Big fourth quarter lifts Sandusky

SANDUSKY — Sandusky's calling card for years has been defense that leads to offense. Take the fourth quarter Thursday, for example. The Blue Streaks went on a late 17-2 run to erase a six-point deficit and turn back Clyde 60-51 in a must-win Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game. "When we play defense, that's the kind of things that can happen for us," Sandusky coach DeMar Moore said. "That's what we've hung our hat on and we haven't been there to this point. We'll keep plugging away and hopefully we'll get this thing figured out." Neither team shot the ball well in a physical division game. Clyde took a 45-39 lead seconds into the fourth quarter on JeCori Roberts' baseline drive. After that, it was all Sandusky (6-5, 3-1 SBC Lake). Turnovers led to easy baskets and Dale Johnson scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter. Johnson's 3-pointer gave Sandusky the lead for good at 46-45. Seconds later, a steal by Ta'Verieon Myers and a dish to Johnson for a lay-in made it 48-45. Clyde got within 48-47 on a Chase Castle basket — the Fliers' only points in 6 1/2 minutes — before another Johnson 3, another Myers steal and an Ahmaj Woolfork basket. Sandusky outscored the Fliers 21-8 in the fourth quarter and didn't commit a turnover. "Ball pressure. Our defense was more aggressive," said Johnson of the key to the comeback. "We forced them to turn the ball over and made them tired. We practice with a lot of running. We figured we could tire them out, play our game and finish strong." Clyde (4-5, 1-3) led the entire first half and was up 24-17 on a Karcen Garner 3 with 1:32 left in the second quarter. Sandusky took its first lead at 37-36 on Daishun Brown's 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:37 to go in the third. The Fliers responded with two Roberts buckets and a fast-break layup by Oscar Webb before things turned in the last eight minutes. Clyde was limited to three field goals while settling for long jump shots in the final eight minutes. "We played great defensively," Clyde coach Jared Shetzer said. "We had some breakdowns in the fourth quarter. It was 4-0 in fouls in our favor and instead of getting to the basket and shooting some free throws, we settled. We took a lot of shots that took us out of the game and gave them easy runouts, which is their bread and butter. "We allowed them to do that. Credit them for being able to do it, but we've gotta understand the situation better and take better shots. If we do that, we're probably coming out of here with a win." Sandusky was outrebounded in the first quarter, but had a 50-35 edge on the boards through four quarters. Streaks 6-foot-6 senior Anthony Redding led the way with 14 rebounds and Johnson added 10. "We haven't been rebounding as well this season so we focused on that during practice," Johnson said. "I'm happy we outrebounded them." Woolfork scored 13 points for Sandusky, which shot 36 percent from the field. "We know we can't lose anymore conference games if we want to win it," Johnson said. "We know every game is big us. We look forward to closing out the conference and winning out." Roberts led Clyde with 11 points. Webb and Aric Kauble each had nine points. Kauble scored all of his points on three 3-pointers in the third quarter. The Fliers shot just 34 percent from the field for the game. "The turnovers and bad shots definitely hurt us," Shetzer said. "In a tight game against a good team, you can't do those things. We'll learn. We've got some young guys. It happens. That's basketball." It was Sandusky's eighth straight win against Clyde. The Streaks have won four of their last five overall. "I keep saying we're very inexperienced so every game is a lesson for us, win or lose," Moore said. "We did a good job of battling through some adversity. We struggled to put the ball in the hole early and they were getting anything they wanted. The second half we did a really good job of defending, moving the ball and getting some good looks." Sandusky hosts Ashland on Saturday afternoon while Clyde visits Tiffin Calvert. CLYDE (4-5, 1-3) Oscar Webb 4 0-0 9, Aric Kauble 3 0-0 9, Michael Scruggs 2 2-2 6, JeCori Roberts 4 3-4 11, Chase Castle 4 0-0 8, Karcen Garner 2 0-0 6, Kaidence Cooksey 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 20 5-6 51 SANDUSKY (6-5, 3-1) Anthony Redding 2 0-2 4, Dale Johnson 9 3-4 24, Ahmaj Woolfork 6 1-2 13, Camrion Jones 2 2-2 6, Kymirr Hunter 1 1-4 3, Ta'Verieon Myers 2 0-0 5, Daishun Brown 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 24 7-14 60 Clyde 11 13 19 8 — 51 Sandusky 9 13 17 21 — 60 Three-point goals: Clyde 6 (Kauble 3, Garner 2, Webb); Sandusky 5 (Johnson 3, Myers, Brown)