INDIANAPOLIS – After a one-week absence, the Cavaliers of Walsh returned to the top 25 as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its new Division II poll on Tuesday afternoon.
 
After falling at Findlay two weeks ago, the Cavaliers tumbled from their No. 21 position. This week, following league victories against Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley, Walsh vaulted into a new national ranking of 19th.
 
Walsh improved to 20-3 overall (11-2 G-MAC) and junior guard Darryl Straughter received his second player of the week award for the season.
 
Walsh is currently second to Findlay in the conference point rating system standings after having split the regular season series against the Oilers.
 
Straughter and senior guard Mark Mokros have been lights out from deep as the Cavaliers outscore their opponents by over 20 points per game. The sharpshooting duo combined for 57 points and 13 triples vs. Ohio Valley while going 19-for-33.
 
Redshirt freshman guard Christian Montague was flirting with a triple-double as he finished with 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
 
Straughter then led the way in the box score vs. AB, scoring 23 points in 35 minutes. The Cavaliers shot over 50 percent from the beyond the arc as a team once again while going 13-for-24.
 
Head coach Jeff Young has the league’s top scoring offense and his squad is second in total scoring defense.
 
Walsh has a pair of road tests this week at Hillsdale and Malone as the defending tournament champs look to eventually lock in a home first-round game for the postseason.