NORTH CANTON, Ohio - As the #1 seed in the 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament, the Walsh Cavaliers battled to retain home-court advantage and to compete for a G-MAC title on Saturday. 

Walsh outlasted a slow start and prevailed over the Findlay Oilers 63-59 at Alumni Arena on Friday (March 4) night. 

Milan Square scored seven of the first eight points for Walsh as they opened an 8-0 lead two and a half minutes into the game. Over the next eight minutes, Findlay responded with a 18-5 run as they gained a five-point lead (18-13) with 10:04 left in the first half. Trailing by five, Walsh used a 10-1 run to take a 23-19 lead with 6:30 left on a Quentin Toles three pointer. Findlay regained the lead and took a 28-24 lead into halftime. 

Findlay took the lead to six three times in the first six minutes of the second half. With a 36-30 lead, Toles scored five points on a 10-0 run as Walsh took back the lead 40-36 with 10:54 to go. Walsh would never look back from that point. Findlay pulled within one point with 3:52 left but Tim Smith Jr. hit back-to-back threes to nearly seal the deal. Garrison Keeslar made it an eight-point lead with 1:13 to go. Findlay made one last run but Walsh closed out the game with a 63-59 win. 

Tim Smith Jr. and Quentin Toles tied for the team lead with 13 points. Smith Jr. was five-of-six overall with a pair of threes to go with five rebounds. Toles made five-of-seven shots off the bench, including three triples and two steals. Milan Square finished with ten points after scoring eight quick points to start the game. Keeslar had six points, ten rebounds and three assists. 

Walsh shot 37.9% as they converted 25 of 66 shots overall, the Oilers ended up shooting better from the floor at 42.3%. Walsh made ten threes as they totaled 37% from deep. 

Deven Stover was the leading scorer for Findlay as he totaled 19 points in a spot start. 

Walsh will host the #6 seeded Cedarville Yellow Jackets for the G-MAC Tournament Championship on Saturday (March 5) at 2:00 PM. 

-WC-