HILLSDALE, Michigan - A hot start by the Walsh Cavaliers men's basketball team was not enough as the Cavaliers fell to the 25th-ranked Hillsdale Chargers on the road on Friday (Jan. 8) night. The Cavaliers fell short, 75-62 despite two players with 20 points or more. 

Score: Hillsdale 75, Walsh 62
Location: Hillsdale, Michigan (Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena)
Records: Walsh 2-1 (2-1), Hillsdale 5-1 (5-1)
 
The short story: Walsh traded the lead with the Chargers twice in the first four minutes as Garrison Keeslar scored the first seven points. One minute later, Milan Square took back the 9-8 lead with a jumper. Hillsdale answered with a 21-6 run over the 11 minutes, building a 34-25 lead at halftime. Walsh cut the lead to six on a Darryl Straughter jumper but the Chargers held distance, taking the first matchup 75-62 at home.  
 
OPENING TIP 

• Kaleb Martin was one of three in double-figures for the Cavaliers as he scored a career-high 22 points. Martin shot nine-of-15 from the floor with a pair of three pointers and free throws for Walsh. He also had four rebounds in 36 minutes. 
• Straughter had 21 points on six field goals, two three pointers and seven free throws. He made seven-of-nine free throws in the game and pulled down five rebounds and had two steals. 
• After scoring the first seven points of the game, Keeslar ended the game with 11 points overall and was tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
• Luke Howes and Square rounded out the points column with four points each. 

THE DIFFERENCE

• Walsh was on the short end of the rebounding battle, 42-32 while Hillsdale had ten offensive rebounds to Walsh's four. 

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

• Walsh finished a shade lower than Hillsdale in field goal shooting with 40.7% (24-59). Hillsdale made 26-of-62 total shots for a 41.9% field goal percentage. Hillsdale held the field goal % advantage in the first half with 44.1% shooting. Walsh answered in the second half with shooting 48.1%.
• Hillsdale shared the ball around the court as they totaled 20 assists while Walsh only had five assists.
• The Chargers made nine three pointers, outshooting Walsh's six made threes from beyond the arc. Hillsdale hit six threes in the second half. 

NOTABLE

• Walsh is now 8-10 overall against Hillsdale in the series history. 
• Darryl Straughter passed one of his current coaches, Jeremy Shardo, for 14th all-time in scoring (1,392). Straughter now has 1,401 career points, sitting three points from 13th on the career scoring list. 

NEXT UP

• Walsh will head back to North Canton for the home opener on Sunday (Jan. 10). The Cavaliers will host #6 Findlay at 4:00 PM at Alumni Arena.  

-WC-