Sandusky streaks past Norwalk

SANDUSKY — Keep competing. That's what Norwalk coach Adam Kreischer wants to see from his basketball team as the second half of the SBC Lake Division slate begins. The Truckers lost 79-49 to Sandusky on Thursday night to drop the season series to the Blue Streaks while falling to 0-14 overall and 0-6 in the Lake. The Truckers are off this weekend before visiting Edison on Tuesday. "While we've had some scores that have been pretty lopsided, I would think that anybody who was in the gym for those games would say we didn't quit," Kreischer said. "We have a bunch of guys who continue to play hard because they know that wins will be hard to come by this year. Hopefully we continue to get better and it shows in future years." Norwalk scored 21 points in the second quarter — its second-highest period this season — and calmed down after a rough start. Sandusky led just 5-3 midway through the first quarter when the Streaks increased their defensive intensity and went on a 12-0 run in the next two minutes. Junior guard Camrion Jones finished the run with a steal and layup to give Sandusky a 17-3 lead. The run coincided with the appearance of usual starter Ahmaj Woolfork, a high-energy junior who came off the bench on Senior Night. Woolfork scored eight of his 16 points in the first quarter and helped force 10 Trucker turnovers in the opening eight minutes. Sandusky had six steals that led directly to layups in the first half. Easy buckets helped the Streaks shoot 53 percent for the game. Norwalk committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter before settling down. The Truckers had just seven total giveaways in the final three quarters. "We challenged our guys at halftime to hold them to less offensive rebounds and box out and have less than five turnovers in the second half," Kreishcer said. "Obviously their pressure wasn't quite the same as they put on in the first quarter, but we're more capable of handling that than what we showed. We're at the point in the year where lack of experience can't be an excuse all the time. "Guys know what spots to be in and they know to meet passes. They know when to attack and when to give it up. Right now that processing speed for us is still a battle where we see the guy open and it's a little late." Nolan Jones led Norwalk with 16 points — 10 in the fourth quarter. Kian Kreischer added 12 points on four 3-pointers. Xavier Saunders also was in double figures with 11 points. Sandusky swept the season series from Norwalk by a combined score of 137-78. Nolan Jones' putback cut Sandusky's lead to 5-3 two minutes into the game. After that it was all Sandusky. Camrion Jones finished with a career-high 35 points for the Blue Streaks, who improved to 9-6 overall and 5-1 in the Lake. Sandusky has won four of its last five games. His 3-pointer with 2:54 left in the third quarter gave Sandusky a 68-31 lead and triggered a running clock for the rest of the game. Dale Johnson added nine points — eight in the first quarter — and helped Sandusky enjoy a 21-9 rebounding advantage in the first half. Late in the first quarter, Johnson stole a pass and passed to Anthony Redding for a dunk that put the Streaks up 23-5. The Truckers scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, which had no clock stoppages. "We do a better job attacking at times; I think we're making strides," coach Kreischer said. "But until we get stronger and more athletic we're gonna struggle against a lot of teams and especially against a team like Sandusky. "You look at athlete for athlete on the floor and it just doesn't look the same. The game comes a little easier when you have some muscle." Norwalk calmed down after the first quarter and committed only seven turnovers in the final three quarters. NORWALK (0-14, 0-6) Kingston Gonzales 0-3—3, Xavier Saunders 3-3—11, Nolan Jones 6-4—16, Caiden Schmidt 1-2—5, Josh King 1-0—2, Kian Kreischer 4-0—12. TOTALS 15-12—49. SANDUSKY (9-6, 5-1) Anthony Redding 3-0—6, Dale Johnson 4-1—9, Dereon Scott 1-0—2, Camrion Jones 14-0—35, Kymirr Hunter 1-1—3, Ahmaj Woolfork 6-4—16, Ta'Varieon Myers 2-0—4, Daishun Brown 1-0—2, Raymond Peake 0-2—2. TOTALS 32-8—79. Norwalk 5 21 7 18 — 49 Sandusky 23 26 21 9 — 79 3-point FGs; (N) Kreischer 4, Saunders 2, Schmidt; (S) Jones 7. JV: Sandusky, 64-32.