Norwalk cruises in sectional opener

NORWALK — Regardless of the outcome from last weekend, the Division II sectional semifinal for the Norwalk boys basketball team promised to be a good thing. Rather than choosing a first-round bye into this Friday's sectional championship game, head coach Steve Gray wanted his Truckers to play first. There was little suspense, as the No. 3-seeded Truckers took control midway through the first quarter of a 68-31 win over No. 11 Galion (0-23) at Norwalk High School. With the win, Norwalk (15-8) turns its sights to No. 4 Upper Sandusky (14-8), which it will host at 7 p.m. Friday for a spot in a district semifinal next week at Ashland High School. A year ago, the Rams stunned the Truckers on a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in a 60-59 win in the district championship game at Mansfield Madison. On Feb. 19, Norwalk hosted Tiffin Columbian in the regular season finale. Already with a share of the SBC Lake Division title, the Truckers needed a win over the Tornadoes to win the league outright. But instead, Columbian (18-4) came away with a 50-46 win over the Truckers. "And no matter if we had won or lost to Tiffin, tonight was good," Gray said. "Had we won, we're on Cloud Nine and maybe go through the motions, and this game would have been a chance to grab their attention. "And because we lost, it was good to get back on the floor again," he added. "These kids don't want to practice four or five days in a row, they want to play." Despite entering the game with a winless record, the Tigers hung tough for a portion of the first quarter. Consecutive baskets allowed them to pull within 11-10 at the 3:36 mark. But Norwalk all but closed the door from there. Ian Minor scored, then Will Gehlhausen made a 3-pointer before Garrett Chapin and Minor scored. Chapin then scored to open the second quarter, and an 11-0 run had put the Truckers up 22-10 with 7:49 left in the first half. Chapin's basket in the first quarter at the 1:14 mark allowed him to pass Ben Haraway (1,184 points) for fourth all-time in career points at Norwalk. His first basket of the game surpassed Brandon Haraway (1,179 points). Galion pulled to within 28-19 with 5:23 left in the first half, but drew no closer as the Truckers closed the half on a 16-2 scoring run. Five quick points from Gehlhausen started the scoring spree, while Chapin, Minor, Kyler Kromer and Parker Evans also added baskets during the stretch. "No matter what people say, the tournament is different," Gray said. "It's a different routine, a different type of pressure. I think tonight was good for us for a lot of different reasons. "Galion really made us execute in the first half and did a great job beating us to rebounds and running some of their flare action," he added. "It just emphasized to us some things we need to work on before Friday night." In the second half, Norwalk outscored the Tigers 24-10 while subbing freely with a running clock, which was a result of the point difference reaching 35 (61-25) in the final minute of the third quarter. Norwalk finished 28-of-50 shooting (56 percent), which included an 8-of-16 effort from the three-point line. The Truckers held a 28-15 edge in rebounding and 21-8 in assists. Minor led the way with 15 points, and added three rebounds and three assists. Chapin had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Evans added 12 points and six rebounds, and Gehlhausen had eight points, four assists and three rebounds. As for Friday's matchup, Gray said the Truckers will need to do a good job defending Upper Sandusky's Gavin Carey (15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds) and Cade Adams (13.2 points) among others. Adams is 80-of-163 (49 percent) from the three-point line this season. "I think Adams is the best shooter we're going to see all year," Gray said. "He is a great shooter. We're going to have our hands full with him, but then Carey is an unbelievable post with great footwork and hands. "Those two are sort of the engine that makes them run. We have to be ready to play, or it's going to be a long night." Opening success Tuesday's win over Galion was the 20th sectional tournament opener under Gray at Norwalk. Over the 20 seasons, the Truckers are now 16-4 (.800) in their first tournament game during Gray's tenure. Further, Norwalk had the opportunity to win all four setbacks late in each game. In a 58-49 sectional semifinal loss vs. Clyde in 2007, the Truckers trailed 41-39 with 6:39 left before the Fliers closed it out. The 2008-09 season ended when Eastwood made a 3-pointer with under 20 seconds left, then held on as the Truckers' last-second jumper at the buzzer was off the mark in a 38-37 loss. In 2011, Norwalk trailed Bellevue by three points twice in the final 92 seconds, including with 19.3 seconds left, but came up short in a 56-53 setback. Finally, in 2016, Norwalk was down 42-39 with exactly 90 seconds left with possession of the basketball against Mansfield Madison before falling, 45-39. Conversely, of Norwalk's 16 wins in tournament openers under Gray, just one of those, a 38-37 win over Clyde in 2010, was by one possession. Twelve of the 16 wins are by double-digit margins. Overall, Gray's teams are 23-8 (.742) in 31 sectional tournament games ahead of Friday, including 10 championship game victories. Hello, again After playing every single year from 1946-2011 as members of the Northern Ohio League, Tuesday's game was just the third meeting between the Truckers and Tigers over the last 10 years. The previous two meetings were notable for Norwalk. A 68-34 win on Dec. 27, 2011 was the eighth victory of what became 57 consecutive regular season wins by the Truckers — unofficially the ninth-longest streak in Ohio history. Norwalk then beat Galion, 69-40, in a sectional semifinal as well in the 2013-14 season. It proved to be the first of eight tournament wins that culminated in the Div. II state championship. Norwalk leads the all-time series vs. the Tigers, 61-54. GALION (0-23) Troy Manring 2-0—4; Kyle Faust 1-0—2; Brayden Eckels 2-0—4; Rece Payne 4-2—10; Carter Keinath 3-0—8; Cooper 1-0—2. TOTALS 13-2—31. NORWALK (15-8) Kyler Kromer 1-0—3; Andrew Mozina 1-0—2; Will Gehlahusen 3-0—8; Ian Minor 7-0—15; Garrett Chapin 6-1—13; Parker Evans 5-2—12; Caleb Sommers 2-1—7; Ashton Coe 2-0—5; Carson Bauman 1-0—3. TOTALS 28-4—68. Galion 10 11 4 6 — 31 Norwalk 20 24 17 7 — 68 3-point FGs: (G) Keinath 2; (N) Gehlhausen 2, Kromer, Coe, Bauman, Minor