Evening Sun Report

Boys’ Basketball

Norwich 41, Seton Catholic Central 30

NORWICH – One complete quarter of basketball allowed Norwich to overcome a stern test from Seton Catholic Central Tuesday evening.

Junior forward Storm Cook hit a 16-foot jumper late in the third quarter to give Norwich a big spark and key a 16-0 Tornado run. NHS went from six points down and struggling to score, to a comfortable 10-point lead with just 2 1/2 minutes left.

Cody Barnes had eight points in the fourth quarter, all of his buckets coming on nifty passes, and Matt Burke provided a big spark off the bench scoring on a layup off a steal, while also dishing twice to Barnes for buckets.

“I thought Storm’s shot was the key,” said Norwich coach Tom Collier. “We hadn’t hit anything from the outside all night, and I thought it relaxed us.”

Once Norwich took the lead, Seton Catholic Central was forced to extend its defense, and that opened up the floor for Norwich’s dribble penetration-based offense.  Mike Sutton added a layup off a steal, and Zan Stewart drove for a layup that touched every inch of the rim before spinning through the cylinder giving Norwich its biggest lead, 41-27.

“Seton is one of the best defensive teams out there, and they did a nice job against us,” Collier said. “We knew it was going to be a struggle tonight.”