Clay surges past Norwalk in second half

NORWALK — Everything was going to plan. Hosting Oregon Clay in a non-league game on Monday with little time to prepare, the Norwalk boys basketball team had a good handle on the Eagles. The Truckers led the entire first half, and scored the first two points of the second half for a 30-21 lead. But from there, the Eagles (1-1) switched from multiple zone defenses to straight man-to-man in the half court, and in turn, they flipped the game around. Clay proceeded to go on a 23-7 scoring run over six-plus minutes, then turned away the Truckers late for the 52-49 win. "We spent a lot of time with our kids preparing for a lot of the different things they did in their first game lat Friday," Norwalk head coach Adam Kreischer said. "Between practice on Saturday, as well as on Hudl clips and messages to our guys — and even during the freshman game tonight walking through some stuff — our guys were really prepared and in the right spots against their zones. "If we put them in the right spots, we thought we could make plays, and we did that in the first half, which is why we scored it the way we did." But in the second half, that all stopped as Clay's pressure helped result in nine Norwalk turnovers. "They stopped all zone and pressured us in the half-court, and we didn't do a good enough of a job of being tough enough to handle the pressure and make the right decisions with someone up in our faces," Kreischer said. After Clay went ahead 44-37 with 4:53 left in the game, the Truckers were able to do enough to give themselves a chance late. Mason Gamble and Dalton Chapin scored around a missed foul shot from Clay, which cut the deficit to 44-41 with 1:51 remaining. But the Truckers missed a golden opportunity to draw closer, as a missed shot and a turnover on consecutive possessions sent Clay back to the line, where it extended the lead to 46-41. Ben Rothhaar scored with 52.4 seconds left to again pull Norwalk (1-1) within three points at 46-43, but the Eagles were able to put the game away on a run out. Off an inbounds pass out of a timeout, the Eagles threw deep, where Emir Walker was able to beat the Norwalk defense for a layup — and he was fouled with 48.5 seconds left. Though he missed the free throw, teammate Mason Heintschel was there for the rebound, and he was fouled and made both shots for a 50-43 lead. It was a formality from there, with Norwalk getting no closer than five points until it got a short basket from Gamble as time expired. "We were able to turn them over a few times late," Kreischer said. "We were able to trap them and they didn't make great decisions with it, but then we air ball a six-footer and we come down to the wing and instead of reversing the basketball with a simple bounce pass, we throw a chest pass and turn it right back over to them. "You have to be able to find a way to convert on those." In the first half, the Truckers made 5-of-9 three-pointers to lead 28-21 at the break. Leading 7-5 with three-plus minutes left in the first quarter, Gamble scored on a layup, then Chapin drained a 3 from the right wing to give the Truckers a 12-5 lead at the 2:38 mark. Norwalk led 15-8 after one quarter, then got a triple from Jordan Parriott to begin the second to go ahead 18-8. Clay was able to score on a three-point play and a basket to pull within 20-16 at the 4:05 mark of the second, but a easy layup from Rothhaar and a 3 by Parriott pushed it back to 25-16 with 2:08 left in the half. Once the Eagles again cut it to four (25-21), the Truckers then got a 3 from Demuth with just 2.5 seconds left in the half for a 28-21 lead. Gamble led Norwalk with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Rothhaar had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Parriott added nine points and Demuth scored eight. Norwalk is off until Saturday, when it stays in non-league play with a trip to Olmsted Falls. "I still think we can be really good, but it's going to take us growing up quickly, especially with some guys who aren't used tp playing," Kreischer said. "We have to be willing to be tough and strong with the basketball when someone is in your face one-on-one. "I think eventually we'll put the work in to get there, but we have a ways to go at the offensive end," he added. "I think defensively we did some good things tonight and played well enough to win this game, but we didn't handle the ball well enough to win." OREGON CLAY (1-1) Lucas Jeremy 2-0—6; Dom Pegish 1-1—3; Mason Heinschel 1-5—7; Jay Williams 2-2—6; Ben Roberts 3-0—9; Carson Vincent 1-0—2; Liam Cody 1-0—3; Emir Walker 4-2—8; Hudson Byers 1-1—3. TOTALS NORWALK (1-1) Jordan Parriott 3-1—9; Mason Gamble 6-2—14; Dalton Chapin 2-0—5; Garrett Demuth 3-0—8; Ben Rothhaar 6-1—13. TOTALS 20-4—49. Ore. Clay 8 13 13 18 — 52 Norwalk 15 13 5 16 — 49 3-point FGs: (OC) (N) Parriott 2, Demuth 2, Chapin. JV: Norwalk, 52-41.