NORTH CANTON, Ohio – After a slow start, Ohio Dominican's men's basketball team's second half rally fell short at Walsh, falling 87-78 in a GLIAC contest on Thursday evening.

The Panthers, winners in three of their last five games, drop to 6-11 overall and 3-8 in the GLIAC this season. Walsh improves to 9-6 overall and 7-4 in the conference with the win.

Ohio Dominican was led by sophomore Ronnie Williams (Columbus, OH) for the sixth time this season as he posted 26 points, going 6-of-13 from behind the arc. Williams also tied a career high and set a new season best for ODU with four steals.

Senior Trent Weaver (Columbus, OH) recorded his eighth double-double of the 2015-16 campaign, scoring 15 points and grabbing a team high 10 rebounds. Weaver also led the team in assists, tying a career high with five helpers.

With 13 points off the bench, sophomore Shemar Waugh (Columbus, OH) scored in double figures for the first time since returning from injury two weeks ago. Waugh added four assists and two steals.

Freshman Ben Casanova (Sylvania, OH) tied a season high with five rebounds, as he pitched in seven points in 24 minutes off the bench.

Logging just five turnovers, the Panthers have now recorded single digit giveaways in four games this season. On the defensive end, ODU tied a season high with nine steals.  

After scoring the opening points of the contest, the Panthers would take their only other lead of the ballgame at 7-5 after a layup from Mike DeLeon (Powell, OH), with 16:55 to play in the opening half.

Ohio Dominican trailed by two points just under the midway point of the first half, but the Cavaliers made six of their next eight shots to extend their lead to 35-22 with 4:17 to play before halftime.

The Panthers trailed 46-31 heading into the intermission. The Black and Gold shot just 23.7 percent from the field in the first half, while Walsh neared 60 percent.

ODU cut the deficit to as little as eight on four separate occasions, with the last coming after a Weaver layup made the score 79-71 in favor of Walsh with 3:43 left to play.

The Cavaliers however made all eight of their free throws down the stretch, as the Panthers made just two of their final five shots from the field.

Ohio Dominican finished 16-of-22 from the charity stripe, but the Cavaliers hits 21 of their 22 attempts from the foul line. The Panthers held an 18-6 advantage in points off turnovers, and scored 17 second chance points to Walsh's eight.

The Black and Gold will return home for a 3 p.m. tip against Malone on Saturday, Jan. 23, as ODU looks to win their fourth consecutive game inside Alumni Hall.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu