• Ashland rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Walsh 82-72 in a matchup of nationally-ranked men’s basketball teams.
• The Eagles hit three 3-pointers in a game-ending 13-2 run.
• The defending national champion Ashland women’s basketball team extended its winning to 44 with a 102-40 win over Walsh.

NORTH CANTON — The first setback of any season is always disappointing.

In the Walsh men’s basketball team’s case, there’s no time to dwell on it forever. That’s probably a good thing.

Saturday’s 82-72 loss to Ashland comes in a stretch of four games in six days for the Cavaliers. It started Thursday with a win over previously-unbeaten Tiffin. It continues with games Sunday against D’Youville and Tuesday against Ohio Christian at home.

“I told our guys “Would you rather practice or play?’” Walsh head coach Jeff Young said. “So let’s go play. It’ll work out.”

WALSH BASKETBALL:“Had to battle it out’: Walsh men’s basketball team holds off Grand Valley State in opener

Playing so soon should help the Cavs move past a game they were brink of seizing control of.

Walsh (3-1) led 51-40 with 15 minutes left. Colin McHale, who battled early foul trouble, scored 10 of his 12 points in the opening five minutes of the half.

Ashland’s Ethan Conley hitting a 3-pointer a few minutes later was a sign of things to come. Javin Etzler followed with one. Then Simon Wheeler hit back-to-back 3s to push the Eagles in front both times.

No 3 was bigger than the one Conley hit with 41 seconds left to give Ashland a 77-72 lead. After going 1 of 10 from behind the arc, the Eagles hit six 3s in the second half.

WALSH BASKETBALL:‘He’s a competitor’: Akron transfer Kobe Mitchell fitting in with Walsh basketball team

“I do give them credit. They made some big, big shots down the stretch,” Young said. “They’re not a great 3-point shooting team, but they made big ones when it really counted. We missed a couple, and that was the difference in the game.”

Twelfth-ranked Ashland (6-0, 2-0) outscored Walsh 13-2 in the final two minutes. In addition to Conley’s dagger 3-pointer, Eltzler and Stefan Stanic hit 3s during that stretch.

Despite losing McHale early, the 25th-ranked Cavs (3-1, 1-1) built a 10-point first half lead. The Eagles rallied from the line in a tightly-called game that saw a combined 25 fouls whistled in the first half. They made 19 of 22 free throws in the half.

“I think the refs took both teams out of any kind of rhythm,” Young said. “I mean there was a stop every single possession.

“It was an odd game. Just way too many fouls.”

Kobe Mitchell scored a game-high 24 points to lead Walsh. Garrison Keeslar finished with 18. Ayden Carter added 11.

“I thought we played hard and they played hard,” Young said. “It was back and forth.”

Ashland women win 44th straight

Walsh remains the last team to beat the Ashland women’s basketball team. That fact may stand for some time.

The Eagles used a 30-0 run in the first half to help bury the Cavs 102-40 in Saturday’s first game. It was the 44th straight win for the defending national champions, whose last loss came to Walsh in the 2022 NCAA Division II Tournament.

Ashland shot 65.5% from the field, including 60% (15 of 25) from 3-point range. Erin Daniels hit all five of her 3s on her way to a game-high 17 points.

Former Hoover player Annie Roshak finished with 12 points for Ashland (7-0, 2-0). She is now 34 points shy of becoming the fifth Eagles player to score 2,000 career points.

Kiley Dyrlund, Emma Dretke, Alycia Triplett and Sydney Ludvigsen each had seven points for Walsh (2-3, 1-1).

Reach Mike at [email protected]

On X: @mpopovichREP