Norwalk stuns Columbian for big road win

TIFFIN — Norwalk knew it had to defend Logan Beaston.The all-Ohio junior scored a career-high 33 points in Columbian's last game and had 24 points in the final three quarters on Tuesday.In the waning seconds of the game, the Truckers forced the ball out of the hands of Beaston and Columbian's go-ahead 3-pointer was short, leading to Norwalk's 56-55 Sandusky Bay Conference Lake division win over the Division II No. 12-ranked Tornadoes."I thought the ball was going to Beaston," Norwalk coach Steve Gray said. "We came out and doubled him. Thankfully, he wasn't able to get his hands on the ball for a good look. He is a hell of a player."Jaden Myers scored on an assist from Bryce Roggow with 2:14 left for a 55-51 lead, but that was the last points Norwalk (7-5, 4-2 SBC Lake) surrendered. After working the ball around for a good possession, Caleb Sommers was fouled shooting a 3. He knocked down all three to bring the Truckers within a point.Brayden Roggow was fouled on the other end for the Tornadoes (9-2, 5-2), but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. Ian Minor grabbed the rebound and again Norwalk churned clock away before Minor drove to the hoop for the layup and 56-55 lead with 24 seconds left.The Tornadoes used a timeout with 13.5 seconds left, but could not get what they wanted as time wasted away. Bryce Roggow's 3 was an airball and possession went to Norwalk."We wanted to get something going to the rim," TC coach Travis Kinn said. "I thought we got a good look. It wasn't at the rim, but it was a wide-open look. We will take that shot time and time again. It just didn't go in this time."After a Truckers timeout and two fouls to get Norwalk to the line, Daniel Traczek missed the front end of the one-and-one. Columbian used a timeout to setup a desperation attempt and Beaston's 3 was off, sealing the Truckers' upset win."I am so proud of these kids tonight," Gray said. "We did a lot of soul searching. We had individual meetings and group meetings on Monday. We tried to re-focus on the task at hand. Tonight, they responded."Norwalk jumped out to an 8-3 lead early, but Myers hit consecutive 3s to give the Tornadoes a 9-8 lead after one quarter.Columbian carried that momentum into the second quarter as buckets by Bryce Roggow, Myers, and Brayden Roggow pushed the Tornadoes ahead 19-11.Later, the Truckers trailed 23-16, but stole a plethora of momentum in the final 75 seconds of the half. Parker Evans scored before two triples from Minor pushed Norwalk ahead 24-23 at halftime. The advantage for the Truckers came despite 11 turnovers."We talked about taking care of the ball," Gray said. "Here is the key. We turned it over 11 times, but we didn't give them breakouts. That is where Tiffin kills you. When we turn it over, they turn it into offense right away."Minor picked up his fourth foul less than three minutes into the third quarter with Norwalk trailing just 34-32. Columbian pounced with Minor in the bench as Beaston hit a 3, Brayden Roggow scored off of a Norwalk turnover, and Brayden Roggow canned a 3-pointer for a 42-33 lead.That brought Minor back into the game and his presence helped the Truckers claw within 46-41 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Caleb Sommers hit a floater and Minor's 3 with 3:17 left knotted the game at 51."Minor really sparked them when he came back in," Kinn said. "In the last couple possessions, he had two wide-open 3s and fortunately for us, he only hit one of them. He is a kid that probably makes both of them when he is that wide open."Beaston led all scorers with 24 points while Myers added 16 points. The Tornadoes were playing without starter Cyrus Burden, but committed just six turnovers."It has everything to do with the kids," Gray said. "They decided as a group that they were embarrassed (after Saturday's 47-31 loss at Port Clinton). They were going to compete and have fun. The whole thing was 'let's have fun' tonight."Minor topped the Truckers with 18 points while Sommers tossed in 15 points."We can't win without Ian," Gray said. "If he would have picked up his fifth foul, we were in big time trouble. The thing Ian does besides score and rebound is if he has his hands on the ball, he has an ability to pass over almost anybody in our league."Evans grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for Norwalk, who used a significant 35-23 rebounding edge to eliminate opportunities for a potent Columbian offense. A league championship is still quite a possibility for the Truckers with two games yet against league-leader Sandusky."We have a chance and that is all we want," Gray said. "The biggest game of the year is Friday. If we don't get Clyde, then what was this for? This is a game that the kids will remember the rest of their lives." NORWALK (7-5, 4-2) Daniel Traczek 3 1—8, Ian Minor 7 0—18, Caleb Sommers 5 3—15, Ashton Coe 3 0—6, Parker Evans 2 1—5, Eli Obringer 1 0—2, Ben Rothhaar 1 0—2. TOTALS 22-5—56. COLUMBIAN (9-2, 5-2) Brayden Roggow 3 2—9, Bryce Burns 1 0—2, Logan Beaston 7 8—14, Jaden Myers 6 1—16, Bryce Roggow 1 2—4. TOTALS 18-13—55. Norwalk 8 16 17 15 — 56 Columbian 9 14 23 9 — 55 3-point FGs: (N) Minor 4, Sommers 2, Traczek; (TC) Myers 3, Beaston 2, Bry. Roggow