November 27, 2006

Monday, November 27, 2006

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Tues. 28 Women's Basketball (H) Mt. Vernon Nazarene University 6 pm

Men's Basketball (H) Mt. Vernon Nazarene University 8 pm (AM 900 WCER)

Sat. 2 Women's Basketball (H) University of Rio Grande 2 pm

Men's Basketball (H) University of Rio Grande 4 pm AM 900 WCER 

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (3-2, 1-0 AMC S) Open AMC Play with Win

NAIA No. 7 Walsh (3-2, 1-0 AMC S) opened defense of their American Mideast Conference South Division title, with a road win, at Tiffin University on Tuesday.  Walsh then won over Kentucky Christian on Friday, but lost to the College of Wooster on Saturday.  This week, the Cavs play two AMC South games at home.  On Tuesday (8 pm), the Cavs host Mount Vernon Nazarene University and on Saturday (4 pm) host the University of Rio Grande.  Both games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us

Corey Jones (Jr., Avon Lake, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) scored 21 points in the Cavs win at Tiffin.  Walsh shook off a slow to out score the Dragons 35-25 in the second half, after trailing most of the first half, and 29-28 at the break. Jones hit 7-13 from the floor and 5-10 from beyond the arc.  Derek Chappell (Sr., Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East) added 12 points and seven rebounds, including several key baskets down the stretch.  Brandon Weems (Jr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) returned after missing the first two games with an ankle sprain, and scored 11 points, and had four steals.  Freshman Brandon Speck (Mansfield, OH/St. Peter's) kept the Cavs close in the first half with nine points, all on three-pointers.  Adam Lesch (Sr., Newark, OH/HS) led all rebounders with nine.

Walsh led from start to finish in defeating Kentucky Christian 112-75.  Behind the three-point shooting of Corey Jones, Walsh built a 54-34 halftime lead and never looked back.  Jones hit 9-11 from the field, including 6-8 from three-point in scoring 24 first-half points.  He finished the night with 26 points.  Walsh raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes, and led 30-2 with 11:25 to play in the first half.  Walsh placed seven players in double figures and shot .557 from the field.  Josh Ozanich (Sr., Warren, OH/Champion) scored a career-high 15 points off the bench, to go with seven rebounds.  Adam Lesch had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Brandon Weems had 13 points and dished out eight assists.  Josh Johnson (So., Warren, OH/Harding) added 12 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. Derek Chappell (Sr., Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East) and Brandon Speck each tallied 10 points.

NCAA top ranked College of Wooster (3-0) remained unbeaten, defeating Walsh 85-68, in front of a near capacity crowd at the PE Center.  The loss stopped the Cavs modest two-game win streak.  Walsh started well, and led 14-8 at the 15:28 mark of the first half.  The Scots would then go on a 19-0, hitting six consecutive three-pointers, to take a 27-13 lead.  Walsh would fall behind by as many as 14 points (45-31), before trimming the lead to 48-41 at the half.  The Cavs missed opportunities early in the second half to cut into the Wooster lead, when the teams failed to score in the first 2:41 of the half.  Walsh finally broke through, when Eder Araujo (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete Maria de Freitas) scored to trim the lead to 48-43.  The teams then traded baskets, before the Scots pushed the lead back to 11 points at 58-47, at the 14:17 mark. The Cavs would only be able to cut the lead to nine twice more, at 70-61 and 74-65.  Wooster's Tim Vadervaart controlled the game inside with 32 points.  Walsh was led by Araujo's 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Corey Jones added 14 points; Brandon Weems 11 points and Derek Chappell had 10.

Walsh and Mount Vernon Nazarene University (6-1, 1-0 AMC S) meet for the 60th time, all-time, on Tuesday.  The Cougars won both meetings from the Cavs last season, but trail 35-24 in the all-time series.  MVNU has won five straight games and have four players scoring in double figures, led by Ben Falkenberg's 22.2 ppg.  Walsh and the University of Rio Grande (4-4, 1-0 AMC S) tangle for the 77th time, with the Redmen holding the series advantage 43-33.  Walsh, however, has won the last four meetings.  Rio lost to the University of Findlay, 89-65, on Saturday.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (1-5, 0-1 AMC S) Drop AMC South Opener

Walsh (1-5, 0-1 AMC S) lost its American Mideast Conference opener, 56-43, at Tiffin University last Tuesday.   This week, the Cavs play two AMC South games at home.  On Tuesday (6 pm), the Cavs host Mount Vernon Nazarene University and on Saturday (2 pm) host the University of Rio Grande.

Walsh shot just .311 from the floor, and tallied just 17 second half points, in the road loss to the Dragons.  The game was tied at 26 at halftime.  Chrissy Summers (Fr., Doylestown, OH/Chippewa) was the only Cavalier to reach double figures with 12 points.  Ingrid Brainard (Sr., Madison, OH/HS) led the Cavs with eight rebounds and scored nine points.

Walsh and Mount Vernon Nazarene University (4-4, 0-1 AMC S) meet for the 48th time, with the Cavs holding a 31-16 series advantage.  The teams split the season series last year.  Mount Vernon is coming off an 81-57 loss to Westmount.  Katie Keller leads the team in scoring at 17.2 ppg and is one of four players scoring in double figures.  The Cavs and Rio Grande (7-3, 1-0 AMC S) do battle for the 46th time, with Rio leading the series 29-16.  The teams split last season.  Brittany Walker is averaging 15.6 ppg for the Redwomen, who are coming off an 83-75 win over William Woods.

MEN'S SOCCER: Cavaliers Earn NAIA Honors

Four men's soccer players have been honored by the NAIA.  Walsh University goalkeeper Ben Pflum (So., Napoleon, OH/HS) and defender Tim Eddy (Sr., Canal Fulton, OH/Northwest) have been selected NAIA honorable mention All-American, while Greg Keller (Sr., Napoleon, OH/HS) and Martin Wejcman (Sr., Buenos Aires, ARG/ORT) were selected as Daktronics Scholar Athletes. 

Pflum recorded eight shutouts, with a 1.00 goals against average.  He stopped 94 shots in 18 games, in 1,619 minutes.  Tim played in all 18 games, and was instrumental in Walsh's defensive efforts.  The Cavs allowed 0.99 goals per game.  He also had one goal and one assist.  Pflum and Eddy also earned first-team All-American Mideast Conference South Division and NAIA Region IX.

Keller, who majors in finance, carries a 3.50 grade point average, while Wejcman majored in finance and is seeking is master's degree in business administration and carries a 3.68 grade point average.

WOMEN'S SOCCER: Boyne Earns NAIA Honor

Walsh University senior, Julianne Boyne (Strongsville, OH/Padua Franciscan) has been selected to the NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete team for the second straight year. Boyne, who majors in early childhood education, carries a 3.92 grade point average.