Norwalk, Monroeville compete at Battle 4 the Bay

PERKINS TWP. — The Monroeville and Norwalk High School boys basketball teams competed at the 48-team "Battle 4 The Bay" showcase hosted by Spy Report at the Cedar Point Sports Center on Monday and Tuesday. The Eagles went 4-0 in pool play, and 1-1 in the bracket play to finish their two days with a 5-1 record. Meanwhile, the Truckers — playing without top returner Mason Gamble — finished 1-3 in pool play and 0-1 in bracket play. On Monday, the Truckers opened with losses to Minster, 51-33, and Bay Village Bay, 44-35. They then defeated Berea Midpark, 56-52, before falling to Northridge (Middlebury, Ind.) by a 65-55 score. In the bracket play on Tuesday, Norwalk was edged by Delphos Jefferson, 22-21. The Truckers went 12-11 overall and 3-7 in the Sandusky Bay Conference last season. Norwalk lost five games by five points or less, including two in overtime. The Truckers will return all but one player (Dalton Chapin) entering head coach Adam Kreischer's third season. That group is expected to include Gamble, Ben Rothhaar, Garrett Demuth, Jordan Parriott and Landon Ferkel. On Monday, Monroeville — under first-year head coach Bob Fries — won four games in fairly comfortable fashion. The Eagles opened with a 45-28 win over Vanlue, followed by a 43-37 win over former Firelands Conference foe Black River. Monroeville then handled Lakota, 47-30, before a 15-0 win over Galion Northmor. In bracket play, the Eagles then opened with a 25-23 win over Garfield Heights Trinity. They fell in the third round to Dresden Tri-Valley, 25-17. Fries was hired in the spring to take over for Paul Roeder, who coached the Eagles to a 73-68 record overall (42-42 FC) over six seasons. A 1976 MHS graduate, Roeder is second all-time in career wins behind Jerry Everhart (118-81, 1963-72). A 1997 NHS graduate, Fries was an assistant under Roeder for the past two seasons after previously working at the youth and middle school levels. Fries will get to work with a team that brings back three of its five starters from a team that finished 8-16 overall and 5-9 in the FC.