skeeter is averaging 10.4 points coming off the bench and is shooting .550 from three-point.  Joe Shardo (6-5, Jr., Yorkshire, OH/Versailles) is averaging 10.6 points and is shooting .620 from the field and .480 from three-point.  Shardo missed both games last week due to an ankle sprain, but is expected back in action on Tuesday against Mount Vernon Nazarene.  Josh Johnson is averaging 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and is shooting .500 from the field.  Walsh is averaging 87.4 points, while shooting .498 from the floor, .439 from three-point and .712 from the free throw line.

Walsh plays host to sixth ranked Mount Vernon Nazarene University (14-1, 2-0 AMC S) on Tuesday night.  The Cougars bring a four-game win streak to Walsh.  They defeated Wilberforce University 80-72 on Saturday night.  Ben Falkenberg leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 21.0 ppg.  Jadin Thomas is averaging 13.9 ppg and 7.7 rpg and Connor Gregg is averaging 11.3 ppg and 8.2 rpg.  The Cougars are averaging 83.9 ppg and shooting .512 from the field.  Walsh leads the all-time series 36-25.  Walsh travels to 16th ranked Cedarville University (11-4, 1-1 AMC S) on Saturday.  The Yellow Jackets defeated Ohio Dominican University 82-70 on Saturday.  They play at Urbana University on Tuesday.  Christopher Walker is tied for the scoring lead with Ryan Short at 13.5 pgg and is second in rebounding (6.7). Chris Beals is averaging 13.0 ppg and Ricardo Alliman 9.1 ppg and a team leading 8.3 rpg.  The Walsh-Cedarville all-time series is tied at 36.  Walsh, Cedarville and Mount Vernon Nazarene all advanced to the NAIA D-II National Tournament last season.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (7-8, 0-2 AMC S) Look to Rebound

Walsh (7-8, 0-2 AMC S) fell below the .500 mark and to 0-2 in the American Mideast Conference South Division, after losing to a pair of NAIA ranked teams last week.  The Cavs lost 75-66 to NAIA No. 8 Ohio Dominican University last Tuesday, and then fell 73-61 to 11th ranked Shawnee State University on Saturday.  This Tuesday, the Cavs host Mount Vernon Nazarene University at Alumni Arena at 6 pm and play at Cedarville University on Saturday at 5:30 pm.  Both are AMC South games.  The Cedarville game will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.   

Ohio Dominican outscored Walsh 21-11 in the final 4:27 of the second half, on their way to a 75-66 win in the American Mideast Conference South opener for both teams in Columbus on Tuesday night.  Despite shooting 46% in the first half, the Cavs trailed 30-24 at the break. The Cavs would rally in the second half and take their final lead at 55-54 with 4:27 to play on a Leah Seaman (5-8, So., Louisville, OH/HS) lay-up.  The Panthers regained the lead at 58-55, when Seaman drained a three-pointer with 3:46 to play to knot the game for the final time.  The Panthers then took the lead for good on the next possession.  Seaman paced the Cavs with 18 points.  Cara Bedard (6-0, Fr., Randolph, OH/Waterloo) added 13 points and eight rebounds and Katie Berry (5-11, Fr., Cleveland Heights, OH/St. Joseph Academy) added ten points. 

Shawnee State rallied to defeat Walsh 73-61 on Wall of Fame Saturday.  Shawnee erased a seven-point second half deficit to record the win.  Behind Becky Babione’s 13 first half points, Shawnee led 38-33 at halftime. Walsh then erased the five point deficit in the first five minutes of the second half and built a 47-40 lead with 15:01 to play. The Bears used an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 48-47 with 13:27 to play, when Walsh took their final lead at 50-48 on a three-pointer from Leah Seaman. Seaman finished with 18 points. The Bears tied the game at 50 on a jumper from Jennifer Grandy and took the lead for good (53-50) at the 10:49 mark on a three-pointer from Mallory Albers. Shawnee outscored the Cavs 20-11 in the final ten minutes.  Katie Berry led the Cavs and all scorers with 20 points. Cara Bedard led Walsh with 12 rebounds.

Katie Berry leads the Cavs in scoring, averaging 13.9 points.  She is shooting .494 from the field and is averaging 3.9 rebounds.  Leah Seaman is averaging 12.7 ppg and is shooting .795 from the foul line.  Cara Bedard is averaging 12.0 points, a team leading 6.7 rebounds and is shooting .518 from the floor. 

Walsh battles Mount Vernon Nazarene University (13-3, 1-1 AMC S) in an AMC South contest on Tuesday. The Cougars have won two straight games and defeated Wilberforce University 90-57 on Saturday.  The Cougars are 8-1 away from home and are led by Amanda Hines, who is scoring 16.6 points and averaging 6.9 rpg.  Walsh leads the all-time series 32-17.  Walsh travels to Cedarville (8-7, 1-1 AMC S) on Saturday.  The Yellow Jackets lost at home to Ohio Dominican University 63-54 on Saturday.  They play at Urbana University on Tuesday night.  Alison Lemon leads the Jackets in scoring, averaging 16.5 ppg.  Cedarville has won the last 11 games with the Cavs and lead the all-time series 17-13.