NORTH CANTON, Ohio - Saturday (Feb. 26) saw the Walsh Cavaliers men's basketball team open and close with a celebration on the court at Alumni Arena. The Cavaliers opened the day with a Senior Day ceremony and ended with a Great Midwest regular season title party. 

The Cavaliers won their fifth straight game, a 72-60 win over the Cedarville Yellow Jackets as they earned the outright regular season championship of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Walsh ended the regular season with a 21-6 record overall and 16-4 in the G-MAC.

Both teams exchanged the lead six times in the first eight minutes before Owen Hazelbaker put Walsh ahead with a three pointer at 15-13.  

Darryl Straughter led the Cavaliers with 25 points on seven-of-15 shooting, including four-of-seven from downtown Canton. He converted seven of his eight free throw attempts to go along with his five rebounds and three steals. Straughter was one of the two seniors honored pre-game along with being presented with his leading scorer ball by the previous leader, Corry Appline. 

Luke Howes scored 12 points with two assists and a pair of three pointers off the bench. 

Walsh shot 43.6% (24-55) from the floor in the game, including 50% (16-32) overall in the first half with seven-of-14 from beyond the arc. Walsh made ten-of-20 three pointers on the night. 

The Cavaliers will host the 2022 Great Midwest Final Four on Friday (March 4) and Saturday (March 5). Walsh, as the #1 seed, will face the winner of the Malone/Findlay game on Friday at 5:30 PM.

-WC-