Sandusky cruises past Woodward, 96-63

SANDUSKY — Sandusky didn't show up in the first quarter, but the Blue Streaks more than made up for their tardiness. The Streaks trailed the entire first period before scoring 35 points in the second while rolling to a 96-63 Division III tournament blowout of Toledo Woodward on Wednesday at the Big House. Sandusky, a No. 4 seed in an 11-team district, made 25 field goals in the middle two quarters to cruise past Woodward in a first round matchup. "We started off really slow for whatever reason," Sandusky coach DeMar Moore said. "We struggled, but we settled in and started playing the right way, sharing the ball and rebounding. "We wanted to get the ball inside early to establish our post presence, but for whatever reason we couldn't do it. We stood around the perimeter and shot a bunch of jump shots and that slowed us down quite a bit. Once we got into the flow we did a good job of getting into the paint and finding open shooters." Sandusky wanted to go inside because Woodward (5-15) had just one player on its roster taller than 6 feet. That height discrepancy led to a 46-25 rebounding edge for the Streaks, who won their sixth straight game to improve to 15-7. Dale Johnson, a 6-6 senior, finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds in his final home game. "It's bittersweet, but I'm glad I got to enjoy the last game with my guys," Johnson said. "My mindset before the game was to be aggressive. I was focused on grabbing rebounds and doing what we needed to do to win." Johnson missed his first five shots from the field before making nine of his last 11. "Dale was the man," Moore said. "He proved why he's first team all-district, first team All-SBC. He just dominated." As a team, Sandusky made only two of 17 attempts from the field in a perplexing first quarter and trailed 16-12 after eight minutes. The Streaks committed seven turnovers in the opening period. Junior guard Camrion Jones jump-started Sandusky in the second, scoring 18 points as the Streaks built a 47-27 halftime lead. "We always tell Cam, 'shoot, shoot, shoot.' His confidence was up and down at the start of the season," Johnson said. "We just make sure he's feeling good about himself because we need him down the stretch." Jones, who finished with a game-high 29 points, led a layup line in the second quarter. The Streaks forced 11 Woodward turnovers in the period, which led to many easy baskets. The Polar Bears finished with 26 giveaways. "When we can put pressure on ball handlers and get them sped up, we're usually pretty good," Moore said. 'We sped them up quite a bit and they threw the ball away." Senior center Kymirr Hunter added 11 points and six rebounds for Sandusky. Sandusky — which made its first 13 free throws — took its first lead at 19-18 early in the second quarter when Jones hit a 3-pointer after a Woodward turnover. A 15-0 run built the lead to 45-24 late in the first half. "Our focus came back and we finished out the game," Johnson said. The Streaks' lead hit 30 points (63-33) on a Johnson cutback midway through the third quarter. Seconds later, Johnson took a couple dribbles and elevated for a one-handed dunk. Sandusky's starters rested in the fourth quarter, but the reserves scored 22 points in the last period and made a serious run at 100 points. Ten Streaks dented the scoring column. "Any time you get that many guys in the scoring column, it's a good night," Moore said. Next up for Sandusky is a serious test Friday night at second-seeded Oregon Clay. The Eagles are 16-6 and handed Perkins one of its two losses. "It's a great test for us," Moore said. "Clay's a really good team; they beat Perkins in overtime not too long ago. We'll go out and give it our best shot." WOODWARD (5-15) Ramell Bell 6 1-2 13, Zion King 4 2-2 10, Jayden Davis 3 3-4 9, Davieair Watson 5 0-0 13, Michael Fizer 2 0-1 4, Daleon Wiley 4 2-3 10, Josh Phillips 1 0-3 2, Rashad Sisson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 26 8-15 63 SANDUSKY (15-7) Anthony Redding 2 0-0 4, Dale Johnson 9 5-5 24, Ahmaj Woolfork 2 0-2 4, Camrion Jones 11 4-4 29, Kymirr Hunter 3 5-6 11, Ta'Verieon Myers 3 1-4 7, Daishun Brown 1 2-4 5, Raymond Peake 1 0-0 3, Dereon Scott 1 0-0 3, Louis Johnson 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 36 17-25 96 Woodward 16 11 16 20 — 63 Sandusky 12 35 27 22 — 96 Three-point goals: Woodward 3 (Watson 3); Sandusky 7 (Jones 3, Johnson, Brown, Peake, Scott)