'Belief in yourself': Aiden Satterfield emerges in Walsh basketball's G-MAC Tournament run
NORTH CANTON — The past few weeks may represent the turning point for Aiden Satterfield.
Walsh's redshirt sophomore is showing signs of finding his footing at the college level. There were indications near the end of the regular season when he had a career game against Lake Erie.
He topped that in an even bigger game Friday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: College basketball: Walsh men, Malone women advance in G-MAC Tournament
Satterfield hit four 3s and scored 17 points to help the Cavaliers rally past Cedarville 81-74 in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal. His 12 points in the second half alone was a punch Walsh needed to wipe out an eight-point halftime deficit.
The Cavs knew they were getting a perimeter threat when they recruited Satterfield out of Charleston Catholic in West Virginia. He set school records for most 3s and points in a game and was first-team all-state twice.
Satterfield averaged 4.0 points last season and was averaging 4.6 a game going into Friday. The 6-foot-7 guard, however, has had back-to-back double-digit games in the G-MAC Tournament. He hit three 3s and scored 11 points in Tuesday's quarterfinal win over Trevecca Nazarene.
"It's honestly just belief in yourself," Satterfield said. "I was struggling early in the season to honestly think I could contribute, but it's constant work. I'm always in the gym every morning.
"Coach (Jeff Young) lets me know 'That work is going to pay off Aiden.' Luckily I was able to help the team win today. I'm very thankful for that."
Satterfield hit a couple of 3s in the second half to help Walsh rally in front 54-51. He knew things were really going his way when he banked in his fourth 3 of the night to break a 58-all tie.
"That was just kind of icing on the cake," Satterfield said.
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For Satterfield, it's just a matter of building confidence.
"That's his big thing," Young said. "He can get down on himself a little bit, especially when he's not scoring. He's a good scorer. He can make 3s, he can drive and he's creative. I'm just happy he's doing well."
Satterfield's banked in 3 put the Cavs (23-5) ahead to stay. After Cedarville climbed back to within three with 1:34 left, Garrison Keeslar and Zack Oddo hit two free throws and Satterfield tacked on a free throw to help Walsh gain control.
Kobe Mitchell scored 20 points to lead the Cavs. Keeslar finished with 18. Oddo added 13.
Walsh will host Thomas More in Saturday's championship game at 3 p.m. After squeezing out a quarterfinal win over Trevecca Nazarene and rallying from 11 down against Cedarville, the Cavs are battle tested.
"When we get down, we're not frazzled," Satterfield said. "We're not rattled or anything like that.
"We just don't get nervous. Coach preaches toughness, and he puts us in situations where you have to be tough every single say."
Saturday's winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. There are no guarantees for an at-large bid for the Cavs if they lose. They won the G-MAC regular season title outright last year, but did not make the NCAAs after losing in the conference tournament.
"This win certainly helps our percentages of getting in, but a lot depends on if there are upsets like there was last year," Young said. "That puts us on the bubble.
"The guys know. I told them 'Just be ready for tomorrow.'"
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On X: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Aiden Satterfield helps Walsh men's basketball reach G-MAC title game
