LEXINGTON, Ohio — Tyrell Ajian rode to the rescue during the fourth quarter Wednesday at Lexington.
Madison’s All-Ohio candidate scored 10 of his 11 points in the final 5:06 as the Rams rallied for a 56-49 win over Norwalk in the Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge at Lexington.
Saddled with foul trouble early, Ajian hit 4 of 5 field goal attempts in the fourth. His 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining gave the Rams (5-4) a 50-48 lead.
“When you got a guy like Tyrell Ajian who can hit shots like that, you’ve always got a shot,” Madison coach Tim Mergel said “So many times he’s had a big first half for us and kind of went away in the second half. I think he’s done an excellent job in the last four games. He’s been a four-quarter player.”
Streaks: Trailing 39-34 after three quarters, Norwalk (6-3) scored the first 12 points of the fourth to take a 46-39 lead. George Friend hit a pair of treys during the stretch.
“We tried to push a little more and George hit a couple of big shots,” Norwalk coach Steve Gray said. “We’re up and we’d given up nine points in two-and-a-half quarters and then they score 10 in about three minutes.”
The Rams answered Norwalk’s run with a game-closing 17-3 run over the final 5:06.
“I told our guys, ‘They made a run and this is going to show what kind of team we are,’ ” Mergel said. “Are we going to back down and cower or can we put some possessions together offensively and defensively?”
Teamwork: While Ajian had a big fourth quarter, Madison got contributions from several players. Billy Buckley led the way with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Jacob Koehler had 11 points and seven boards.
“It was a team effort,” Mergel said. “We’re starting to get the team concept. We need five guys on the floor who can produce.”
Friend led Norwalk with 13 points. Freshman point guard Brandon Haraway had 12 points and six assists, while Travis Craig had eight points and nine rebounds.
“Brandon Haraway was unbelievable tonight,” Gray said. “He’s going to be a good player before it’s all over.”
Statement: Madison came into the Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge with a 3-4 record. The Rams upset Ontario on Tuesday before rallying late against Norwalk for their second win in 24 hours.
“I told the guys (Tuesday) night after a good win against Ontario if we want to be considered a good team we’ve got to come back (Wednesday) and get the job done,” Mergel said. “I knew it was going to be tough. Norwalk likes to get in their kind of game.
“It showed a lot out of our kids. We didn’t get down. We continued to play each possession.”
