The first game of the day for Championship Saturday was the DIII Championship Game. The Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Detroit Diehards with a tip-off time of 9:30 am on court three at the Gold Crown Field House. Cleveland jumped out to an early lead, yet Detroit’s #31 Tree Waller kept the Diehards in the game, scoring the first four points for the team, along with adding a block. With about ten minutes left in the first half, Cleveland still hung on to their lead. #24 Will Waller helped to maintain this lead by adding a blocked shot, then allowing #33 Juan Woidtke to put in a lay-up, and forcing Detroit to take a time out just under the nine minute mark. A foul by Rossi allowed #33 Juan Woidtke to go to the line and sink one of his two shots, putting Cleveland ahead 19-11 with five minutes to go. Tree Waller quickly responded for the Diehards by sinking a two.
With just over one minute left in the second half, Tree Waller narrowed Cleveland’s lead. Yet Cleveland’s Waller quickly answered right back with a three. At the half Cleveland led Detroit, 28 to 18.
Within the first five seconds of the second half, #22 Tyrone Bradley hit a three, setting the tone for Detroit. By the time five minutes had passed, Detroit had pulled within three points of Cleveland, with the score at 32-29. All throughout the second half Detroit battled back, refusing to allow Cleveland to gain a comfortable leave. At the 7:30 mark Detroit took a time-out, as they trailed by five. Out of the time-out Tree Waller hit a two to quickly narrow that lead to only three. Mo Phillips, #40 for the Diehards held a strong presence on the floor as a NWBA Hall of Famer, as well a strong team leader. #10 Steve Smutak for Cleveland was called for a charge with only 48 seconds left, resulting in another time-out call for Cleveland. Due to an earlier free-throw from Will Waller, the score was 50-46 coming out of the time-out, Detroit’s ball. Tree Waller attempted a three, but found his shot too far right. Will Waller was quickly fouled by Detroit, in attempt to get the ball back with only 32 seconds left. #24 Waller hit one of his two shots, advancing Cleveland's lead to five. Another three attempt by Tree Waller missed its mark to the left. Cleveland's Juan Woidtke was then fouled, and made both of his free-throws to bring the score to 53-46. Will Waller added one more free throw at the end of the game to bring to the final score to Cleveland 54, Detroit 46. Game High Scorer: Tree Waller, #31 for Detroit, 33 points Cleveland High Scorer: Will Waller, #24, 22 points
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