Turnovers costly for Norwalk in loss

NORWALK — There were flashes. But Norwalk head coach Adam Kreischer and his team know it will take more than brief glimpses. The Truckers overcame 23 turnovers in the first half of Tuesday night's game against Vermilion to cut a double-digit deficit to eight points (24-16). But from there, it was all Vermilion. The Sailors proceeded to go on a 28-7 scoring run in the 55-31 non-league win at Norwalk High School. After 23 turnovers in the first 16 minutes, Norwalk (0-3) had just four in the second half. But the damage had been done. "When you do that, you're not going to win basketball games," Kreischer said. "But we made some adjustments and only had the four turnovers in the second half. If we can cut that number in half from the first two quarters, we're in this game." Trailing 24-12 at halftime, Norwalk opened the third quarter with a quick basket inside from Caiden Schmidt. After both teams missed opportunities, Schmidt then scored again to make it 24-16 with 6:18 left in the third quarter. Vermilion head coach Kurt Habermehl called a timeout and stressed shot selection to his team. His players took it to heart. Vermilion closed the quarter on a 15-4 scoring run to blow the game open. That included three consecutive 3-pointers, including two by Brock Meyers and one by Jerimiah Lopez, to push the lead up to almost 20 points. Two of those 3s came from working the ball inside and passing out for the open look. "Middle of the third and into the fourth quarter, we did a great job of making the extra pass and converting good shots," Habermehl said. "Lopez was big in that stretch for us, which was nice to see. But I was most impressed with our pressure. "We forced 23 turnovers in the first half, but the issue was we only had 24 points. We weren't putting the ball in the basket, and that's going to have to improve, and we have to finish those easier shots." Kreischer thought the third-quarter run showed his team's inability to finish small plays. "We cut it to eight, they call timeout, but then we come out of that, and Vermilion got an offensive rebound off a missed 3, then hit a 3," Kreischer said. "Then they scored on an easy stick back the next time down the floor. "The little things are what we need to consistently improve on, and when we do that, we'll stay in games," he added. "As long as we don't, we will continue to struggle. No one is going to feel sorry for us, so we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've got the guys that we have, and we need to get better." The Truckers attempted to slow things down at the offensive end in the first half, which worked to a point early on. When Schmidt scored the first basket of the game for Norwalk, it trailed just 4-2 at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter. But the Sailors answered with an 8-0 run over a three-plus minute stretch of the first quarter. Adam Gerber scored two baskets in a row, while Brock Meyers added two free throws and Mason Cooper scored inside. The Truckers got a pair of free throws from Xavier Saunders with 10.1 seconds left in the quarter to make it 13-4, but Vermilion's Luke Richardson rebounded a missed shot and put the ball in for two points just before the buzzer for a 15-4 lead after one quarter. Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball in the second quarter. The Sailors committed five turnovers and missed six free throws in the eight minutes. The Truckers trailed 15-6 to start the quarter on a basket by Josh King. The next time down the court, Nolan Jones scored off a nice pass from Jack Pittenger for a 15-8 deficit at the 6:19 mark of the second. Gerber hit a 3-pointer two possessions later for the Sailors to make it 19-8, and from there it was a struggle for the Truckers to take care of the basketball. Norwalk committed 17 turnovers in the second quarter alone, though the Sailors weren't able to convert consistently at the other end to fully put the game out of reach until the third quarter. Meyers had 15 points, and Lopez added 12 for the Sailors, who host Western Reserve (1-1) on Thursday. Cooper added nine points and eight rebounds. "I really like the effort," Habermehl said. "We ran the floor well, and our defensive pressure was good, and we're a team that needs to force turnovers and get easy points. "Between that and offensive rebounds, our size can really impact other teams. When we do that with easy points and make teams get out of their system, we can be a pretty good team." For Norwalk, which entertains Sandusky in its SBC Lake opener on Saturday, Saunders scored 12 points. Schmidt had six points and five rebounds, while Josh King had five points and six rebounds. "I think Caiden, Nolan, and Josh are showing flashes," Kreischer said. "They just play hard and are coming along, but right now we have flashes of what they could be. "But you can't win at the varsity level with flashes. You start winning when those things start becoming more consistent than what we're showing right now." VERMILION (1-1) Jeremiah Lopez 4-2—12; Noah Pemton 1-0—2; Brock Meyers 5-3—15; Batu Aksoy 0-1—1; Adam Gerber 3-0—7; Mason Cooper 2-4—9; Luke Richardson 2-1—5; Drake Hooks 0-1—1; Trey Colahan 1-0—3. TOTALS 18-12—55. NORWALK (0-3) Denzille Williams 1-1—3; Xavier Saunders 3-5—12; Nolan Jones 2-0—4; Brandon Carey 0-1—1; Caiden Schmidt 3-0—6; Josh King 2-1—5. TOTALS 11-8—31. Vermilion 15 9 18 13 — 55 Norwalk 4 8 9 10 — 31 3-point FGs: (V) Lopez 2, Meyers 2, Gerber, Cooper, Colahan; (N) Saunders JV: Vermilion, 49-15.