Tue Feb 09 2010
By BRUCE HEFFLINGER
A two-week layoff is reason for concern. There was no need to be worried. After all, good defense can carry a team a long way.
It did on Saturday night as Defiance knocked off Wauseon 50-35 for its third straight victory.
"I didn't know how the kids would respond," DHS coach Kirk Lehman said of his team playing 14 days after its last contest due to a pair of cancellations. "Early on we were sluggish and they did some things to shut us down. Thank goodness for Alex Nofziger. He gave us a spark offensively and defensively."
The junior point guard scored nine first-half points helping counter nine points by Wauseon 6-2 big man Tyler Hinkle in a half that ended at 18-18.
"I know I need to penetrate and be more of an offensive threat," Nofziger said after scoring a career-high 13 points.
But it was his play on defense that helped turn the tide in the second half. Leading just 27-24, Nofziger canned a 16-foot jumper to ignite a 12-1 DHS run. The advantage was 34-25 early in the fourth quarter when Nofziger recorded three steals in a span of five Wauseon possessions.
"I'm trying to anticipate and put pressure on a little more," noted Nofziger. "I just play as hard as I can. Coach will give me a break when I need one."
A pass from Ron Beverly to Curtis Parsons for a layup on a nice cut to the basket closed out the big Defiance run that was finally snapped on a reverse layup by Hinkle.
By then the Bulldogs had a 39-27 lead with four minutes to go.
"Curtis Parsons gave us some great things in the fourth quarter," Lehman noted. "He challenged shots, he blocked shots (two) and he had a great layup on a pass from Ron Beverly that helped extend our lead."
After Craig Gutman made two foul shots, Josh Dominique hit a 3-ball for Wauseon, just the third perimeter basket of the game for the Indians. But a three-point play at the 2:37 mark by Alex Keel put the Bulldogs up 44-30, all but sewing up their fifth win in eight games.
"It was like we were beginning the season all over again," Gutman said of the long layoff. "We started slow and were a little rusty but we played good defense and our offense got going in the second half."
Keel, who came in averaging 17.9 points per game, was limited to just two first-half points by the Wauseon defense before catching fire after the break.
"That's what we're going to see," Lehman said of team's defense focusing on the 6-6 senior center. "They scouted us well and had a great game plan going in. They knew where Alex was at all times.
"That made it even bigger Alex (Nofziger) stepping up and knocking down some shots."
Keel, who was limited to just three shots in the first half, came on strong with 11 points in the final two quarters to tie Nofziger for team-high honors with 13.
"They played really good defense on me in the first half," Keel said. "In the second half my teammates did a nice job of getting me the ball."
But it was the defense of the Bulldogs that was the difference in this one.
"Their length disrupted us tonight," explained Wauseon coach Chad Burt. "We let that affect our defensive effort. It seemed to zap our energy. That's not the way we normally play.
"I thought going in our game was quickness and their game was size. But they were quicker in every phase of the game."
Nobody more so than Nofziger, who finished with six steals.
"The guy who was critical for them was Nofziger," pointed out Burt. "He attacked the basket and he handled the pressure. He just played a great game."
Hinkle had 17 points for the Indians, which dropped to 6-3 on the campaign.
"I thought our defense was excellent on Hinkle the second half," Lehman said. "He's an unorthodox looking player but he gets the job done. He's a determined player.
"But tonight they didn't hit the jump shot. We adjusted on the fly and that's a credit to the kids."
Defiance evened its record at 4-4 with a 49-42 win in the junior varsity game. Max Peter scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs while freshman Alex Woten had 17 points for Wauseon.
Defiance is back in action on Friday at home with Van Wert.
BOX SCORE
WAUSEON (35) - Dominique 7; Thompson 6; Brock 0; Humbert 2; Hinkle 17; Douglass 3; Hunter 0. Totals 13-41 7-13 35.
DEFIANCE (50) - T. Keel 4; Nofziger 13; A. Keel 13; Gutman 7; Hammersmith 5; Beverly 2; Parsons 2; Stapleton 4; Spitnale 0; Kime 0; Burkhart 0; Peter 0. Totals 20-39 9-16 50.
Three-point goals: Wauseon - Douglass, Dominique. Defiance - Gutman. Rebounds: Wauseon 26 (Hinkle 8), Defiance 27 (A. Keel 5, Gutman 5, Beverly 5). Turnovers: Wauseon 10, Defiance 6.
Wauseon 8 10 7 10 - 35
Defiance 9 9 16 16 - 50
Reserves: Defiance, 49-42.
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