January 3, 2005

All events are subject to change

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (8-5, 2-1) Split at Wittenberg Tournament/Head Back Into AMC South Play

NAIA 23rd ranked Walsh (8-5, 2-1) split games at the recent Wittenberg Kiwanis-Holiday Classic.  The Cavs lost 65-60 to NAIA 17th ranked Taylor and defeated Purdue Calumet 75-71 in the classic's consolation game.  This week, Walsh gets back into American Mideast Conference South Division play.  The Cavs travel Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Tuesday (7:30 pm) and host Wilberforce University on Saturday (4 pm).  The Mount Vernon game will be aired live on AM 900 WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

Taylor handed Walsh its season high third straight loss, 65-60, in the first game at Wittenberg.  The Cavs shot the ball well and held an 11-6 lead in the early moments.  The first half was a seesaw affair with five ties and seven lead changes and ended tied at 35-35.  Taylor never trailed in the second half and led by as many as nine points (53-44) with 12:14 to play.  Walsh would rally and trim the lead to one-point (56-55) with 5:33 to play.  Taylor would then extend the lead back to five points (62-57) with 1:48 to play.  Walsh's Randy Sistrunk (Sr., Canton, OH/McKinley) then nailed a jumper to cut the lead to 62-59.  The Cavs had a chance to close the gap further, when Jason Hicks (So., Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela-St. Joseph) went to the foul line with 23 seconds to play.  Hicks' first free throw trimmed the lead to 62-60.  His second free throw was good, but was nullified when the Cavs entered the lane early.  This was a back-breaker, as the Trojans hit three free throws to close the scoring.  Former Cavalier Doug Bell led Taylor and all scorers with 24 points on 10-16 from the field.  Rob Whaley (Sr., Benton Harbor, MI/HS) paced the Cavs with 15 points before fouling out.  The Cavs received an outstanding effort from Derek Chappell (So., 6-4, So., Euclid, OH/Lutheran East).  Chappell came off the bench to record his first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. 

Walsh snapped a three-game losing streak with a 75-71 win over Purdue-Calumet (5-10) in the consolation game.  The game was tied 31-31 at the half and tied a total of nine times, with the lead changing hands a total of 12 times.  The games last tie was at 63-63 with 5:42 to play.  The turning point of the game came on the Cavs' next possession, when Randy Sistrunk was intentionally fouled on his way to basket.  Sistrunk hit both free throws to snap the tie.  Walsh then added two more points on a lay-up by Brandon Weems (Fr., Akron, OH/St. V-St. Mary).  This gave the Cavs the lead for good.  Jason Hicks paced the Cavs attack with 21 points.  Hicks was 6-11 from the floor and 4-8 from three-point.  Randy Sistrunk added 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.  The Cavs also received another solid floor game from Brandon Weems, who added 11 points off the bench in 26 minutes. 

Walsh travels to Mount Vernon Nazarene (11-4, 1-2), for the first of two AMC South games on Tuesday.  The Cougars are riding a three-game winning streak, but haven't played since December 17.  Mount Vernon took both games from the Cavs last year, but trail 33-22 in the all-time series.  The two teams play at Walsh on February 1.  Walsh plays host to Wilberforce (4-11, 0-3) on Saturday.  The Bulldogs have lost their last five games.  They play host to AMC South leader Cedarville University (13-3, 3-0) on Tuesday.  The Cavs and Bulldogs split the season series last year.  Walsh leads the all-time series 8-3.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (6-7, 0-3) Split in New YorK/Look For First AMC South Win at Mount Vernon

After splitting games in New York right before the end of the New Year, Walsh (6-7, 0-3) travels to Mount Vernon Nazarene University (5:30 pm), in search of AMC South win number one on Tuesday.  The Cavs then return home on Saturday to host Wilberforce University (2 pm) in another AMC South contest.  Walsh snapped a five-game skid with a 73-48 win over Houghton College, but lost 78-75 to AMC North leader Roberts Wesleyan on New Year's Eve.

Walsh led from start to finish against Houghton.  The Cavs jumped to a 7-0 lead and never looked back.  Walsh built a 37-29 halftime lead and led by as many as 16 points (22-6, 24-8) on two occasions.  The Cavs led by as many as 27 points in the second half.  Walsh used a balanced scoring attack, placing three players in double figures.   Dionna Hammett (Jr., Warrensville Hts., OH/St. Peter Chanel) led the Cavs with 13 points and eight rebounds.  Jessy Fye (Sr., Canton, OH/Perry) added 12 points and seven rebounds and Ingrid Brainard (So., Madison, OH/HS) tallied 12 points and dished out four assists. 

Walsh wasted a 16-point first half lead, before falling 78-75 at Roberts Wesleyan College (11-3).  Walsh held a 36-27 lead at halftime, before Wesleyan exploded for 51 second half points.  The Cavs led by as many as 12 points (51-39) in the second half, before the Raiders mounted their comeback.  Roberts Wesleyan tied the game for the first time at 65-65, and took the lead at 66-65 with 4:06 to play on a three-point play.  The lead would then change hands five times in the final four minutes.  Walsh took their final lead at 75-74 with 37 seconds to play on a Beth Sternberg (Jr., East Canton, OH/HS) jumper.  Wesleyan regained the lead for good (76-75) on their next possession, with nine seconds remaining.  Walsh lost their chance to answer, when they turned the ball over with two seconds to play.  Wesleyan added a basket at the buzzer for the final margin.  Walsh placed four players in double figures, led by Dionna Hammett's 18 points and 14 rebounds.  Jessica Douglas (So., Cambridge, OH/HS) came off the Cavs bench to record her first double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.  Beth Sternberg added 12 points and Ingrid Brainard tallied 11 points and dished out eight assists. 

The Cavs travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene (4-8, 0-3) on Tuesday.  The Cougars and Cavs are the only winless teams in the AMC South.  Mount Vernon has lost four of its last five games.  The two teams split the season series last year.  Walsh leads the all-time series 26-15.  The Cavs are home to Wilberforce University (6-2, 2-1) on Saturday.  The Bulldogs have won two straight games and four of their last five games.  The teams split games last year.  Walsh holds a 7-2 lead in the all-time series.