Norwalk just misses upset win in OT loss
Jan. 28—NORWALK — Things have been up and down all winter for the Norwalk boys basketball team.
But the "down" that came from Thursday night's SBC Lake Division loss to Sandusky has a chance to be a spark.
The Truckers led for nearly the entire game against the first-place Blue Streaks, but were unable to overcome 28 turnovers and ran out of gas in a tough 71-67 loss in overtime at Norwalk High School.
With the loss, Norwalk fell to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in the Lake. Sandusky remained two games in front of Clyde (9-7, 6-2) and improved to 14-3 overall and 9-0 in the league.
"I think foul trouble hurt us and I think a little bit of fatigue in the overtime really hurt," Norwalk head coach Steve Gray said. "We had a lot of turnovers, but they didn't turn into a ton of baskets for them for the most part.
"We couldn't have run outs, but for whatever reason, we just didn't quite finish in some other areas," he added.
Norwalk led by 17 points in the first half, and after the Streaks closed the gap, rallied to take a 58-52 lead with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Streaks ended the final 1:50 on an 8-2 scoring run to force overtime. The Truckers had the ball tied at 60 with 32 seconds left in regulation and ran it down to the final 10 seconds, but again turned the ball over to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime, Daniel Traczek opened with a basket for Norwalk, but Sandusky tied the game on foul shots 28 seconds later from Daylen Green. After a Norwalk turnover, Kye Scott scored on a point-blank outback to put Sandusky ahead 64-62 — the first time it led since under five minutes was left in the fourth quarter.
After a Norwalk miss, Jarrie Alexander then scored for the Blue Streaks for a critical two-possession lead with 2:12 left. Another empty Norwalk possession led to two foul shots at the other end for De'Mar Moore, which he sank with 1:04 left to push the lead out to 68-62.
The Truckers were able to cut the lead to 70-67 with 15.3 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Traczek, but Sandusky's Scott split two foul shots with 10.6 seconds left to go back up two possessions and clinch the game.
"We've proved to everybody that we can play with anyone," Gray said. "We split with Columbian, and lost tight games to Sandusky and Clyde twice.
"If our kids continue to work and do the little things that we ask of them, we have a chance to maybe sneak out of the sectionals," he added.
Norwalk trailed 52-49 with 5:23 left in the game, but a 3 by Minor quickly tied it. Leading 53-52, Ashton Coe scored his lone basket to push the Norwalk lead up to 55-52, then Minor split two free throws and Parker Evans scored inside to go up 58-52 with 2:24 remaining.
It could not have been a better start in the first half for the Truckers.
Despite an early 5-0 deficit, Norwalk went on a 14-0 scoring run. That included 10 straight points from Caleb Sommers — three three-pointers, including one where he was fouled and added the free throw. That put his team up 14-5 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
Ian Minor ended the quarter with a 36.4 seconds left to put Norwalk ahead 17-10. A Parker Evans basket from point blank range to start the second made it a 19-10 Norwalk advantage.
Sandusky stopped the bleeding with a basket from Issiah Taylor, but the Truckers went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 27-12 with 4:56 left in the first half. Traczek started the run, then Minor punctuated it with two straight 3s.
But after the Truckers went up 29-14 with 3:31 left on a basket by Evans, the Blue Streaks closed the half on a 10-0 scoring run to get back in the game.
Taylor scored to start it, then Alexander converted a three-point play, and also scored off a steal with 18.3 seconds left to trim the deficit to 29-24 at the break.
The Truckers held a dominant 42-20 edge in rebounding in the loss, and finished 26-of-52 (50 percent) from the floor. That included 9-of-20 (45 percent) from the three-point line, and they were also 6-of-8 (75 percent) at the foul line.
Traczek paced Norwalk with 23 points and seven rebounds. Minor finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Evans was strong with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Sommers added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Coe added nine assists and five rebounds.
Norwalk is back in action at home in non-league play vs. South Central (12-3) on Saturday.
"I'm so proud of how hard they competed," Gray said. "Especially Ian, Parker and Daniel on the offensive boards ... everyone on defensive boards. I just thought it was a tremendous effort."
SANDUSKY (14-3, 9-0)
Patrick Brown 1-4—6; Daylen Green 8-6—22; Kye Scott 1-1—3; De'Mar Moore 2-2—6; Jarrie Alexander 9-6—25; Darrion Durham 1-1—3; Issiah Taylor 3-0—6. TOTALS 25-20—71.
NORWALK (8-9, 4-5)
Daniel Traczek 10-1—23; Ian Minor 5-8—17; Parker Evans 6-1—13; Caleb Sommers 4-1—12; Ashton Coe 1-0—2. TOTALS 26-6—67.
Sandusky 10 14 17 19 11 — 71
Norwalk 17 12 16 15 7 — 67
3-point FGs: (S) Green 3, Alexander; (N) Minor 4, Sommers 3, Traczek 2
JV: Sandusky, 60-55
