NORTH CANTON, Ohio - The Walsh Cavaliers clinched the American Mideast Conference Regular Season Championship and the automatic NAIA National Tournament berth that goes with that distinction in their 99-85 win over the visiting Daemen Wildcats on Tuesday night. Daemen could not get enough defensive stops in the contest as Walsh, ranked #1 in the last eight NAIA II polls, shot 58% from the field (38-for-66) en route to their 45th consecutive win at Alumni Arena as they improve to 25-0 on the season. Daemen drops to 13-13 and 8-7 in AMC play with three key games remaining.
The Wildcats had no answer for the balanced offensive attack of the Cavaliers who were paced by the 23 points of Lamar Skeeter. Skeeter put together a very efficient night as he connected of 6-of-8 from the field and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Jeremy Shardo and Eric Shiele added 16 points apiece. Terrance Saintil came off the bench to score 15 points and grab seven boards. L.J. Sutton chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds and four steals while Kenny Kornowski rounded out the Cavalier double figure scorers with 10.
The Cavaliers converted 17 Daemen turnovers into 18 points, most of which came during a first half where they outscored the visitors 47-26.
In addition to their turnover conversions, Walsh added 18 second chance points as they enjoyed a 39-32 edge on backboard.
Daemen outscored Walsh 59-52 in the second half and actually cut the lead to 10 on two occassions late in the game. However, the deficit was just too large to fully overcome.
Junior forward Dominic Mazzocchi led Daemen with 27 points and 11 rebounds giving him his third double-double of the season and second in as many games.
Khorri Silcott was next with 19 points and seven rebounds while
Casey Sheehan chipped in with 15 points.
The loss puts Daemen on the outside looking in at the moment in the hunt for an AMC playoff spot. Only the top five teams will qualify for post-season play. With Walsh clinching the number one seed, teams that finish second through fifth in the conference standings will play a four-team tournament with the winner gaining a national tournament berth and the right to face Walsh in the AMC Tournament Championship.
Next up for Daemen is a road test at Houghton this Saturday with tip-time scheduled for 4pm. Daemen topped Houghton 79-53 back on January 4. Following that, Daemen returns home for their final home game of the regular season in a huge matchup vs. Roberts Wesleyan who currently sits at 8-6 and a 1/2 game ahead of Daemen in the conference standings.
