This Week in Walsh University Athletics
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tues. 2
Men's Basketball at Ohio Dominican University 8 pm (AM 900 WCER, www.wcer.us )
Fri. 5
Women's Basketball (H) Roberts Wesleyan College 6 pm (AM 900 WCER, www.wcer.us )
Men's Basketball (H) Roberts Wesleyan College 8 pm (AM 900 WCER, www.wcer.us )
Sat. 6
Indoor Track at Mount Union University Jim Wuske Open
Women's Basketball (H) Daemen College 2 pm (AM 900 WCER, www.wcer.us )
Men's Basketball (H) Daemen College 4 pm (AM 900 WCER, www.wcer.us )
MEN'S BASKETBALL: NAIA No. 2 Cavs Face Three-Game Week/Reach 20-Win Mark Again/Speck Reaches 1,000/Shardo Sets Steal Mark
NAIA No. 2 (new poll released today) Walsh (20-2, 9-1 AMC) remained atop the American Mideast Conference South Division despite losing for the first time in conference action last week. The Cavs nine-game win streak was snapped by Cedarville University, 73-72 on the road last Tuesday. The Cavs still lead the Yellow Jackets (7-2) by 1.5 games in the AMC South. Walsh then reached the 20-win mark for sixth straight time under Head Coach Jeff Young, with their win at Houghton College on Friday night. Overall the Cavs have won 20 games in a single season 21 times, all since 1982. Walsh opens a three-game week with a road non-conference game at Ohio Dominican University on Tuesday night (8 pm). Walsh then returns home for weekend AMC games with Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday (8 pm) and with Daemen College (4 pm) on Saturday. All games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER (www.wcer.us).
NAIA No. 23 Cedarville University snapped Walsh's nine-game winning streak, 73-72, before 1,129 fans at the Callan Athletic Center. Defense was the theme, as both teams struggled from the field in the first half. Cedarville shot 38% (11-29) and held a 34-33 halftime advantage. Walsh managed just 10-29 for 35%. Free throws kept the Cavs close, as they connected on 12-13 in the first half. Brandon Speck (6-0, Sr., Mansfield, OH/St. Peter's) joined the 1,000-point club in the first half, when he nailed a three-ball at the 8:17 mark. Walsh came out strong in the second half and gradually built the lead to 10 points and 53-43 with 11:02 to play. Cedarville would then rally and trim the lead to three points (52-49) with 9:25 to play. Walsh would regroup and extend the lead back to six points (57-51) with 8:36 to play before the Jackets started their comeback. Cedarville would charge back and take a one-point (58-57) with 7:16 left, then behind nine points from Chris Beals, took a 66-59 lead with 5:25 to play. Walsh tied the game at 68 with 2:21 to play on Speck three-ball from the left side. The Cavs would then regain the lead at 70-68 with 2:01 to play, when Jeremy Shardo (6-3, Jr., Yorkshire, OH/Versailles) came away with a steal and layup. After Cedarville knotted the game at 70, Walsh took its final lead at 72-70 on a L.J. Sutton (6-5, So., Youngstown, OH/Cardinal Mooney) layup with 1:14 to play. The Jackets scored the games’ final points when Ricardo Alliman scored, and was fouled by Ricky Jackson (6-7, Sr., Chicago, IL/Canton McKinley/West Virginia State) for an old fashioned three-point play to give Cedarville a 73-72 lead with 1:00 to play. Walsh would have multiple chances to regain the lead. On the next possession, Sutton was fouled with 46 seconds, but missed both free throws. On Cedarville's next possession, Lamar Skeeter (6-0, Jr., Dayton, OH/Kettering Fairmount) blocked a shot with 8.4 seconds to play to force a shot clock violation and give the Cavs one more chance. Skeeter would drive the floor and get to rim, but couldn't get the shot the fall. Walsh then followed with two errant tips as time expired. Ricky Jackson led Walsh with 18 points and eight rebounds. Skeeter followed with 15 points on 6-12 from the floor and Speck added 10 points. Walsh shot just 39% (25-64) from the floor, but did connect on 20-24 (83%) from the foul line.
Walsh exploded for a 28-0 first half run, on their way to a 81-45 AMC win at Houghton College on Friday night. Houghton played well early, and held a 14-11 lead when Walsh exploded. The Cavs would go on a 28-0 run and then hold Houghton to just two points the final 12 minutes of the half. Walsh led 39-16 at halftime. The Cavs were never challenged in the second half, as they outscored the Highlanders 42-29. Ricky Jackson and Jeremy Shardo led the Cavs balanced attack. Jackson led all scorers with 19 points on 8-10 from the field. Shardo played his usual all around game, with 12 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and seven steals. His seven steals in a single game set a new Walsh mark. The Cavs also received 11 points from Brandon Speck and 10 points and from Kenny Kornowski (Fr., 6-9, Marshallville, OH/Smithville), both off the bench. Walsh shot 52% from the field on 33-64 and outrebounded Houghton 37-20. Kyelce Cescato (6-10, Sr., Barra Bonita, Brazil/Colmeia Entec) led al rebounders with eight.
Walsh travels to Ohio Dominican University (8-14) for a non-conference game on Tuesday. The Cavs defeated the Panthers 80-54 at Alumni Arena on January 23. Lamar Skeeter led a balanced attack with 17 points. Ohio Dominican is coming off a 68-66 road loss at Lake Erie College. Walsh leads the all-time series 63-20 and have won the 11 meetings.
The Cavs return home for an AMC crossover game with Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday night. The Raiders are 12-9 overall and in fourth place in the AMC North with a 5-5 mark. They have won their last two games, and defeated Shawnee State University 83-72 in their last game. Walsh has won the last three meetings and lead the all-time series 6-2.
Walsh welcomes AMC North foe Daemen College to Alumni Arena on Saturday. The Wildcats are 13-9 overall and in third place in the AMC with a 5-4 record. The face a three-game, with road games at Houghton College on Tuesday and at Malone University on Friday night. Walsh leads the all-time series 11-5.
Walsh's balanced attack has four players in double figures, led by AMC scoring leader Ricky Jackson (22.8 ppg). Jackson also leads the AMC in FG% (.617) and is for fifth in the NAIA. He is second on the team with 7.8 rebounds per game. Lamar Skeeter (6-0, Jr., Dayton, OH/Kettering Fairmount) is averaging 13.3 points and is shooting .518 from the field and is second from the free throw line in the AMC at .831. Brandon Speck, who became the 33rd player to score 1,000 points at Walsh, is averaging 11.1 points and is fourth in the AMC three-point shooting (.417). Eric Schiele (6-0, Jr., Atwater, OH/Waterloo/Cleveland State) is averaging 10.8 points off the bench, but is lost for the season due to a knee injury suffered in practice. He will undergo surgery in March. Jeremy Shardo is averaging 9.6 points and leads the AMC and NAIA in assists (7.0) and leads the AMC in assist/turnover ratio (2.89). L.J. Sutton is scoring at a 9.6 clip and is shooting .503 from the field and is pulling down 6.0 rebounds. Kyelce Cescato is averaging 9.3 points, is shooting .583 from the field and leads in the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game.
The Cavs are averaging a NAIA best 96.5 points per game and are allowing just 62.0 ppg (1st-AMC, 3rd-NAIA). Walsh also leads the NAIA in scoring margin (34.5), field goal percentage (.519), team field goal defense (.371), offensive (50.2) and defensive rebounds (31.1) and rebound margin (19.0), assists per game (20.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.60). The Cavs also lead the AMC in three-point field goal percentage (.397), which is good for fourth in the NAIA.
The Cavs and Oregon Tech own the NAIA Division II active streak for longest run in the Top 25 at 58 straight weeks -- the last time either was not ranked was Jan. 11, 2005. Walsh has won 31 straight home games and 52 of their last 53.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs Fall From 1st with Back-to-Back AMC Losses/Bedard Reaches 1,000 Points
Back-to-back losses dropped the NAIA No. 20 Cavs (16-7, 9-3 AMC) from first to third in the American Mideast Conference. After cracking the NAIA top 25 for the first time this season (new ranking today), Walsh had their eight-game win streak snapped on the road by Cedarville University last Tuesday night. The Cavs then lost at Houghton College on Friday night. Walsh now trails 11-1, third ranked Cedarville and 9-2 Shawnee State University. Walsh returns home to Alumni Arena for weekend AMC games with Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday (6 pm) and with Daemen College (2 pm) on Saturday.
Cedarville University led from start to finish in downing Walsh 83-56. Cedarville hit their first six shots, jumped to a 15-3 lead, and never looked back. Walsh would trim the lead to four points at 22-18, but would get no closer. The Yellow Jackets held a double digit lead the entire second half and held their largest lead at 80-52 with 3:23 to play. Walsh shot just 32% (19-59) from the field and placed only Katie Berry (5-11, Jr., Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) in double figures with 12 points. Walsh turned the ball over 21 times and were outrebounded 49-31. Cedarville's Alison Lemon led all scorers with 27 points.
Jessie Miller's (5-10, Sr., Strasburg, OH/HS) game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer fell short in a 62-59 loss at Houghton College. Walsh fell behind by double digits in the first half, but rallied to pull to within six points at the half (30-24). Behind the strong effort of Cara Bedard (6-0, Jr., Randolph, OH)/Waterloo), Walsh rallied for their first lead of the game at 43-42 at the 11:18 mark. Bedard finished with 23 points (9-15) and 11 rebounds, both game highs and became the 17th Walsh player,and second this season, to reach 1,000 career points. Walsh trailed 60-57 with eight seconds to play, when Houghton fouled Bedard to keep the Cavs away from a game-tying three. Bedard would hit both free throws to close the Cavs to within one point (60-59). Walsh then fouled and Houghton's Jennifer Hudson hit both shots to extend the lead back to three points (62-59). With less then five seconds, Walsh advanced the ball, but after taking a pass from Katie Berry, Miller's attempt fell short. Berry would add 14 points and Miller 11. Turnovers once again plagued the Cavs, as they turned the ball over 23 times.
Jessie Miller leads the team in scoring at 16.0 ppg. Miller is shooting .454 from the field and .773 from the line. Katie Berry is next at 14.7 ppg. Berry is shooting .478 from the field, .435 from three-point and .746 from the line. She leads the Cavs in 4.7 (5th AMC) in assists and 58 steals (2.6 4th AMC) and is second in assist/turnover ratio (1.4). Cara Bedard is averaging 13.4 ppg and a team-best 6.9 rebounds. Bedard leads the AMC in field goal percentage (.606) and is third in the NAIA. She is second in the AMC in blocked shots (50, 2.4 pg). She is Walsh's all-time single season and career leader (109) in blocked shots. Kayla Kovach is averaging 10.9 points and 5.7 rebounds and leads the AMC and 16th in the NAIA in free throw percentage (.842)
Walsh leads the AMC and NAIA in field goal percentage (.422), three-point percentage (.377/NAIA 5th) and assists (18.5/NAIA 2nd).
MEN'S TRACK: Morgan Sets Record in Long Jump, Qualifies for Nationals
Walsh's Joe Morgan (Jr., Canton, OH/McKinley) set a new Walsh record in the long jump (7.21) and qualified for the NAIA Indoor Nationals at the Al Hall Freedom Games at Edinboro University on Saturday. Morgan finished first in the event. Walsh will participate in the Jim Wuske Open at Mount Union on Saturday.
The Cavs also received first place finishes from Tyler Pierce (Jr., Salem, OH/HS) in the high jump (1.78) and Brad Schrecengost (Jr., Cortland, OH/Lakeview) in the weight throw (15.01).
Brian Willians (Sr., Canton, OH/McKinley) finished secodn in the 60m hurdles (8.35) and the Cavs 4x800m relay team of Chris Noussias (Fr., Canton, OH/GlenOak), Colin Davis (Fr., Carrollton, OH/HS), Chase Harshbarger (Fr., Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban) and Evan Heck (So., Canton, OH/Central Catholic) finished second (8.35.78).
WOMEN'S TRACK: Cavs Do Well at Edinboro, Foster Wins Pole Vault
Walsh performed well at the non-scoring Al Hall Freedom Games at Edinboro University (PA) on Saturday. Stephanie Foster (Fr., Lodi, OH/Cloverleaf) continued her outstanding freshman campaign with a first place finish in the pole vault (10-02.25). Foster also won last week at Case Western Reserve University. Walsh will participate in the Jim Wuske Open at Mount Union on Saturday.
Allie Simmons (So., Toledo Central Catholic) grabbed a second place finish in the long jump (4.95) and Carlie Ellison (Fr., Sandusky, OH/Perkins) scored first in the high jump (1.52). Simmons also earned a third place finish in the triple jump (9.30).
The Cavs 4x400m relay team of Carley Adams (Fr., Louisville, OH/HS) Alysaa Akers (Fr., Twinsburg, OH/HS), Sarah Martter (Fr., Peninsula, OH/Woodbridge) and Allison Swarny (Fr., Bolivar, OH/Tusky Valley) finished second in a time of 4:16.44. Swarny also finished third in the 200m (27.46) and Adams third in the 400m (1:02.13). Sara Stone (Jr., North Canton, OH/Hoover) placed third in the weight throw (12.19) and Natalie Borland (Jr., Kent, OH/Roosevelt) third in the high jump (1.52).
