Truckers tip off week of tournament hoops

Norwalk's girls will tip off a big week of tournament basketball involving area teams when the Truckers take the court Tuesday night at Mansfield Senior High School. Nobody can say the Truckers didn't earn the program's second-ever trip to the regional. Norwalk was the top seed in the Ashland District and took a first-round bye. To get to this week, the Truckers had to beat third-seeded Mansfield Senior, fourth-seeded Shelby and fifth-seeded Perkins. The Truckers (22-3) have matched the program record for most wins in a season, and face Toledo Rogers (15-10) at 8 p.m. Tuesday in a regional semifinal. Way in the rear view is a stingy loss to Bellevue a couple weeks ago that cost Norwalk an SBC Lake Division championship. "It's night and day obviously," Norwalk coach Brock Manlet said of the end of the regular season to this past weekend. "We were heartbroken that night, but these kids got back to work, fixed some things we needed to fix, and beat some really good teams to get to this point. "It showed the character and determination of this team. That's why we're having the season we are. You don't have a year like this without great kids — and that's what we have." Nine days after the loss to Bellevue, the Truckers had to face Mansfield Senior, an 18-win team that won the Ohio Cardinal Conference title for the first time in its history. And with six minutes left, the Truckers were staring down a 48-36 deficit. "I think once we got down 12, it clicked that this was it," senior starter Summer Moehlman said. "That flipped the switch. We love each other so much that we didn't want this to end. "(Losing to Bellevue), that just lit a fire under us," she added. "It honestly made us want this even more. To see it come to reality is just amazing." Following the stunning 55-50 comeback win over the Tygers, up next was No. 4 seed and Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference champion Shelby — a 19-win team that was also the defending district champions. In a game that went back-and-forth, the Truckers also led for a good majority of an eventual 50-47 win as Brooklyn Davis finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. On Saturday, the Truckers didn't get their third shot at Bellevue, which went down by a 23-19 score in the district semifinals to the Pirates. In a rematch of two regular season games — won 35-32 and 51-41 by Norwalk — the result mostly was never in question. "We didn't look at how good everyone was," senior starter Kylie Moser said. "We just played to our level and didn't worry about anything else — just our level." Now it's on to Rogers, which is 15-10 but has done plenty of damage in the postseason. The Rams were the No. 2 seed at the Anthony Wayne District, seeded behind a 20-4 Toledo Central Catholic team that was removed from the tournament last week for a third recruiting violation. Rogers topped Napoleon in the district title game, 48-41. The Rams are led by 5-foot-5 junior guard Breayah Jefferson. She averaged 20.8 points and 2.9 steals during the regular season and was a first team Toledo City League and OHSBCA District 7 selection. Rogers won four regional titles in six years from 2014-19, winning the Division II state championship in 2018 and 2019; and finished runner-up in 2015. The 6 p.m. game on Tuesday at Mansfield features Bryan (23-2) taking on Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (20-4). The two winners from Tuesday will return at 7 p.m. Friday in the regional championship with a spot in the state semifinals on the line. Also Tuesday, Fremont Ross (22-3) faces Olmsted Falls (21-3) in a Division I regional semifinal at 6 p.m. at Sandusky High School. Firelands Conference boys teams St. Paul and Monroeville also play Tuesday in Division IV district play. The Flyers (11-13) face top-seeded Colonel Crawford (16-7) in the 6 p.m. game at Willard while Monroeville (15-9) draws second-seeded Lucas (20-4) in the late game. The district championship game is at 6 p.m. Friday at Willard. Wednesday The calendar turns to March on Wednesday and two SBC Bay Division boys teams are playing in Division III district semifinals in Norwalk. Third-seeded Huron (16-6) faces second-seeded Crestview (21-2) in the 6 p.m. game. The Tigers were not challenged during sectional play, posting easy wins over outmatched Lake and Northwood. Crestview, the Firelands Conference champion, took a bye and got past Genoa 58-53 in a sectional final. Crestview, located near Ashland, did not play any SBC teams in the regular season. The Cougars did defeat Mansfield Madison in double overtime. Justice Thompson (15.8 points per game) and Heath Kash (12.6) lead the Cougars in scoring. Crestview has won five straight, last losing 65-62 in overtime at Ontario on Jan. 31. Fifth-seeded Margaretta (14-9) faces a daunting task in the 7:45 p.m. game. The Polar Bears will line up against top-seeded Cardinal Stritch (20-3). Margaretta took a bye and handled Western Reserve 56-42 in a sectional final. Thursday Sandusky's boys look to keep their magical season rolling when they face Mansfield Senior at 6 p.m. Thursday in a Division II district semifinal in Ashland High School. The top-seeded Blue Streaks are 22-1 and have won 18 straight games. Sandusky is coming off a 67-60 win over Perkins in a sectional final. De'Mar Moore led the Streaks with 22 points. Sandusky defeated Mansfield 79-74 on the road Feb. 4. The fifth-seeded Tygers knocked off Bellevue 64-59 in a sectional final. Kyevi Roane, a 6-1 sophomore, averages 13.7 ppg and is the only Mansfield player scoring in double figures. Second-seeded Shelby and third-seeded Lexington face off in the nightcap. Lex won 66-59 at Shelby on Feb. 14. The district final is 4 p.m. Saturday at Ashland. Port Clinton's boys take on top-seeded Toledo Central Catholic in a D-II district semifinal at Lake High School. The Redskins are coming off a 67-62 double-overtime win over Toledo Scott in a sectional final. The Redskins fell to TCC 50-29 in a district semi last year. The Fighting Irish went on to defeat Tiffin Columbian in the district final. Margaretta's girls play in their fourth Division III regional in five years on Thursday. The Bears take on Harvest Prep at 6 p.m. at the Elida Fieldhouse. As usual, the Bears draw a tough Columbus-area power in the Sweet 16. Harvest Prep, from Canal Winchester, is 21-5 and upset defending state champion and top-ranked Worthington Christian, 43-42, in a district final. The Warriors finished second to Berne Union in the Mid-States Cardinal Conference. Berne was upset by Mt. Gilead in sectional play. Harvest Prep is led by freshman guard Maliyah Lofton, who averages 12.7 ppg. Carmyn Woods is a 6-foot-1 post who dominates the glass. Margaretta has played lock-down defense so far in the tournament, holding four opponents to 17, 23, 25 and 24 points. Ottawa-Glandorf (22-3) takes on Liberty Center (22-3) in the late game. The winners make the long trip back to Elida for a regional final at 7 p.m. Saturday. GIRLS REGIONALS Division I Region 1 Solon (22-4) vs. Canton McKinley (22-4) at Medina High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Grafton Midview (21-4) vs. Akron Archbishop Hoban (16-9) at Medina High School, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Medina High School, Saturday, 7 p.m. Region 2 Fremont Ross (22-3) vs. Olmsted Falls (21-3) at Sandusky High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Rocky River Magnificat (20-5) vs. Holland Springfield (19-6) at Sandusky High School, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Sandusky High School, Saturday, 1 p.m. Region 3 Marysville (24-2) vs. Westerville South (24-2) at Westerville North High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Pickerington Central (22-4) vs. Dublin Coffman (20-5) at Westerville North High School, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. Regional Final: at Westerville North High School, Friday, 7 p.m. Region 4 Cincinnati Princeton (24-2) vs. Mason (25-1) at Lakota West High School, Tuesday, 7 p.m. Kings Mills Kings (21-5) vs. Liberty Township Lakota East (22-3) at Lakota West High School, Wednesday, 7 p.m. Regional Final: at Lakota West High School, Saturday, 7 p.m. Division II Region 5 Alliance Marlington (24-2) vs. Canfield (24-1) at Barberton High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Canal Fulton Northwest (24-2) vs. Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (23-2) at Barberton High School, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Barberton High School, Friday, 7 p.m. Region 6 Bryan (23-2) vs. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (20-4) at Mansfield Senior High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Norwalk (22-2) vs. Toledo Rogers (14-10) at Mansfield Senior High School, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Mansfield Senior High School, Friday, 7 p.m. Region 7 Chillicothe Unioto (25-0) vs. Proctorville Fairland (25-0) at Zanesville High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Granville (24-2) vs. New Concord John Glenn (19-8) at Zanesville High School, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Zanesville High School, Friday, 7 p.m. Region 8 Kettering Archbishop Alter (23-3) vs. Hamilton Badin (23-2) at Springfield High School, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Cincinnati Purcell Marian (23-2) vs. Bexley (23-3) at Springfield High School, Tuesday, 6 p.m. Regional Final: at Springfield High School, Friday, 7 p.m. Division III Region 9 Doylestown Chippewa (22-4) vs. Warrensville Heights (22-2) at Cuyahoga Falls High School, Wednesday, 6 p.m. Shaker Heights Laurel (17-6) vs. Garrettsville Garfield (23-2) at Cuyahoga Falls High School, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Cuyahoga Falls High School, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Region 10 Canal Winchester Harvest Prep (21-5) vs. Margaretta (20-6) at Elida High School, Thursday, 6 p.m. Ottawa-Glandorf (22-3) vs. Liberty Center (22-3) at Elida High School, Thursday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Elida High School, Saturday, 7 p.m. Region 11 Belmont Union Local (25-1) vs. Wheelersburg (23-2) at Logan High School, Wednesday, 6 p.m. Seaman North Adams (25-0) vs. Portsmouth West (24-1) at Logan High School, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Logan High School, Friday, 7 p.m. Region 12 Columbus Africentric (20-4) vs. Cincinnati Country Day (21-5) at Springfield High School, Wednesday, 6 p.m. Versailles (16-10) vs. Sabina East Clinton (24-2) at Springfield High School, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Springfield High School, Saturday, 1 p.m. Division IV Region 13 New Middletown Springfield (22-3) vs. Dalton (12-14) at Massillon Perry High School, Thursday, 6 p.m. Berlin Center Western Reserve (18-8) vs. New Washington Buckeye Central (22-3) at Massillon Perry High School, Thursday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Massillon Perry High School, Saturday, 7 p.m. Region 14 Toledo Christian (20-4) vs. Convoy Crestview (21-4) at Elida High School, Wednesday, 6 p.m. Columbus Grove (17-8) vs. Bascom Hopewell-Loudon (19-7) at Elida High School, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Elida High School, Saturday, 1 p.m. Region 15 Berlin Hiland (20-6) vs. Crown City South Gallia (22-3) at Pickerington North High School, Thursday, 6 p.m. Lancaster Fisher Catholic (21-5) vs. Portsmouth Notre Dame (23-2) at Pickerington North High School, Thursday, 8 p.m. Regional Final: at Pickerington North High School, Saturday, 7 p.m. Region 16 Fort Loramie (24-2) vs. Russia (22-4) at Vandalia Butler High School, Thursday, 8 p.m. Maria Stein Marion Local (22-4) vs. New Madison Tri-Village (26-0) at Vandalia Butler High School, Thursday, 6 p.m. Regional Final: at Vandalia Butler High School, Saturday, 1 p.m.