When Columbian public address announcer Joe Gilmer told the crowd at the end of the Willard-Columbian boys basketball game that the two schools would do it again due to technical difficulties, the Columbian faithful had to be pleased.
Maybe this time their Tornadoes wouldn't be so giving and Willard not so stingy.
But Gilmer wasn't speaking of the game but instead a redo of a combined halftime performance of the two districts' cheerleaders.
Their second effort went off without a hiccup.
Columbian's boys basketball team didn't get a do over, losing to Willard 55-46, in Northern Ohio League action.
The Tornadoes (1-4, 0-2 NOL) had 19 turnovers, including 12 Willard steals.
Fact Box
Willard 55, Columbian 46
Willard (5-2, 3-0): Matt Cok 2-4-9; Carson Ebert 2-3-8; Logan Blanchard 0-0-0; Nick Davidson 4-2-12; Bronson Owens 1-0-2; Corey Bohach 2-0-4; Jay Cok 4-2-10; Hayden Adams 4-1-10; Tristan Buss 0-0-0. Totals 19-12-55.
Columbian (1-4, 0-2): Alec Demith 3-0-7; Bryce Lonsway 6-0-14; Josh Flint 2-0-5; Connor Conley 0-0-0; Donovan Walker 1-0-3; Ryan Lynch 2-0-4; Derek Dryfuse 2-3-7; Cody Daniel 3-0-6. Totals 19-3-46.
Willard1618813 - 55
Columbian1116712 - 46
Field goals: Willard 19-41; Columbian 19-39.
Three-point goals: Willard 5-18 (M. Cok, Ebert, Davidson 2, Adams); Columbian 5-15 (Demith, Lonsway 2, Flint, Walker).
Free throws: Willard 12-19; Columbian 3-8.
Rebounds: Willard 23 (M. Cok 4, Davidson 4, Adams 4); Columbian 24 (Lonsway 5, Lynch 4).
Turnovers: Willard 11; Columbian 19.
"They never pressed and I think they trapped maybe two possessions, so 19 turnovers is way too many because they're unforced," Columbian coach Bill Beaston said. "It's just being too fast (and) a little out of control. We just have to settle down into the pace of the game and get used to the speed a little better."
The miscues turned into 28 points as the Crimson Flashes (5-2, 3-0) scored on 13 of those 19 extra possessions.
"We got our hands (out there) and got a lot of deflections," Willard coach Dave Hirschy said. "That's key. We work a lot of stuff in practice where we're trying to get deflections and we work a lot of disadvantage drills and hopefully some of that paid off tonight."
There was no disadvantage to Willard's scoring as the Crimson Flashes had a bevy of contributors, led by Nick Davidson's 14 points. Jay Cok scored 10 off the bench while starters Hayden Adams and Matt Cok scored 10 and nine, respectively. Carson Ebert added another eight.
"We've had that most of the year. We haven't had the bench production offensively like we had tonight but the balance has been there most of the year for us," Hirschy said.
Defensively, Columbian held Willard to 19 of 41 shooting, including a 5-of-18 effort from outside the arc.
"I thought our effort tonight was good. I thought we battled and did a lot of good things in terms of our energy, which is something we addressed this week," Beaston said. "We wanted to play zone because we thought that would limit (Adams') touches inside and make him more of a perimeter player. I think he had a couple of baskets but they shot a ton of threes and we were OK with that."
But it was when Willard wasn't being defended that it struggled the most, going 12 of 19 from the line, including 7 of 13 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter when Columbian was mounting a furious comeback.
"I put the guys at the line that I wanted. They're good free throw shooters, they really are," Hirschy said. "We'll get it worked out. It's one of those things. The more you harp on it, the more it becomes an issue from the neck up and I don't want that."
An eight-point lead by Willard heading into the final quarter quickly morphed into 15 (49-34) a little more than a minute and a half in as the Crimson Flashes scored seven straight to open the quarter.
But Columbian wasn't ready to go away, using a 12-3 surge to make a two-possession game, 52-46, with 1:55 to go. But a turnover and three misfires allowed Willard to salt the game away at the line.
Bryce Lonsway had 14 points and Derek Dryfuse and Alec Demith each added seven in limited action.
"We're struggling to score right now. We're still growing up a little bit," Beaston said. "I think once we start putting the ball in the hole, we'll be pretty solid."
