by Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio – Thanks to a strong defensive effort, the Walsh Jesuit Warriors defeated the visiting CVCA Royals, 57-40 Saturday evening.
Darryn Peterson hit a jumper early in the first quarter, giving CVCA their only lead of the game, 2-0. Sean Spicer responded with a triple to give Walsh Jesuit the lead moments later. The Warriors would end the first quarter up 13-6, and also went 5-7 at the charity stripe, drawing a lot of contact thanks to an aggressive offense.
CVCA would cut their deficit to 15-10 in the second quarter thanks to a Darryn Peterson steal and jam. Walsh Jesuit responded when Ruel Tomlinson scored four points on a pair of possessions to bump the lead to 19-10.
The Warriors would increase their lead to 25-11 before a Jonathan Fridline triple cut the deficit to 25-14. Darryn Peterson drew a foul and sank two of three free throws to make the score 25-16 at the half.
Walsh Jesuit increased their lead to 30-16, before CVCA responded with a 9-0 run. Darryn Peterson and Jonathan Fridline each contributed to the Royals’ comeback efforts, cutting the Warrior lead to 30-25. The Warriors responded with a 15-0 run thanks to Zach Halligan and Sean Spicer, who knocked down a combined three triples.
The Warriors pushed their lead to as much as 25, thanks to a Ruel Tomlinson slam dunk off a steal, and cruised from there.
Walsh Jesuit (14-6) travels to Rhodes next Tuesday for a non-conference matchup. Senior Zach Halligan scored 19 points to lead the Warriors, followed by Sean Spicer with 13.
CVCA (15-5) hosts Northwest next Tuesday to continue PAC-7 play. Sophomore guard Darryn Peterson had 20 points to lead the Royals, followed by senior guard Jonathan Fridline, who had 11.
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