Boys basketball: Slow start sinks Sailors against Sandusky

VERMILION — Falling behind by 13 points in the first four minutes of a game is just not a good recipe for success. That sort of sluggish start doomed Vermilion in a 72-34 loss to Sandusky in Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division action Friday. "Early in the game, I think we missed three layups and three wide-open threes," Vermilion coach Kurt Habermehl said. "If you get off to a better start, maybe the kids will settle down a bit, but we just couldn't get them to settle down. "And when that happens, with the stress level that they put on you, you start throwing the ball everywhere and it turns into layups." The Blue Streaks (11-1, 7-1 SBC) had plenty of chances for layups after forcing the Sailors into 26 turnovers. "If we turn the ball over and if we can go back and play defense, I'm fine with that, but when we started throwing the ball around and they get layups, there's no defense for that," Habermehl said. "You can't win that battle and Sandusky does a great job with that. I watched two films of them and it's whether you can handle that because they come at you in waves. You think you're well off, and all of a sudden they put a 12-0 spurt on you and you're out of the game. "Give them a lot of credit. They did what they were supposed to do. That's what good teams do." The Sailors (5-9, 2-5) did a bit better in the second quarter, hitting 4 of 7 shots, including three threes from AJ Gerber, but Jason Henlon sparked the Streaks with seven of his 16 points in the first three minutes of the period. The sophomore also led Sandusky with six rebounds. Vermilion had another issue in the third quarter, committing 11 fouls and the Streaks went 14-of-19 from the line in the period. Sandusky was up 66-29 heading into the fourth quarter, which was played with a running clock. "Our goal was to come out and attack early, be aggressive and try not to let them play with any confidence," Sandusky coach DeMarr Moore said. "Defensively, I thought we were really solid." The Blue Streaks were 23-of-46 from the field and 21-of-29 from the line. De'Mar Moore led all scorers with 21 points, while Daylen Green chipped in 12 and Aa'zoriyan Bonner added eight. Sandusky also owned a 26-21 edge on the boards and forced 28 turnovers. "We came out, we played hard, we played together and we played with heart," Coach Moore said. "Defensively, I thought we could have been a little better, but we held them to 34 points, so I'm proud. We played well." Gerber led the Sailors with 13 points and Andrew Hendershot finished with nine points and a game-high seven rebounds. Vermilion was just 13-of-37 from the field and 3-of-7 from the line. Contact Dan Angelo at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Sandusky 72, Vermilion 34 SANDUSKY (72): Jason Henlon 6-3-16, De'Mar Moore 6-8-21, Daylen Green 4-2-12, Kobe Brown 2-2-6, Chayce Garr 1-3-6, Aa'zoriyon Bonner 3-1-7, Amir Aaron 0-1-1, Azarieon Arrington 1-0-3. Totals 23-20-72. VERMILION (34): Andrew Hendershot 4-0-9, Thomas Ngure 1-0-2, Jaden Borlaug 2-1-5, AJ Gerber 4-2-13, Riley Kearns 2-0-5. Totals 13-3-34. Sandusky&emsp;&emsp;18&emsp;&emsp;21&emsp;&emsp;27&emsp;&emsp;6&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;72Vermilion&emsp;&emsp; 2&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;5&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;34 Three-point goals: Sandusky (Henlon, Moore, Green 2, Garr, Arrington); Vermilion (Hendershot, Gerber 3, Kearns). Field goals: Sandusky 23-46 (50 percent); Vermilion 13-37 (35 percent). Free throws: Sandusky 21-29 (72 percent); Vermilion 3-7 (43 percent). Rebounds: Sandusky 26 (Henlon 6); Vermilion 21 (Hendershot 7). Turnovers: Sandusky 11; Vermilion 26. Totals fouls: Sandusky 9; Vermilion 20. Fouled out: Cam Logue.Junior varsity: Sandusky, 59-25