Almost perfect:
By Patrick Newell
Sun Sports Editor
pnewell@evesun.com
BINGHAMTON - In, and then out.
With Norwich’s season hanging in the balance, the final shot attempt of a heretofore unblemished season rattled off both sides of the rim and into a sea of hands as time expired.
And with that, the Purple Tornado’s best season in 20 years came to a close Saturday afternoon at Binghamton University’s Events Center.
Westhill, the state’s number one ranked Class B team and conquerors of NHS a season ago – and nearly a year to the day at that – advanced to a second straight final four edging Norwich, 56-53, in overtime.
The Warriors, now perfect through 23 contests, celebrated at midcourt in what was likely their most difficult test of the season.
“It was everything I expected, and more,” said Westhill coach Kevin King after the game, who guided his club to a Class B state title in 2010. “You want to play teams like Norwich. Those are great players over there and great kids. Even if we lost, these are the types of games you want to play…we got a little lucky at the end.”
Westhill led by six in the first 3 ½ minutes of the game, but found itself on the short side of the scoreboard after the first, second, and third quarters. A spectacular fourth-quarter offensive display by junior guard Jordan Roland helped send the game into overtime, and once in the extra period, the Warriors were one missed free throw away from a perfect quarter.
Westhill made all four of its shot attempts during bonus time, and three of four free throws. Yet, Norwich was still in position to extend the game.
Norwich senior guard Mike Sutton, who finished with 28 points, drove for an uncontested layup to draw his team to 54-53 with 10.3 seconds left in overtime. Before Westhill could inbound the ball, Warriors sophomore Ryan Roland was fouled in his attempt to get open.
Roland played significant minutes off the bench, but missed his only shot attempt of the game, and had his team’s lone misfire in overtime missing the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt 23 seconds earlier.
It’s unlikely Roland had ever stepped to the foul line in a situation with greater gravitas, but he cooly drained both freebies with neither finding a hint of iron on the way down.
Norwich spurned a timeout call, and inbounded the ball to Sutton, who was halted at the three-point line. Seeing that Sutton was caught in a bit of a pickle, Norwich coach Tom Collier called for a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining.
What ensued was perfect execution in every way save the ball passing through the hoop.
Zan Stewart made a hard move toward the basket, then circled back to the top of the key unimpeded. He made the catch, turned, elevated and released the ball in rhythm. A shot he has made likely hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, was true on its way to the basket, but on this occasion, the basketball gods did not permit passage through the cylinder.
“Our coaches set up a great play, and it was pretty much in,” said Sutton post-game, who torched Westhill for 54 points over the past two seasons. “It was halfway in, it just didn’t go in.”
And that’s basketball: Sometimes the shots fall, sometimes they don’t.
“(This loss) hurts so much for our team because the kids play so hard and it means so much to them,” Collier said. “They put so much time in that it physically hurts in your heart after a game like this. But they have nothing to be ashamed of.
“We’ve talked many times about our program being much more than just basketball. It’s about life lessons. If this loss is the worst thing that ever happens to them, based on my personal experiences, then these kids are going to have a pretty good life.”
Still, the close calls, the near-misses, and the almosts will be relived for some time to come. Folks, this game was one heck of a dandy between two clubs deserving of their top-three state rankings.
Unlike its last appearance at the Events Center last month when it piled up 85 points in a STAC title win over Union-Endicott, points were hard to come by for the Purple. Stewart’s jumper from the foul line was his team’s only bucket as Westhill raced to an early 8-2 lead.
Sutton triggered a 12-2 spurt to end the opening quarter hitting a foul line jumper. Backup forward Colin Stewart showed a quick step to the hoop with a driving bucket, Storm Cook put back an offensive rebound, and Sutton closed the quarter with back-to-back three balls, the latter of which was a perfectly executed end-of-quarter sequence.
Sutton held the ball near halfcourt on the final possession of the quarter before dishing to Stewart. Stewart drove into the paint as the Westhill defense pinched inward. Stewart found Sutton roaming alone beyond the arc, who hit a stand-still trifecta that swished as the first-quarter horn sounded.
It was rinse and repeat for Sutton in the second quarter, but not before exquisite, all-state Westhill guard, Jordan Roland got untracked.
A 24-point-a-game scorer this season, Roland was blanked in the opening quarter, and had just one field goal in the first half. Still, Roland found his way to the foul line a pair of times, and hit a pair of charity tosses with 1:02 left in the first half to put his team up, 22-20.
Sutton answered with two free throws of his own just 10 seconds later, and Norwich regained possession after a defensive stop for the final shot.
As he did all game, Sutton drove for a layup putting Norwich up two at the break.
Twice in the third quarter Norwich led by as many as five. Norwich senior guard Matt Burke hit two clutch shots during the stanza, the first on a pull-up jumper, and the second a lefty floater late in the stanza that gave Norwich a 34-29 lead with eight minutes to play.
Meanwhile, Jordan Roland was held scoreless in the period and had six points, all told, entering the fourth. Roland’s point total would double in less than 45 seconds, and triple by the end of regulation.
On the first possession of the fourth, Roland hit a leaning three from the left side drawing his team to within two, and after Norwich’s Zan Stewart had his shot blocked on the other end, Westhill regained the lead when Roland pumped in another three ball to erase Norwich’s lead.
From there, the lead changed hands four times and the game was tied in four other instances. It was Roland – taking all but two of his team’s shots in the fourth quarter – pitted with Norwich’s Sutton in what was tit for tat between the court’s two best players.
Norwich gained its last lead of the fourth quarter – and the game – when Sutton hit a pull-up jumper with 2:07 left for the 43-41 advantage. Just 22 seconds later, Roland answered that bucket with a driving basket of his own.
Through the last 107 excruciatingly tense seconds, each club had its opportunities for the go-ahead score, the last one a Roland jump shot that was challenged by the outstretched defense of Zan Stewart.
In overtime, Westhill seized command immediately. Roland scored on a fast break, reserve Brian Daily drove for a layup, and center Tyler Reynolds stroked a three. Norwich’s lone answer to that offensive rush was a spot-up baseline jumper from Burke, who closed his NHS career with his best performance of the season.
Reynolds’ three put his club up four points, but Norwich had a quick reply to that three-spot. Sophomore Carlos Ithier buried Norwich’s first three since the opening quarter hitting from the right corner.
Following a Westhill turnover, Norwich had its only chance at the lead in overtime, but an Ithier three ball was off the mark. Roland capitalized for his club with his third three of the second half for the four-point edge, 53-49.
Norwich made three of its seven shots in the final period, but failed to summon one more big shot down the stretch. Sutton’s layup with 10 seconds left would end up as the final points in a terrific NHS season.
“If you think about it, from December first to March eighth, we didn’t lose a game, and this one hurts,” Collier said. “We had the longest unbeaten streak of any team in Norwich since the ’93 team that won a state title. We had a great season, but the best thing about these guys is that they’re great people. That’s what we’re most proud of with this program.”
Summary
NYS Class B CNY Regional Final
Westhill 56, Norwich 53 (OT)
Westhill: Ryan Roland, 0-1 2-3-2; William Billy, 1-3 2-2-5; Michael Barton, 0-1 0-0-0; Jordan Roland, 8-21 5-6-24; Dan O’Connell, 0-1 2-2-2; Chase Gedney, 0-0 0-0-0; Tyler Reynolds, 4-13- 2-2-13; Jeff Lobello, 3-5 0-2-6; Brian Daily, 2-3 0-0-4. Totals: 18-48 13-17-56.
Norwich: Mike Oralls, 0-3 0-0-0; Mike Sutton, 8-19 10-14-28; Carlos Ithier, 2-7 0-0-5; Colin Stewart, 2-4 0-0-4; Zan Stewart, 3-1-3 0-2-6; Matt Burke, 3-8 0-0-6; Storm Cook, 2-3 0-1-4; Mike D’Abbracio, 0-0 0-0-0; Jamison Luke, 0-0 0-0-0. Totals: 20-57 10-17-53.
Score by quarters OT
West. 10 12 7 14 13––56
Norw. 14 10 10 9 10––53
Fouled out: none. Team fouls: (N) 18, (W) 16. Three-point goals: (N) Sutton 2, Ithier. (W) J. Roland 3, T. Reynolds 3, Billy. Rebounds (N) 30 (Z. Stewart 11); (W) 22 (J. Roland 9). Attendance: 1,300.
Sun Sports Editor
pnewell@evesun.com
BINGHAMTON - In, and then out.
With Norwich’s season hanging in the balance, the final shot attempt of a heretofore unblemished season rattled off both sides of the rim and into a sea of hands as time expired.
And with that, the Purple Tornado’s best season in 20 years came to a close Saturday afternoon at Binghamton University’s Events Center.
Westhill, the state’s number one ranked Class B team and conquerors of NHS a season ago – and nearly a year to the day at that – advanced to a second straight final four edging Norwich, 56-53, in overtime.
The Warriors, now perfect through 23 contests, celebrated at midcourt in what was likely their most difficult test of the season.
“It was everything I expected, and more,” said Westhill coach Kevin King after the game, who guided his club to a Class B state title in 2010. “You want to play teams like Norwich. Those are great players over there and great kids. Even if we lost, these are the types of games you want to play…we got a little lucky at the end.”
Westhill led by six in the first 3 ½ minutes of the game, but found itself on the short side of the scoreboard after the first, second, and third quarters. A spectacular fourth-quarter offensive display by junior guard Jordan Roland helped send the game into overtime, and once in the extra period, the Warriors were one missed free throw away from a perfect quarter.
Westhill made all four of its shot attempts during bonus time, and three of four free throws. Yet, Norwich was still in position to extend the game.
Norwich senior guard Mike Sutton, who finished with 28 points, drove for an uncontested layup to draw his team to 54-53 with 10.3 seconds left in overtime. Before Westhill could inbound the ball, Warriors sophomore Ryan Roland was fouled in his attempt to get open.
Roland played significant minutes off the bench, but missed his only shot attempt of the game, and had his team’s lone misfire in overtime missing the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt 23 seconds earlier.
It’s unlikely Roland had ever stepped to the foul line in a situation with greater gravitas, but he cooly drained both freebies with neither finding a hint of iron on the way down.
Norwich spurned a timeout call, and inbounded the ball to Sutton, who was halted at the three-point line. Seeing that Sutton was caught in a bit of a pickle, Norwich coach Tom Collier called for a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining.
What ensued was perfect execution in every way save the ball passing through the hoop.
Zan Stewart made a hard move toward the basket, then circled back to the top of the key unimpeded. He made the catch, turned, elevated and released the ball in rhythm. A shot he has made likely hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, was true on its way to the basket, but on this occasion, the basketball gods did not permit passage through the cylinder.
“Our coaches set up a great play, and it was pretty much in,” said Sutton post-game, who torched Westhill for 54 points over the past two seasons. “It was halfway in, it just didn’t go in.”
And that’s basketball: Sometimes the shots fall, sometimes they don’t.
“(This loss) hurts so much for our team because the kids play so hard and it means so much to them,” Collier said. “They put so much time in that it physically hurts in your heart after a game like this. But they have nothing to be ashamed of.
“We’ve talked many times about our program being much more than just basketball. It’s about life lessons. If this loss is the worst thing that ever happens to them, based on my personal experiences, then these kids are going to have a pretty good life.”
Still, the close calls, the near-misses, and the almosts will be relived for some time to come. Folks, this game was one heck of a dandy between two clubs deserving of their top-three state rankings.
Unlike its last appearance at the Events Center last month when it piled up 85 points in a STAC title win over Union-Endicott, points were hard to come by for the Purple. Stewart’s jumper from the foul line was his team’s only bucket as Westhill raced to an early 8-2 lead.
Sutton triggered a 12-2 spurt to end the opening quarter hitting a foul line jumper. Backup forward Colin Stewart showed a quick step to the hoop with a driving bucket, Storm Cook put back an offensive rebound, and Sutton closed the quarter with back-to-back three balls, the latter of which was a perfectly executed end-of-quarter sequence.
Sutton held the ball near halfcourt on the final possession of the quarter before dishing to Stewart. Stewart drove into the paint as the Westhill defense pinched inward. Stewart found Sutton roaming alone beyond the arc, who hit a stand-still trifecta that swished as the first-quarter horn sounded.
It was rinse and repeat for Sutton in the second quarter, but not before exquisite, all-state Westhill guard, Jordan Roland got untracked.
A 24-point-a-game scorer this season, Roland was blanked in the opening quarter, and had just one field goal in the first half. Still, Roland found his way to the foul line a pair of times, and hit a pair of charity tosses with 1:02 left in the first half to put his team up, 22-20.
Sutton answered with two free throws of his own just 10 seconds later, and Norwich regained possession after a defensive stop for the final shot.
As he did all game, Sutton drove for a layup putting Norwich up two at the break.
Twice in the third quarter Norwich led by as many as five. Norwich senior guard Matt Burke hit two clutch shots during the stanza, the first on a pull-up jumper, and the second a lefty floater late in the stanza that gave Norwich a 34-29 lead with eight minutes to play.
Meanwhile, Jordan Roland was held scoreless in the period and had six points, all told, entering the fourth. Roland’s point total would double in less than 45 seconds, and triple by the end of regulation.
On the first possession of the fourth, Roland hit a leaning three from the left side drawing his team to within two, and after Norwich’s Zan Stewart had his shot blocked on the other end, Westhill regained the lead when Roland pumped in another three ball to erase Norwich’s lead.
From there, the lead changed hands four times and the game was tied in four other instances. It was Roland – taking all but two of his team’s shots in the fourth quarter – pitted with Norwich’s Sutton in what was tit for tat between the court’s two best players.
Norwich gained its last lead of the fourth quarter – and the game – when Sutton hit a pull-up jumper with 2:07 left for the 43-41 advantage. Just 22 seconds later, Roland answered that bucket with a driving basket of his own.
Through the last 107 excruciatingly tense seconds, each club had its opportunities for the go-ahead score, the last one a Roland jump shot that was challenged by the outstretched defense of Zan Stewart.
In overtime, Westhill seized command immediately. Roland scored on a fast break, reserve Brian Daily drove for a layup, and center Tyler Reynolds stroked a three. Norwich’s lone answer to that offensive rush was a spot-up baseline jumper from Burke, who closed his NHS career with his best performance of the season.
Reynolds’ three put his club up four points, but Norwich had a quick reply to that three-spot. Sophomore Carlos Ithier buried Norwich’s first three since the opening quarter hitting from the right corner.
Following a Westhill turnover, Norwich had its only chance at the lead in overtime, but an Ithier three ball was off the mark. Roland capitalized for his club with his third three of the second half for the four-point edge, 53-49.
Norwich made three of its seven shots in the final period, but failed to summon one more big shot down the stretch. Sutton’s layup with 10 seconds left would end up as the final points in a terrific NHS season.
“If you think about it, from December first to March eighth, we didn’t lose a game, and this one hurts,” Collier said. “We had the longest unbeaten streak of any team in Norwich since the ’93 team that won a state title. We had a great season, but the best thing about these guys is that they’re great people. That’s what we’re most proud of with this program.”
Summary
NYS Class B CNY Regional Final
Westhill 56, Norwich 53 (OT)
Westhill: Ryan Roland, 0-1 2-3-2; William Billy, 1-3 2-2-5; Michael Barton, 0-1 0-0-0; Jordan Roland, 8-21 5-6-24; Dan O’Connell, 0-1 2-2-2; Chase Gedney, 0-0 0-0-0; Tyler Reynolds, 4-13- 2-2-13; Jeff Lobello, 3-5 0-2-6; Brian Daily, 2-3 0-0-4. Totals: 18-48 13-17-56.
Norwich: Mike Oralls, 0-3 0-0-0; Mike Sutton, 8-19 10-14-28; Carlos Ithier, 2-7 0-0-5; Colin Stewart, 2-4 0-0-4; Zan Stewart, 3-1-3 0-2-6; Matt Burke, 3-8 0-0-6; Storm Cook, 2-3 0-1-4; Mike D’Abbracio, 0-0 0-0-0; Jamison Luke, 0-0 0-0-0. Totals: 20-57 10-17-53.
Score by quarters OT
West. 10 12 7 14 13––56
Norw. 14 10 10 9 10––53
Fouled out: none. Team fouls: (N) 18, (W) 16. Three-point goals: (N) Sutton 2, Ithier. (W) J. Roland 3, T. Reynolds 3, Billy. Rebounds (N) 30 (Z. Stewart 11); (W) 22 (J. Roland 9). Attendance: 1,300.
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