money Dismal shooting night dooms Walsh men's basketball in NCAA Division II Tournament
NORTH CANTON The Walsh University steal led to a fast break in the second half and much needed big play seemed on the way. The alley-oop pass was right on line. A thunderous slam dunk seemed imminent. That's where things inexplicably went awry.
The uncontested break away dunk attempt was checked by the rim. That sent the ball careening back into the waiting arms of a Missouri-St. Louis defender, sucking the oxygen out of the home crowd at Alumni Arena in the process.
Perhaps no one moment was more emblematic of the game as a whole for the top-seeded Cavaliers on Saturday night. Their season ended with an 87-58 loss to the fifth-seeded Tritons in a second-round NCAA Division II Tournament Midwest Regional game at Alumni Arena.
It was a night where Walsh not only struggled to convert on highlight-reel opportunities but regular shots as well. The Cavaliers shot a dismal 33% (22 of 66) from the field.
"We didn't shoot well," Walsh head coach Jeff Young said. "You expect to get a few good looks over the course of the game but they came out tonight and just took us out of everything. We played them earlier in the year without Tim Smith Jr. and only lost by four points. We came in feeling pretty good about our chances but it turned out to be not our night."
Walsh shot just 14% on 3-point shots (3 of 22). The Cavalieres did not make a 3 until Darryl Straughter ended the drought with 9:21 to play in the second half. The final two Cavalier 3s were made with less than a minute to play.
"It was a great win for our program and I was thrilled by our defensive effort tonight," Missouri-St. Louis head coach Bob Sundvold said. "I think our effort on that end carried over from last night and really set the tone for tonight. I was a bit surprised at the final score. We have played Jeff and his program many times and they are usually always close games. We have a lot of respect for them."
While Walsh struggled to establish a rhythm, the Tritons had no problems scoring. That included shooting 46% (11 of 24) on 3-point shots.
"They usually average about five or six made 3-point shots a game," Young said. "Tonight they hit 11 on us. They played good defense and then made the shots."
Jose Grubbs was the leading scorer for Missouri-St. Louis with 19 points, shooting 3-of-6 on 3-pointers.
"Tonight was the result of things we have worked on all year," Grubbs said. "The little things we worked on at the beginning of the season came back into play tonight. We also had a hot night shooting the ball."
More: Darryl Straughter sets Walsh men's basketball scoring record, as Cavaliers clinch G-MAC title
Yakeema Rose Jr. added 18 points. Rose Jr. did most of his damage slashing inside and in transition off his game-high five steals.
"The thing that led to our offense was our defense," Rose Jr. said. "Our effort on that side of the ball really fed into the offense and what allowed us to have such a good night shooting the ball."
Walsh ends the season at 24-7. The Cavaliers were led by fifth-year senior Caleb Canter with 15 points in his final game. This also closed out Straughter's career, as Walsh's all-time leading scorer finished with five points Saturday.
"Both of those kids were outstanding for us," Young said. "We talked a little bit about that in the locker room after the game. They are both good kids and good students. They were never vocal leaders but they always led by example."
The Cavaliers also got a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds from Smith Jr. That included eight offensive rebounds. Walsh had 23 offensive rebounds as a team. Missouri-St. Louis was able to counter that in part by forcing 16 turnovers.
Missouri-St. Louis (26-6) advances to play Hillsdale (22-7) at 7 p.m., Monday, back at Alumni Arena.
"We know that's going to be a big game," Rose Jr. said. "It's going to be a rock fight. It's going to be physical. We need to heal up tomorrow and get ready for that one."
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Tough shooting night ends season for Walsh in NCAA Tournament
