NORTH
CANTON, Ohio - NAIA Division II No. 4 Walsh won its 15th straight game,
defeating No. 12 Mount Vernon Nazarene, 97-85, in the American Mideast
Conference Tournament Championship game. Both teams will now head to the College
of Ozarks next week for the 18th Annual NAIA Division ll National Tournament.
It was also the final game in Alumni Arena as the Cavs will move next door, next
year. Wall of Famer Hop Collier, who played in the first game, in the then,
called Physical Education Center in December of 1970, tossed-up the ceremonial
'jump ball' on the last night.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, as the Cavs led 41-39 at the
break. Walsh's largest first half margin was six points (16-10 and 20-14) while
MVNU led by as many as eight points (33-25) with 5:02 left in the half. Walsh
would close the half with a 16-6 run to lead by two.
Jeremy Shardo (6'0''-G) lay-up with 1:53 remaining in the half, gave Walsh
the lead for good at 37-35.
Joe
Shardo (6'5''-F-86) led the way for the Cavs with 12 first-half points,
while brother, Jeremy added eight and became the Cavs' single-season all-time
assist leader.
Shardo dished out six assists in the first half to eclipse Brandon Weems mark of
237 in 2006-07. Shardo had totaled 241 assist at the half, with more to come.
Walsh shot .531 (17-32) from the field while the Cougars connected on .500
(15-30). Bryce Sanborn led MVNU with 10 first half points and nine rebounds.
Walsh opened up a seven point lead at 49-42, when the Cougars sliced it to three
points at 52-49 with 15:51 to play. Walsh went on a 6-0 run to lead 58-49 with
15:21 to play. Walsh, 27-3 overall, used the three-ball to answer every Cougar
run in the second half, connecting on 10-of-13 from behind the arc. MVNU's
Ben
Falkenberg (5'11''-G) cut the Walsh lead to 58-55 with a three, when
Joe
Shardo answered, to put the Cavs up 61-55 with 13:50 left. Andy Francis
matched Shardo's three on the next possession to cut the lead to 61-58, when
Shardo dialed from long range again to give Walsh a 64-58 lead with 13:05 left.
Walsh led by 10 points at 70-60 when Mount Vernon went on a 7-2 run to close to
72-67 with 9:17 left. The Cougars would close to within five points twice, at
75-70 and 77-72 with 6:54 to play, but would get no closer. Another
Joe
Shardo three would put the Cavs in front 86-74 with 4:45 to play. The
closest the Cougars would get in final four minutes was 88-81 with 3:19 to play.
Walsh would connect on 7-8 free throws in the final 2:26. Joe
Shardo recorded his fourth 30-point game of the season, leading all scorers
with 31 points. Shardo was 11-19 from the floor and 7-12 from behind the arc.
Jeremy finished with 23 points and 12 assists, and has totaled a Walsh record
247 assists for the season.
Brandon Speck (6'0''-G) became Walsh's single three-point leader, nailing
5-of-7 for 19 points. Speck's 98 three's is three better than Jason Hicks' 95
from 2005-06.
Kyelce
Cescato (6'10') added 14 points on 7-of-8 from the floor, to go along with a
game-high 12 rebounds.
Ben
Falkenberg led MVNU with 21 points. Bryce Sanborn added 16 points and 10
rebounds, and
Jadin
Thomas (6'4''-F) and
Dan
Borcherdt (6'0'') also tallied 16 points each for the Cougars, 23-8, who had
their 11-game winning streak snapped. Walsh closes Alumni Arena as the opened
it, with a win. The Cavs won their final 21 home games and won 65 of their final
71 game played on their home floor.
Courtesy of amcsports
Tournament Final: Walsh - Mt. Vernon Nazarene 97-85 Tournament Semifinals: Walsh - Notre Dame 70-63
Mount Vernon Nazarene - Northwestern Ohio 81-66
Young
NORTH
CANTON, Ohio - NAIA Division II No. 4 Walsh won its 15th straight game,
defeating No. 12 Mount Vernon Nazarene, 97-85, in the American Mideast
Conference Tournament Championship game. Both teams will now head to the College
of Ozarks next week for the 18th Annual NAIA Division ll National Tournament.
