December 3, 2007

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Monday, December 3, 2007

Tues. 4 Men's Basketball (H) OSU Mansfield 7 pm

Fri. 7 Men's Basketball vs. Point Park College at Malone College 6 pm *

Sat. 8 Men's Basketball vs. University of Northwestern Ohio 1 pm *

* Games to be broadcast on AM 900 WCER

MEN'S BASKETBALL: (5-1) Cavs Edge Malone, Run Modest Streak to Three

NAIA No. 6 Walsh (5-1) posted wins over Houghton College and rival Malone College last week to run their modest win streak to three games.  This week they host Ohio State-Mansfield at Alumni Arena on Tuesday (7 pm) and play at the annual Hoops 4 Healing Classic at Malone's Osborne Hall on Friday (Point Park, 6 pm) and Saturday (University of NW Ohio, 1 pm).  Both games at Malone will be aired live on AM 900 WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

Walsh out scored visiting Houghton College 42-28 in the second half on their way to a 81-59 non-conference win at Alumni Arena last Tuesday. Despite leading the entire game, the Cavs couldn't pull away in the first half and led only 39-31 at halftime. Walsh would put the game away in the first five minutes of the second half, pushing the lead to 17 points at 54-37.  Lamar Skeeter (5-10, Fr., Dayton, OH/Fairmont Kettering) came off the bench to lead Walsh's balanced attack with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Eder Araujo (Sr., 7-0, Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete Maria de Freitas) scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, Josh Johnson (6-4, Jr., Warren, OH/Harding) added 12 points and Corey Jones (Sr., 6-3, Avon Lake, OH/Akron Saint Vincent-Saint Mary) tallied 11.  Kyecle Cescato (So., Barra Bonita, BR/Colmeia Entec) added nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.  Walsh out rebounded the Highlanders 47-34.

Walsh improved to 5-1, with a 70-56 win over Malone College at Osborne Hall last Thursday.  The two teams will meet for the Mayor's Cup at Walsh on February 7.  Walsh played a near perfect first half in building a 41-26 lead at the half.  The Cavs shot .548 (17-31) from the field, out rebounded Malone 20-13 and turned the ball over just three times in the first 20 minutes.  Joe Shardo (6-5, Jr., Yorkshire, OH/Versailles/Missouri-Rolla) led a balanced first half attack with nine points, on 3-4 from three-point.  Corey Jones added 8 first half points.  Malone, behind Tyler Renner's 17 second half points, closed the Cavs lead to two points at 56-54 with 5:40 to play.  Walsh would then go a 13-0 in the next five minutes to put the game away.  Walsh's Brandon Weems (Sr., 5-10, Akron, OH/Saint Vincent-Saint Mary) held Malone's Ben Carver to just five points, almost 14 points under his per game average.  Weems played all 40 minutes, dishing out eight assists to go with seven rebounds, six points and no turnovers.  Eder Araujo paced the Cavs with 15 points, to go with eight rebounds.  Josh Johnson added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds, Shardo added 13 points and Jones 11.

Eder Araujo has taken over the scoring lead, averaging 14.2 points per game.  Corey Jones is averaging 13.8 points.  Freshman standout Lamar Skeeter has come off the bench and provided instant offense and is averaging 13.2 points.  Araujo also leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Josh Johnson is averaging 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.  Brandon Weems is averaging 8.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists.  The Cavs are averaging 84.2 points per game.

Walsh and OSU-Mansfield (0-7) are meeting for the first time on Tuesday.  Walsh defeated Point Park 110-83 in the first round of the Alvernia College Tournament in Reading, PA on November 16th.  The all-time series is tied at 14.  Point Park has dropped their last two games and stand 6-3.  They play Shawnee State on Tuesday and Seton Hill on Thursday. Walsh opened the season at the University of Northwestern Ohio (1-7) on November 10 and won 98-82.  UNOH plays at Notre Dame College on Tuesday.

Walsh and Malone (5-2) meet in a non-conference game at Osborne Hall on Thursday at 7:30 pm.  Malone joined the American Mideast Conference North this season.  The Pioneers are 5-2 on the season.  Walsh leads the all-time series 55-39.  Malone snapped Walsh's six-game win streak last year, with a 79-72 win.  The Mayor's Cup game will be played on February 7 at Walsh.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs Over .500 with OT Win at Malone

Walsh moved over the .500 mark, at 4-3, after posting back-to-back wins over Houghton College and Malone College last week.  This is the first time that Walsh has been over the .500 mark since the 2005-06 season.  The Cavs scheduled game with Point Park, at home, last Saturday was cancelled due to travel problems for the Pioneers.  The teams are working on a new date.  The Cavs are idle this week.

Walsh reached the .500 mark (3-3) with a 74-59 won over visiting Houghton College last Tuesday. After trailing 3-2, Walsh took the lead for good on a three-point basket by Leah Seaman (5-8, So., Louisville, OH/HS). Seaman finished with 12 points and five rebounds. The Cavs shot .586 (17-29) from the floor in the first half in building a 44-30 lead at the break. Cara Bedard (6-0, Fr., Mogadore, OH/Waterloo) scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the first half. Walsh led by as many as 25 points (61-36, 70-45) in the second half. Katie Berry (5-11, Fr., Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph Academy) was the only other Cavalier to reach double figures, scoring 11 points off the bench. Walsh shot .536 (30-56) from the field and .500 (6-12) from three-point.

Leah Seaman's 10-footer with under five seconds to play in overtime lifted Walsh to a 72-70 win over Malone College (1-7) last Thursday.  Behind Angie Eickelman's (5-9, So., Akron, OH/Hoban) 8 first half points, Walsh built a 34-24 halftime lead.  The Cavs led 50-40 late in the second half, when Malone's Kellyn Murphy took over to pull the Pioneers back into the game.  Murphy scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half, as Malone out scored the Cavs 41-31 to tie the game at 65 at the of regulation.  Walsh out scored the Pioneers 7-5 in the extra session.  Seaman led the Cavs with a career-high 22 points, while adding five steals, four assists and three rebounds.  Katie Berry added 14 points and Eickleman 10.  Walsh was 23-30 (.767) from the foul line.

Leah Seaman leads the team in scoring, with a 13.6 per game average.  The Cavs guard is also averaging 3.7 assists per game.  Katie Berry is averaging 13.0 points and 4.9 rebounds.  She is shooting .493 from the field.    Cara Bedard is averaging 12.4 points and leads the team in rebounding (6.3 RPG).   Bedard is shooting .567 from the floor.  The Cavs have been outstanding defensively, allowing only 65.0 points per contest.