By Robert Jeffrey

Sun Sports Contributor

Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH- The past four years of Norwich boys’ basketball in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference has been nothing but a golden age of memories for the Purple Tornado faithful. In those four STAC final appearances the boys from Norwich have recorded three STAC titles, which have all run concurrently over the past three seasons.

But this season is different as the Tornado faced a dominate opponent in the Ithaca Little Red, who had already punished the Tornado in a 23 point loss in the Juggler Classic Final on January 15. And it proved on Wednesday night, Feb 9, that the home court advantage that the Purple Tornado held over their foe was non-existent. And it began to feel halfway through the third quarter that this game was being played in Ithaca instead of Jack Jones gymnasium. Just as history repeats itself, the Little Red performed a dominate display of basketball that would make Julius Caesar proud as they executed- veni, vedi, vici, also known as; I came, I saw, I conquered.

However, the Little Red didn’t take over until the third period. The Tornado put up a fight in the early going as Michael Carson scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the first period of play guiding Norwich to a 16-16 tie in the first quarter. Carson rebounded and put up the equalizing lay-up as the buzzer sounded signaling the end of the first period of action.