Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

Forget Ford tough. The Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans found out that the St. Joseph Flyers can be a tough opponent.
The favored Titans had to rally in the final minutes of the game to escape the Flyers’ upset bid as they got a 40-36 win on Tuesday.
“The kids busted their guts. We knew it would be a tough, physical game. We took things away they wanted to do,” said Flyers’ coach Rex Cooksey.
“Turnovers hurt us at the end. But I’m proud of my kids. We just came up a little short. The kids showed some toughness. You never like to lose, but I think this will make us a better team.”
The Flyers had six turnovers in the first half but 11 in the second half.
Chase Walters had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists to lead the Flyers (9-10).
Isaac Whaley added nine points, three assists and two steals while Zac McGraw had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Notre Dame was led by Sam Kayser and Trevon Turner with 10 points each. Grant Sparks added nine points.
The Titans were only 9-of-22 at the foul line but the Flyers attempted just one free throw.
Clay Willis, Peyton Adkins, Tre Neal and Whaley all hit 3-pointers and six different players scored as St. Joseph took a 16-9 first quarter lead. Sparks had seven points for the Titans.
Whaley and Walters scored four points each in the second quarter while Turner got five for Notre Dame and it was 24-16 at the half.
After shooting 50 percent in the first half, the Flyers could only manage a trifecta by Zach Roach in the third quarter as the Titans cut the deficit to 27-25.
Walters scored four points in the fourth quarter, but Kayser scored eight points including a 3-pointer that gave the Titans their first lead of the game with two minutes to play.
The Flyers followed that with two turnovers and Kayser had a put-back as the Titans managed to get the win.
Notre Dame was 4-of-12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
St. Joseph hosts Racine Southern on Friday and Portsmouth Clay on Saturday.
Notre Dame    9    7    9    15    =    40
St. Joseph    16    8    3    9    =    36
PORTSMOUTH NOTRE DAME (NA): Isiah Johnson 4 0 0-4 8, Sam Kayser 2 1 3-4 10, Trevon Turner 1 1 5-10 10, Grant Sparks 3 1 0-1 9, Ben Mader 1 0 0-1 2, Aaron Bazler 0 0 1-2 1, Barry Hunter 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 3 9-22 40. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.
ST. JOSEPH (9-10): Isaac Whaley 3 1 0-0 9, Clay Willis 0 1 0-0 3, Zach Roach 0 2 0-0 6, Peyton Adkins 0 1 0-0 3, Zac McGraw 1 0 0-0 2, Chase Walters 5 0 0-1 10, Tre Neal 0 1 0-0 3. Totals: 15-34 0-1 36. 3-point goals: 6-14. Rebounds: 26 (McGraw 9, Walters 6). Assists: 11 (Whaley 3, McGraw 3, Walters 3). Steals: 6 (McGraw 2, Whaley 2). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None.