12/20/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY – It wasn't the kind of start that Coach Josh Zink wanted on Friday night in the final game of pool play of the 70th annual Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament.

But the ending was just fine.

Coach Zink's North Clay Cardinals got everything straightened out in the second half, as they pulled away from the host Indians, 72-53 to advance to Saturday's championship game.

The Cardinals started out defensively by giving up a bunch of easy points to the host team, missed a boat load of early shot attempts and turned the ball over far more times than Coach Zink would like.

However from the time the third quarter started to the final buzzer, North Clay made the plays and shored up their first half offensive and defensive deficiencies.

North Clay finished pool play at 4-0 with the victory and will take on Edwards County in the title tilt.

The Lions also took care of their business in pool play as both teams ended up 4-0.

North Clay got double-digit scoring from three starters.

Six-five junior Carder Walden led the Cardinals with 23-points, which included five of the teams' eight made 3-point shots.

Junior forward Mason Byers added 21-points while junior guard Cody Zimdars added 19.

Zimdars hit a pair of back-breaking 3-pointers during a third quarter run that helped make winners out of the Cardinals, who now sit at 9-2 on the season.

“If he (Zimdars) makes one (3-pointer) then he gets a feel for it and then the next thing you know a lot of them are going in,” said Coach Zink about his slow start. “A lot of guys shot well in the second half for us. Carder Walden really played well tonight. At 6-5 you don't expect him to shoot a lot of threes but he has a really beautiful shot at times. Having a couple of guys that can really put it up there is a really good option for us.”

The host Indians played a pretty good first half for Coach Jake Talbert but the wheels fell off in the third quarter as they surrendered a 10-0 run by North Clay and could get no closer than five-points the rest of the game.

The Tribe fell into the third place game with a 2-2 mark in pool play and will face rival Webber Township.

“I'm proud of the way the guys played but they (North Clay) got hot in the third quarter,” said Coach Talbert. “I'm proud of the effort and proud of our bench who stepped up in the first half when we got into foul trouble. They gave us good minutes and energy.”

Wayne City was led in scoring by junior guard Jax Scarbrough who scored 17-points.

Junior James Walker added 11 for WC but no one else had more than nine-points, the total from sophomore Landis Musgrave.

All three of the players scored early as Wayne City took their biggest lead against a frustrated North Clay.

The beginning for Wayne City was just like the game plan; get to the basket.

Coach Talbert's club scored four times in the first quarter on direct drives to the basket against the North Clay 1-3-1 zone trap.

They were also successful from the outside.

Scarbrough nailed down five 3-point shots in the contest with two of the bombs exploding in the first four minutes of the game from the left corner.

Musgrave scored on a pair of times at the goal, once from the baseline and then on a fast break lay in off of one of the Cardinals' six first quarter turnovers for an early 10-6 advantage.

The biggest lead for WC came from the second Scarbrough trey as the Indians were up 16-9.

North Clay made its first scoring move, an 11-2 run, to close out the opening stanza on top 20-18.

Seven of the points came consecutively by Walden, on a 3-pointers, a steal and fast break lay in and a baseline jumper to give the Cardinals the lead at the horn.

Wayne City kept things close in the second quarter with another 3-pointer from Scarbrough and one from Walker.

A back door lay in by senior Jacob Thomason, who scored twice in the frame, helped keep the Indians close before halftime.

Zimdars hit his first of three 3-point shots before the break as the teams went to intermission with North Clay clinging to a 36-34 lead.

“We weren't getting to the right spots on the backside of our zone, especially in the second quarter,” said Coach Zink. “We were just kind of jogging to get to that point instead of sprinting to be able to anticipate the shooters in the corner. In the second half we made that adjustment and it was much better.”

(CONTINUED)

It didn't take Coach Zink's club very long to flip the script when the second half began.

Zimdars hit another 3-pointer to opened the half before a score by Byers and a 3-pointer from Walden got the Cardinals in gear.

A conventional three-point play by Byers was followed by the second trifecta in the quarter by Walden.

Zimdars final 3-pointer of the night pushed North Clay to a 59-41 lead with under a minute left in the third period.

“We got some transition points in the second half and that is our style, up and down the court,” said Coach Zink. “We like to push the ball a lot. We didn't do that in the first half but it was a point of emphasis in the second half.”

Scarbrough connected on yet another 3-pointer to end the third with the Indians down 15 heading to the fourth.

Wayne City was just 3-of-12 with seven turnovers in the third quarter, which led to their demise.

North Clay put the game away in the final quarter by spreading the floor and getting to the basket for some easy buckets.

Walden added another inside score on a rebound put back and then his final 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 6:12 left pushed the lead to 64-46.

Sophomore Lucas Griffy, Zimdars and Byers each scored on back door cuts to the basket before the coaches' emptied the benches in the final minute.

“Eventually he (Zimdars) is a good enough player that he's going to catch fire and he did in the second half,” said Coach Talbert. “He and Walden caught fire and they're a hard duo to stop.”

The biggest factor statistically for the Cardinals' win was the glass.

North Clay held a dominating 37-19 edge in rebounding, which included 20-offensive boards.

“Giving up all of the offensive boards really hurt. That was probably our biggest thing tonight. They got a lot of second chance points,” said Coach Talbert. “Whether it was a three or a put-back.”

“I'm really proud about our offensive rebounding. We've worked hard on that. I always tell the kids that 'you have free points waiting for you' if you just go to the boards as hard as you can,” said Coach Zink. “I think that also wears teams down in the second half.”

Of Wayne City's 18-turnovers, 11 came in the second half.

After six early miscues, North Clay finished with just 11-turnovers; three in the final two quarters.

The hosts shot the ball well enough (23-of-50 overall, 7-of-20 from the arc) but the mistakes handling the ball sent them to the third place game.

The Cardinals finished up 29-of-64 overall, 8-of-18 from the 3-point line.

Edwards County, the team that North Clay will face on Saturday, will play in its second Wayne City Holiday Tournament championship game in the programs' history at the event.

Coach Kevin Schnicker has his team playing well, entering the title game at 9-3 overall.

The Cardinals are trying to win their third title at the Conrad Allen in five seasons since returning to the event after a long hiatus.

North Clay (Louisville) won two other titles in both 1978 and again in 1980.

“This will be the third (championship game at WC) in five years for us,” said Coach Zink. “We've come a long way since we came back to this tournament. We hope the kids 'gut it out' and leave it out on the floor tomorrow night. We're playing a really good Edwards County team. This is a great tournament. Not too many things last 70-years. There are a lot of people in this community committed to this tournament and it is a pleasure playing in it.”

“I love it (the tournament) and I'm biased. I love the history of it. It's something that's in our culture here,” said Coach Talbert, who played in the event for Wayne City. “It was great to see a great crowd today for a big game, a semifinal basically. It will be a relief when it is over but I will also miss it until next year.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Before the first game on Friday night, Wayne City High School recognized long-time sports official Bobby Blondi.

Bobby, his father Robert Blondi, and his son Robbie Blondi, are three generations of officials from the family who worked the Wayne City Holiday Tournament.

Robert, Sr. worked the first Conrad Allen tournament back in 1954.

Coach Jon Brown's club will face Grayville at 4 pm.

The Trojans (9-3) were topped in scoring by senior guard Carter Watts with 15-points.

Cameron Dawes, a senior guard, added 12-points and senior Rylan Brotherton pitched in 10.
Crab Orchard broke things open with a 27-7 third quarter to make it 52-24 heading into the fourth.

Senior Cameron Clark (nine) and freshman Fisher Watts (eight) added points to the total along with four-points from freshman Gavin Shaw.

Cisne saw its mark fall to 4-7 on the season for head coach Kevin Bowen.

The Lions were led by senior Kaden Dagg with 10-points and sophomore Will Cain with eight.

Cisne suffered a huge blow to the club when guard Cooper Bowen was hurt in a game early this week against Wayne City.

The senior guard tore an ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.