Box Score NORTH CANTON, OH: The NCAA DII Men's Basketball Regional Tournament began on Saturday in Alumni Arena. Earning the #1 seed, the Cavaliers hosted #8 William Jewell College in the third game of the day. In front of a packed crowd, the Cavaliers overcame a slow first half to dominate in the final 20 minutes to earn a tournament victory and keep their postseason run alive.
Finishing 9th in the NABC Coaches Poll, the Cavs started their NCAA run hot. The Men came into Round 1 on an 10 game win streak. From the tip on Saturday evening, the team looked locked in scoring a quick 5 points thanks to a
Kobe Mitchell deep three and
Matthew Biddell's connection from the charity stripe.
From there, William Jewell, 22-10, took over gaining the lead through the first half. An 8-0 run gave the Cardinals a five point lead. Despite the Cavs responding with some buckets, the 8th seed maintained control. William Jewell led by as many as many as 10 points with 3:30 left in the half. The Maroon and Gold ended the half on an 6-0 run, down 40-36 at the break.
The competitive tournament game continued in the first part of the 2nd half with Walsh clawing to stay in the game. By the 14:10 mark, the Cavs saw their first lead since the early minutes of the game, thanks to a
Kaleb Schaffer layup. From that point, the 10 deep Cavs wore out the Cardinals, maintaining control. Up 9 with 2:09, William Jewell made a final push for an upset, getting within four but sophomores,
Matthew Biddell and
Quintero Barnett sealed the victory, 77-70.
The Maroon and Gold now advance to Round 2 against the winner of #4 Rockhurst and #5 Northern Michigan. The Men will play in Alumni Arena, on Sunday, at 7:30pm.
LOCATION: Alumni Arena
SCORE: #1 WU 77 - #8 WJC 70
RECORDS: #1 WU 28-3 (17-3), #8 WJC 22-10 (15-5)
FOR THE CAVS
