Madison pulls away from Norwalk

NORWALK — Things will only get tougher. But Tuesday night showed perhaps there is a turn in the right direction for the Norwalk boys basketball team. The Truckers fell to 0-10 following a 53-33 loss to visiting Mansfield Madison in a non-league game at NHS. Norwalk trailed just 22-21 early in the third quarter before the Rams (4-7) went on an 18-2 scoring run to break the game open. "Obviously I want a win for our guys, but right now it's going to be tough to come by," Norwalk head coach Adam Kreischer said. "And they know it, too. They've really lifted hard the past couple of weeks, and we'll continue to do that the rest of the year." Kreischer is not looking for his team to make a massive physical gain in the next two months. "But what we're hoping it will do is develop a mindset and a mentality and get rid of this fear of the weight room that some of our guys have," he said. "Hopefully they'll see some slight gains and fall in love with the weights, and we can make strides in the offseason. "Clearly we've seen this year that until we get stronger and more athletic, things will be a struggle for us, even if we are fairly skilled. We shoot the basketball OK. But when you factor in every part of the game, we have to get stronger and more athletic." Down just 22-18 at halftime, Norwalk's Xavier Saunders made a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the third quarter to cut the deficit to one. But just as fast, the Rams went out to a double-digit lead. Madison went on a 13-0 scoring run over the next 3:34 to grab a 35-21 lead before Saunders stopped the run with a basket from the right baseline. But by then, it was an uphill battle. The Truckers did close the quarter by scoring seven of the final 12 points to make it 40-28 entering the fourth. Kingston Gonzales scored the final three points of the quarter. Saunders again opened the fourth with a basket, then Nolan Jones split two free throws with 6:03 remaining to pull within 42-32. But Norwalk got no closer, as the Rams closed out the game on an 11-1 spree over the final 5:47. Norwalk battled around seven turnovers in the first quarter to trail 12-6 as Gonzales and Jones connected for baskets, and Saunders made two free throws. The Rams then opened the second quarter by scoring eight of the first 12 points to open up a 20-10 lead with 3:23 left in the first half. But Norwalk worked its way back into the game, mainly at the free-throw line. Kingston Gonzales knocked down a pair after a technical foul on the Rams for reaching over on defense while guarding an inbounds pass. He then scored with a short jumper near the lane two possessions later for a 20-14 deficit with 2:09 left in the half. Saunders was fouled after a Madison empty possession and split a pair. On Norwalk's next trip down, Josh King was fouled while rebounding a missed shot. He made both foul shots with 48.4 seconds left in the half to make it a one-possession game at 20-17. Madison ended a three-minute scoring drought when Kylor Steagall scored on a runner in the lane with 23.6 seconds left in the half. However, King was again fouled while shooting and split the free throws with just 4.4 seconds left in the half to put the margin at 22-18 at the break despite 12 turnovers by the Truckers. Norwalk outscored the Rams 8-0 at the foul line in the first half and 11-2 for the game. "With our strength and athleticism, we can't take everything away from another team's offense," Kreischer said. "In years past, when we had stronger athletes, we could figure out a way to scouting report and guard teams and shut some things down. "But right now, we have to kind of give you something. We thought our best thing to give them was the three-point line, and in the first half they were 4 for 18, which we can live with." In the second half, Madison made five more 3s, including three in the third quarter. "But we still can't say we're going to come out and guard everything, because then they will get to the rim and get easy looks," Kreischer said. "We weren't terrible turning over the basketball, and that's why we were able to stay in it for a while. "But they got out in transition on us in the third quarter and made some 3s." Gonzales finished with 12 points, and Saunders scored 11 for the Truckers, who also got seven points and five rebounds from King. It gets no easier for the Truckers on Friday, as they host MaxPreps Div. IV, No. 3-ranked Perkins (12-0) in an SBC Lake Division game at NHS. MADISON (4-7) Kaleb Gordon 6-1—14; Camden Moysi 2-0—4; Ashton Taylor 3-0—8; Kylor Steagall 2-0—5; Deonte McDaniel 4-1—12; Justin McCraney 3-0—7; D Lloyd 1-0—3. TOTALS 21-2—53. NORWALK (0-10) Kingston Gonzales 4-4—12; Xavier Saunders 3-3—11; Nolan Jones 1-1—3; Josh King 2-3—7. TOTALS 10-11—33. Madison 12 10 18 13 — 53 Norwalk 6 12 10 5 — 33 3-point FGs: (M) McDaniel 3, Taylor 2, Steagall, Gordon, McCraney; (N) Saunders 2. JV: Madison won.