NORTH CANTON, Ohio - The Walsh Cavaliers men's basketball team took the court for the first time in 2020 and battled the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers at Alumni Arena on Thursday (Jan. 2) night. 

After trailing most of the first half, Walsh shot 74% in the second half in a 53 point half. The Cavaliers moved to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference with a 80-59 win over KWC. 

Kentucky Wesleyan opened the game with a 4-0 run, a part of a larger 15-7 run over the first nine minutes. After the Panthers took a 16-8 lead with ten minutes left before halftime, Walsh used a 9-3 rally to pull within 19-17. Mark Mokros started the run with a three pointer, one of eight he made in the game and JT Shumate capped it with a pair of free throws. The Cavaliers trailed by two at the under eight media timeout. Kentucky Wesleyan answered twice for a five point lead. Walsh tied the contest at 25 with 3:39 left on a Christian Montague three ball and a Sterling Christy layup. The Panthers led 30-27 at halftime. 

KWC shot 40% (10-25) in the first half with seven three pointers against Walsh's 33% (10-30) shooting and four threes. 

Walsh came out firing in the second half as they went on a 12-2 spurt in the first three minutes. Mokros made two threes on the run while Christy and Conner Wess each scored three points. The lead was 39-32 with 16:43 left. After a KWC three pointer, Walsh scored eight straight points in the paint as the lead ballooned to 47-35. Mokros exchanged three pointers with the Panthers twice after the rally, maintaining a 12 point lead. Over the next five and a half minutes, Walsh continued to fire away on the floor. They scored 15 of the next 20 points, including six more points from Mokros. The offensive firepower gave the Cavaliers a 68-46 lead with 6:31 remaining. The Panthers scored a basket, as Walsh followed with seven consecutive points. The biggest lead of the second half was 27 with 4:20 to go. Kentucky Wesleyan closed the game on an 11-5 run, falling 80-59 to the Cavaliers. 

In the second half, Walsh made 20-of-27 field goals and seven-of-11 from deep as they shot 74% from the floor and 64% from downtown in 20 minutes. Overall, Walsh finished with a 53% (30-57) shooting percentage to KWC's 35% (18-51). 

Mokros set a career-high with 24 points on eight three pointers, The senior has 65 points in the last three games with 19 three pointers. Christy gave his sixth double-double of the campaign with 16 points and ten rebounds, totaling six baskets and four free throws. Shumate added 12 points and nine rebounds. Alphonso Baity gave the Cavaliers ten points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench. 

Walsh will play their third game in five days as they continue G-MAC play with Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday (Jan. 4). Tipoff from Alumni Arena will be 6:00 PM. 

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