'We always stick it out': Tim Smith Jr., Quentin Toles help Walsh men's basketball reach G-MAC finals
NORTH CANTON — The Walsh University men's basketball team has found ways to win games by overcoming challenges all year long. Friday was no different.
After losing all-time leading scorer Darryl Straughter early on, Walsh managed to pull through for a physical 63-58 win over Findlay in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals at Alumni Arena. A couple key Tim Smith Jr. 3-pointers late in the game helped the Cavaliers close it out.
"We just had to stick together and just find a way to win," Smith Jr. said.
Walsh got off to a strong start, leading 8-0 within the first four minutes, as Milan Square scored seven of those points.
The fast start faded, though, as things changed when Straughter went down midway through the half with an ankle injury. He was out the rest of the game. According to Walsh head coach Jeff Young, Straughter might have suffered a high ankle sprain and his status is uncertain for the finals.
Walsh's offense was not efficient after losing Straughter, shooting 27% from the field in the first half. There also was a level of frustration from the Cavaliers over some of the foul calls and their own struggles at the foul line (they were 3-of-11 in the game).
"Our offense kind of struggled sometimes," Smith Jr. said. "We had some ups and we had some lows, but we always stick it out."
Smith Jr. scored 13 points and Square finished with 10 points to lead the way for Walsh's starting five.
But what kept the Cavs alive was their bench, which outscored Findlay's bench 27-13. Quentin Toles scored 13 of those bench points for Walsh, going 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 5-for-7 overall from the field.
"It starts with Q," Young said. "He hasn't played in like four, five games, and I just told him to keep working on your game."
Toles took that advice to heart. Young said after his team watched Findlay's quarterfinal win as a group Tuesday at Malone, Toles wasn't done with basketball for the night.
"When that was over, he was in the gym getting shots up," Young said. "So he stayed with it and it really paid off."
Walsh trailed 28-24 at the half. Fortunately, the Cavs had been in this situation before. They trailed the Findlay by 10 at the half on the road during the regular season before coming away with a win.
"I think neither of the teams were at their best," Young said. "Obviously for Findlay, coming off a tough game on Tuesday, and having to travel, I think that kind of affected them a little bit. And us being off for a week probably affected us as well."
The Cavs made a turnaround late in the second half as shots started dropping from behind the arc. Smith Jr., who had two points in the first half, had 11 in the second half, including back-to-back 3-pointers to push Walsh ahead 57-50 with two minutes left. A lob pass to Caleb Canter sealed the deal for Walsh.
"When you hold a team to 28 points (in the first half), you put yourself in great position to win," Smith Jr. said. "We knew we were going to play some good defense. We just had to find a way to put it the ball into the hoop, and we did that."
Walsh returns to Alumni Arena for the G-MAC finals, set for 2 p.m., Saturday. The Cavs will play No. 6 Cedarville after the Yellow Jackets upset second-seed Hillsdale 68-66 in the second game Friday.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Tim Smith Jr., Quentin Toles lead Walsh basketball to G-MAC finals
