NORWICH – Norwich took back the Tom Schwan Memorial Tournament trophy, but the defending champion Oxford Blackhawks did not relinquish that championship easily.
Norwich erased a four-point deficit early in the fourth quarter rattling off 12 straight points, and Corey Dietrich along with Derek Hughes combined for 7-of-8 foul shooting over the final 41.9 seconds to seal a 52-50 win Saturday night.
Dietrich scored 20 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He had 12 points in the fourth quarter, seven coming during the Tornado’s dozen-point spurt that put the host team on top 45-37.
“Oxford always plays well against us,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott. “We appreciate the effort they put forth, and it makes us a better team, too.”
Norwich seemed to gain control midway through the third period. Vaughn Labor’s three-point play, and Josh Borfitz’s three-pointer from the corner put Norwich up 33-26 with 4:34 remaining.
Oxford held Norwich scoreless the rest of the period closing to 33-32 on a layup from Cory Seiler, and a baseline jumper by Alex Champlin. Seiler snuck out for another layup after a Champlin rebound and full-court pass putting the Blackhawks in front by one early in the fourth. That hoop was followed by Brett Trask’s three ball from the corner giving Oxford a four-point lead and a bundle of momentum.
“It was a little bit frustrating (at that point), but I had confidence in my players,” Abbott said.
Norwich began its run innocently enough with a pair of Richie Bonney free throws. On the defensive end; however, NHS made hay with a switch to a one-three-one zone. David Carson and Timmy Clark had back-to-back steals, and Norwich responded with a Dietrich layup and a spinning banker by Dietrich that moved Norwich back in front,39-37. Bonney and Dietrich completed the spurt with back-to-back threes.
“I think depth had a lot to do (with their comeback),” said Oxford coach Tim Davis. “I had three guys play every minute, and (Norwich) was able to rotate more guys and keep them fairly fresh. I could see it on the defensive end. We were still playing hard, but we were a step slower.”
Layups by Tom Gould and Seiler over the last minute had Oxford within four on two occasions, but those timely deuces were answered with precise foul shooting by the Tornado.
“What helped us was that we were able to make a couple more shots,” Abbott said of the fourth quarter. “We eliminated the unnecessary dribble and unnecessary cut, and we got guys where they needed to be. It’s a process and we still have work to do, but at the same time, we’re happy to be 3-0. The last two games, we’ve beaten two very good teams.”
Oxford scored the game’s first point, but did not lead again until much later in the game. Dietrich scored Norwich’s first eight points – six coming on two three-pointers.
Oxford chipped away and had the game within 22-19 by halftime. Seiler led Oxford with 16 points and Gould scored 11. “I’m as happy as you can be with a loss,” Davis said. “We made big strides from our first game on Wednesday to tonight. You can’t have any more heart than what we showed in this game.”
Bonney was the only other Norwich player in double figures scoring 10 points. Norwich seniors Vaughn Labor and David Carson were named to the all-tournament team along with Gould and Champlin of Oxford, and Oneida senior Nick Dreimiller.
Oxford: Trask, 2 2-2-8; Seiler, 5 5-6-16; Champlin, 4 0-0-9; Paul, 0; Renaud, 1 0-0-2; J. Nelson, 2 0-0-4; T. Gould, 5 1-2-11. Totals: 19 8-10-50.
NHS: Edwards, 0; Bonney, 3 2-2-10; Dietrich, 6 5-6-20; Clark, 1 0-0-3; Borfitz, 3 0-1-7; Labor, 2 1-1-5; Thomsen, 0; Carson, 2 1-1-5; Hughes, 0 2-2-2; Austin, 0. Totals: 17 11-12-52.
Oxf. 8 11 13 18—50
NHS 13 9 11 19—52
Fouled out: (N) Clark, (O) Champlin. Three-point goals: (N) Dietrich 3, Bonney 2, Clark, Borfitz, (O) Trask 2, Seiler, Champlin. JV: Oneida beat Norwich 71-60 in championship game. Officials: Blair, Stepanovsky.