Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The St. Joseph Flyers hadn’t played in two weeks and they were expected to be a little rusty.
Chase Walters proved to be their oil can.
Unlike the Tin Man, Walters showed a lot of heart as he scored 31 points — 21 in the second half — as the Flyers beat the Green Bobcats 57-45 on Saturday.
Zach Roach added 11 points for the team-oriented Flyers (10-2).
“We had a really good week of practice the week two weeks ago and then we were supposed to play on last Saturday and it was postponed. Then the snow hit and we didn’t practice until Friday,” said Flyers’ coach Rex Cooksey.
“Our defense was pretty solid for three quarters and then we got a little tired. We lost a little conditioning. But we gutted it out and shot the ball pretty well. I was pleased with our effort.”
Walters also had 12 rebounds with Clay Willis grabbing seven and Joey McDavid five. Isaac Whaley had seven assists and Walters four.
The Flyers were 18-of-33 from the floor for 54.5 percent and 5-of-10 from behind the arc.
Tanner Kimbler led Green (9-6) with 16 points — all in the second half — including 8-of-10 at the foul line. Tayte Carver added 10 points.
Roach drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and Clay Willis also hit a trifecta as St. Joseph took an 11-6 lead. Carver had four points for Green.
Walters scored all eight of the Flyers’ points in the second quarter as they held on for a 19-15 halftime lead.
Gage Sampson scored four points and Rylee Maynard hit a 3-pointer for the Bobcats.
Walters continued to score in the third quarter with 14 points — he was 4-of-4 at the line — and the Flyers’ defense held Green to 10 points as the lead grew to 41-25.
With Green forced to foul in the fourth quarter, the Flyers converted 10-of-16 free throws.
Walters had seven points in the quarter including 3-of-5 from the line, Whaley was 4-of-8 and Roach 2-for-2. Willis scored three points with one coming from the foul line.
The Bobcats attempted to rally in the quarter by outscoring the Flyers 20-16. Kimbler hit a 3-pointer and was 6-of-7 at the line while Carver added six more points.
St. Joseph visits Covenant on Monday and New Boston on Tuesday.
Green hosts Sciotoville East on Friday in their homecoming game.
Green       6    9    10    20    =    45
St. Joseph    11    8    22    16    =    57
GREEN (9-6): Tanner Kimbler 1 2 8-10 16, Tayte Carver 4 0 2-4 10, Zack Huffman 2 0 1-2 5, Gage Sampson 3 0 0-0 6, Caden Blizzard 1 1 0-0 5, Rylee Maynard 0 1 0-0 3, Levi Singleton 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 4 11-16 45. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Maynard.
ST. JOSEPH (10-2): Isaac Whaley 0 0 4-8 4, Zach Roach 0 3 2-2 11, Clay Willis 1 1 1-1 6, Joey McDavid 1 1 0-0 5, Chase Walters 11 0 9-12 31, Jimmy Mahlmeister 0 0 0-0 0, J.C. Damron 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-33 16-23 57. 3-pt goals: 5-10. Rebounds: 30 (Walters 12, Willis 7). Assists: 15 (Whaley 7, Walters 4). Steals: 2. Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.