ONEONTA – Norwich coach Mark Abbott saw one key difference between his club and Oneonta. It was a disparity that ended the Tornado’s season Friday night.
“In all three games we played them, they made big shots,” Abbott said, “ and we struggled to make shots.”
Oneonta’s shotmaking ability and uncanny use of the 30-second clock in the final quarter allowed it to pull away for Class A sectional semifinals win at Drago Gymnasium, 58-45.
A 13-point margin of victory may seem comfortable at first glance, but for three quarters and all but the last two minutes of the fourth, the Tornado were a couple of possessions away from turning the tables on the home club. “A big key for us in the second half was that we were able to get into the lane against their zone,” said Oneonta coach Jerry Mackey. They had to pinch down, and we were able to get some legitimate looks at three-pointers.”
Oneonta’s first adjustment was to scrap its man-to-man defense late in the first half and move to a zone. Norwich scored the second quarter’s first 11 points, and led 25-19 with 3:39 left in the opening half.
Mackey called a timeout and sent his club back out on defense with the new defensive alignment. Norwich failed to score the restof the half, and Dan O’Brien’s three ball in the corner with 32 seconds left closed the halftime gap to one.
“For as well as we played offensively in the first half, to be up only one point at halftime was disappointing,” Abbott said.
Oneonta’s offensive firepower and stingy defense took hold in the third period after a switch to a three-quarter’s court press.
O’Brien hit 3-for-4 from the foul line to tie the game at 27-27, and Brendan Harder picked up a steal off the press, and went the distance for a two-handed dunk.
Norwich’s Nate Foote gave his club its final lead of the game burying a three ball with 5:06 to play making it 30-29
Alex Mirabito drove and hit a jumper as Oneonta regained the lead, and the quarter was capped after Alex VanDeusen fed Mirabito in the corner, who proceeded to drain a three-pointer from the corner at the stanza’s buzzer.
Three times in the fourth quarter – once each from O’Brien, Mirabito, and VanDeusen – the Yellowjackets hit outside shots at the end of the 30-second clock. VanDeusen and Mirabito bucketed shots to snuff out Norwich’s final rally with under three minutes to play wrapping up the win.
O’Brien led the ‘Jackets with 23 points and Mirabito scored 15. “I bet they scored 10 points with jump shots with the shot clock running out and the shot was contested,” Abbott said, who took his hat off to his opponent. “Let’s face it, they’re a good team, and to make those shots is a sign of good team.”
Vaughn Labor led Norwich with 14 points – 12 in the first half – and Nate Foote added 12 markers.
Norwich finishes up a 15-6 season in which it won eight straight games after its initial loss to Oneonta. Graduating seniors include Foote, Justin Ballin, Craig Berg, Patrick Coates, Chris Mattingly, and Tyler Saroka. “To win 15 games against the competition we faced this year is a testament to our players,” Abbott said. “Every one of our losses is to a team that could be in the section finals, and three could be sectional champions. It’s been an enjoyable group to coach.”
Norwich: Tim Clark, 2 0-0-4; Chris Mattingly, 0; Patrick Coates, 2 0-0-4; Corey Dietrich, 0 1-2-1; Nate Foote, 5 0-0-12; Josh Borfitz, 1 0-0-2; Vaughn Labor, 7 0-0-14; Tyler Saroka, 0; David Carson, 0; Justin Ballin,1 2-2-4 ; Craig Berg, 1 2-2-4. Totals: 19 5-6-45.
Oneonta: Alex VanDeusen, 3 0-0-8, Zach Harlem, 2 0-0-5, Brendan Harder, 2 1-3-5, Dustin Haney, 0,Monte Richardson, 1 0-0-2, Dan O'Brien, 6 9-11-23, Alex Mirabito, 6 2-2-15, Nate Eastman, 0. Totals: 20 12-16-58.
NHS 14 11 7 13–45
OHS 19 5 14 20–58
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (O) VanDeusen 2, O’Brien 2, Mirabito, Harlem, (N) Foote 2. Officials: McCawley, Tabor.