NORTH CANTON, Ohio – Cedarville dropped an 82-72 decision to NABC Division II No. 19 Walsh at Alumni Arena.
The Yellow Jackets led early in the second half but ultimately were unable to keep pace down the stretch against the league-leading Cavaliers. The hosts used a 22-5 surge to turn a two-point deficit into a 63-48 lead with 11:30 to go.
Cedarville shot an efficient 53 percent from the field overall and 64 percent inside the arc, but Walsh countered by hitting 56 percent from three-point range (10-of-18) and 56 percent overall.
Jaylen Davis paced the Yellow Jackets with 20 points, knocking down three three-pointers and converting 7-of-7 at the free throw line.
Anthony Ruffolo added 16 points while
Sam Johnson chipped in 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting for CU, 12-14 overall and 7-11 G-MAC.
Quotable: Head Coach Rob Jones
"Credit to Walsh - I thought they were really good today. They played poised and confident, and they looked like the best team in the G-MAC and the 19th-ranked team in the country. I was proud of our guys for competing. We made a strong push late in the first half to keep it a tight game, and that says a lot about our fight.
"In the second half, we just couldn't string together enough winning plays. When we scored, we couldn't follow it up with a stop, and when we got stops, we couldn't capitalize on the other end to chip away at the lead. Against a team like that, you have to stack possessions and build momentum, and we just couldn't quite find that rhythm today."
Five Facts:
- Jaylen Davis recorded his second straight 20-point effort and his sixth of the season.
- Sam Johnson shot 75 percent (6-of-8) from the field.
- Cedarville outscored the Cavs 38-32 in points in the paint.
- The Jackets committed just 11 turnovers and earned 15 points off of Walsh turnovers.
- It was the 104th meeting in men's basketball between the two schools.
