ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan men's basketball team had the undefeated Walsh Cavaliers on the ropes on Tuesday night in the Voller Athletic Center holding a lead late in the game, but Walsh was able to find a way out winning the game 87-84.
 
Down 43-40 at the half, the Redhawks took their first lead of the second half with just 5:02 left on the clock. A layup by Reggie Clark gave Roberts a 76-74 advantage. A couple trips to the free throw line on consecutive possessions for Walsh gave the visitors a one point lead. But Clark was able to give Roberts the lead again by getting to the free throw line and hitting both shots with 3:09 remaining.
 
A bucket by Armon Nasseri followed by a layup by Zecaree Veiga pushed Roberts' lead to 82-77 with 1:17 to go in the game. With under a minute to play the Redhawks still clung to a five point lead, but the team would only score one more point, allowing the Cavaliers to retake the lead late.
 
Nasseri's free throw with 27 seconds on the clock made the score 84-81 in favor of Roberts. A made layup by Walsh cut the lead to one and then a turnover on the ensuing inbounds following a controversial no foul call gave the ball back to the Cavs who then hit another shot to steal the lead back 85-84. Roberts had two more opportunities to win or tie the game but couldn't find the bottom of the net.
 
The Redhawks got solid production from its starting unit with four of the five scoring in double digits. Redshirt freshman Amari Lee led the team with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Veiga finished with 19, Clark had 16 and Nasseri totaled 13 points.
 
Walsh was led by sophomore forward JT Shumate (26 points, 7 rebounds) and redshirt senior Sterling Christy (23 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists).
 
Roberts Wesleyan falls to 1-6 on the season while Walsh who is currently receiving votes in the D2SIDA National Poll moves on to 6-0.
 
The Redhawks will travel to Mansfield on Wednesday for their next game. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.