(NORTH CANTON, Ohio) – Jesse Hardin Jr. exploded for a career-high 45 points and hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to send Walsh past Ferris State by a score of 81-78 Saturday afternoon. The win helped the Cavaliers improve to 6-6 on the season and finish 4-4 in GLIAC play against the North Division. The Bulldogs drop to 11-3 overall and 5-3 in the conference.

Hardin Jr. barely missed any shot he took as he was 15-of-19 from the field, 8-of-10 from behind the arc, and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. He was two points shy of the GLIAC record of 47 points and three points shy of the school record of 48 points set by Billy Jo Williams against Cedarville on February 23, 1985.

Of course, none of Hardin Jr.'s shots were bigger than his final bucket. Ferris State erased a nine-point deficit in the last 1:46 of play and capped an 11-2 run with a Josh Fleming jumper with 30 seconds to play. That set up Hardin Jr. who took the final shot with a 25-foot 3-pointer with just a couple of seconds to spare. A last-chance in-bounds attempt by the Bulldogs proved futile.

The senior guard was responsible for the Cavaliers' final 11 points. Proving his worth on both sides of the ball, he added eight rebounds on the defensive glass and made four steals as well.

Ferris State led by nine after Fleming scored to make the score 55-46 with 14:18 left in the second half, but the Cavs went on a 10-0 run, all of which came via Hardin Jr., to take their first lead of the second half.

Both teams exchanged the lead eight times over the next three minutes before a trey by Trey Fletcher, the only other bonus bomb scored by Walsh, created a four-point cushion with 6:38 to play. The Bulldogs were never able to recapture the lead.

Fletcher finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Zac Carter added 11 points and six rebounds as the third Cavalier in double-figures. Chall Montgomery was strong on the defensive end as he shared team-high rebounding honors with Hardin Jr. with eight.

Ferris State was paced by Jared Stolicker who totaled 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the double-double. James Chapell scored 17 and Fleming tallied 15 for the Bulldogs.

The Cavs now gear up for the South Division portion of the GLIAC schedule. First up will be a trip to nearby Ashland on Thursday. Tip-off with the Eagles is set for 7:30 p.m.