By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Calhoun lost another close game Tuesday night, falling to Clarksburg Notre Dame 58-54 when a Fighting Irish rally worked and a Red Devil rally came too late.
The Red Devils jumped all over the 8-2 Irish in the first quarter and pushed the lead out to double digits before Notre Dame finally started hitting from the outside.
Calhoun went with a tight 1-3-1 defense to stymie the Irish's 6-8 Caesar Goodman and did a good job of it. And, with the Irish being reticent to take the outside shot and not being too accurate when they did Calhoun streaked away early and were still on top 23-18 at halftime. This lead came with two Red Devil starters - Zach Moore and Kyle Keesler - on the bench.
But the second half was a bit of a different story as the Irish finally figured out a way to attack the Red Devils' rugged 1-3-1 zone.
Notre Dame was able to work Nolan Tucci and Jordan Fury into the void created along the baseline caused by the Red Devils crunching in on Goodman. They responded. Fury canned a pair of three-point shots while Tucci added a three and a two. The result was an 18-8 Notre Dame advantage and a 36-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Notre Dame then pushed the lead out to 10 early in the third quarter.
The Red Devils did not lie down and roll over, however, and with 3.5 seconds remaining had closed the gap to three, 57-54.
Tucker Abruzzino was fouled and made the first of two free throws to put the game out of reach. Overall Notre Dame made eight of 14 fourth quarter free throws.
Calhoun's fourth quarter rally was led by Justin Gerwig who scored nine of his game high 18 points in the period. He did this by going straight at the 6-8 Goodman. Chucky Kendall had six points in the period on a pair of three-point goals that quickly cut the lead. Keesler and Daniel Sims also had three point shots in the period.
Kendall backed Gerwig's 18 with a 14-point effort. Keesler added 10 and Moore had a season-low nine to go along with his 14 rebounds, five steals and two assists. Sims, with three, was the only other Red Devil to score although Bronson Clark, Anthony Richards, Cai Clothier and Tyler Bennett all played some strong defense.
Goodman led Notre Dame with 13 points and six rebounds. Tucci added 12 and Fury 10 for the Irish.
There was no junior varsity game.
Calhoun, now 3-6, will attempt to get back on the winning track tonight when they travel to Gilmer County for a doubleheader.
| 
