01-24-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
LOUISVILLE – In a contest that was defensively challenged and offensively inept where two teams combined to miss 78 shots, it took one offensive run by Sandoval to turn the game around in the Blackhawks favor.

Trailing 69-59 with 2:41 remaining in the contest, Coach Herb Williams' club changed the momentum around with a game-finishing 16-0 run to pull out a tough 75-69 win in front of a stunned crowd at North Clay on Tuesday night in a Midland Trail Conference matchup.

The catalyst for the Blackhawks, as he has been all season, was high scoring guard Warren Jones.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard blistered the Cardinals' defense for 47-points, which included 19-points in the final frame.

Senior guard Trevor Gore added 17-points to the total and none were more important than his 3-pointer from the right corner that began the final scoring blitz.

As his shot found the mark, Jones was checked hard out of the lane area by North Clay's Cole Smith.

The result was two free throws by Jones, who nailed both shots for a five-point swing.

This catapulted Sandoval into a scoring jaunt that improved the Blackhawks to 15-5 overall and 4-1 in the MTC.

Three-of-four free throws and a pair of baskets by Jones and Dillon Marcketti evened the game at 69-all.

Jones gave the Blackhawks the lead for good with a driving left handed lay up with :54 to go.

Two more free throws by Jones and another driving lay in after a Gore steal iced the game for Sandoval.

“I kept telling the kids you've got to gut it out. Our key to win this game is going to be defensively (late) and rebounding,” said Coach Williams. “We didn't do a good job rebounding and North Clay is one of the best rebounding clubs we've faced all year. We were able to sustain and never gave up.”

North Clay (6-11, 2-3 MTC) had chances to weather the storm but eight missed shots and four turnovers in the final eight minutes, which doomed the Cardinals.

The Cards had beaten Sandoval 81-78 in overtime on the road during last week's MTC Tournament but couldn't hold on to a double-digit fourth quarter lead.

“We didn't respond (Sandoval run) and we made some silly decisions out there at the end,” said North Clay head coach Brian Wattles. “And Jones is as good as there is going to be in this conference and in this area. When you give him and his teammates extra opportunities they are going to take advantage of it.”

North Clay was led by a trio of double-figure scorers on the night.

Quade Coble and Quin Bible topped the list with 16-points each while teammate Logan Hilderbrand added 15.

North Clay held a commanding 47-30 rebounding advantage with 22 of the boards on the offensive end.

However many of those second, third and fourth chances didn't result in points.

Subsequently, North Clay was just 25-of-70 overall from the floor (26.3 percent).

“We've had some tough adverse conditions the last three weeks but we are coming back out of it now,” added Coach Williams. “It (rebounding) is something we've got to work on, getting bodies on people.”

Those Blackhawks weren't a lot better in putting the ball in the basket, connecting on 25-of-58.

But the point differential on this night came from the foul line.

Behind Jones, who was 11-of-12 from the stripe, Sandoval hit on 22-of-28 while North Clay converted just 12-of-23.

All these numbers added up to a Blackhawks' win and a disappointing North Clay defeat.

“You just could feel the momentum shift there,” added Coach Wattles, talking about the five-point play. “It is one of those things we have to learn from. At times we have had trouble running sets, throughout the game there were times we did it well but at the end of this game we just didn't execute.”

In a game in which there were multiple offensive scoring runs, the Cardinals appeared to have salted the game away by taking command early in the final quarter.

Coble and teammate Nate Micklautz each converted early conventional three-point plays to trigger a rally to give North Clay the advantage.

An 11-2 run, sparked by a 3-pointer by Cody Yoho and two baskets each from Smith and Hilderbrand gave the Cards a 65-53 lead at the 4:09 mark.

Nevertheless, Jones put his team on his back and willed them to the victory.

A pair of steals for fast break points, including a one-handed dunk set up the Blackhawks to make one final scoring move.

North Clay will travel to Grayville on Friday night while Sandoval will host long-time rival Odin on the same night this week.

“We came out with some good pressure in the fourth quarter and our kids just gutted it out,” finalized Coach Williams. “They wanted this game badly. They know that they flubbed up a few games in the last three weeks so this was one that they wanted to take a step towards the second half of the season.”

Sandoval (75) – Marcketti 1 0 0-0 2, Gore 2 1 10-14 17, Jones 15 2 11-12 47, Wooters 2 0 0-0 4, Michael 0 0 1-2 1, Bosler 0 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Graham 2 0 0-0 4.
2FG-22, 3FG-3, FT-22-28, PF-19.
North Clay (69) – Smith 2 1 1-2 8, Micklautz 2 0 1-1 5, Coble 6 0 4-4 16, Bible 1 4 2-4 16, Yoho 0 2 0-0 6, Hilderbrand 6 0 3-10 15, McKnelly 1 0 1-2 3.
2FG-18, 3FG-7, FT-12-23, PF-18.
Fouled Out – Wooters, Sandoval.
Technical Fouls – None.