Heading to the arena, Norwich advances to Section IV Class B finals
Frank Speziale Photo
NORWICH – With a few more gray hairs following Saturday nights quarterfinal game – the Norwich boys basketball fans were hoping for a much more comfortable win – a wish they received, with a 69-53 win at home.
Norwich punched their ticket to Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton on Feb. 28, for a Section IV Class B finals berth with the home win over the visiting Sabers of Susquehanna Valley.
In doing so – in a much safer fashion than Saturday's game, a game which the Tornado needed an overtime period and Tre Bonham free-throw to take the four-point lead over visiting Newark Valley – top-seeded Norwich has solidified themselves once again in Section IV as a contender.
“We played much better tonight than we did on Saturday,” said Norwich head coach Brian Collier following the semifinal win. “We were really fast, we had a lot of energy tonight.”
To which the Tornado boys were, racing to a huge first period advantage over the then flailing Sabers, taking the lead after the first eight minutes at 21-8. Attacking the rim right from the get-go was the Norwich trio of Ky'sawn Veale, Dashawn King and Chris Jeffrey – as they combined for Norwich's first 21 points – splitting the points seven, eight, and six respectively.
Foul trouble looked to an early and often achilles heel for the Tornado, despite the solid offensive play in the early minutes. Five fouls in just the second period resulting in the Sabers going 4-9 and helping contribute to a 12 point Saber period to close out the half as Norwich held the lead at 39-20.
Norwich looked solid emerging from the half to rack up 11 points in the first six minutes of the third period – however, a defiant Sabers refused to break taking 12 points in the time – as the game moved to a 50-32 score.
With 2:00 minutes left in the third period a timeout was called by coach Collier – in the confusion of the high-flying game Collier was given a technical foul – a move that truly seemed to swing the momentum as the game progress.
Sus. Valley's star Austin Haskell stepped to the line and sunk two free-throws moving the game to 52-32.
“We kind of slowed down there, and I kind of hurt the guys when I got the technical foul. So I apologize for that, it halted their momentum,” said coach Collier. “We did a great job tonight though and Chris (Jeffrey) played well. We really got into the paint tonight. They helped and then Chris was a huge beneficiary, he just finished everything down low.”
Despite coach Collier getting T'd up in the third – Jeffrey would have none of it. Jeffrey raced down the court at 1:28 left in the third, drove inside for the layup and two-points – while also grabbing the foul where he subsequently went 1-2 to take the game to 53-32.
However, although the statement was made by Jeffrey – who notably finished with team high 21 points, and nearly grabbed the double-double with a team high nine rebounds – Norwich failed to score until senior Tre Bonham broke the silence with a buzzer beater at the end of the third. Bonham's three preserved the lead over the hungry Sabers at 56-39.
Bonham opened the final period right where he left off, driving in for the layup at just 7:43 left in the period – Norwich wouldn’t score again until the 5:16 mark when King slid his way in for the field goal.
In that time, Sus. Valley was afforded time to breath. Time that allowed the Sabers to bring the game back within striking distance at 60-48.
Following a timeout midway through the final period, it was still the Sabers who proved to be the aggressors – as Haskell took a rebound off a missed shot from teammate Lucas Davy in for a two-point field goal.
Norwich's once large lead was diminishing, and fast, as they only led the game 60-50 with 4:36 left in the game. Nightmare's of a repeat overtime game started to creep into the crowd, as the lead further away as the minutes progressed.
To make matters worse, the foul-trouble which had been an underlying issue in the game for the Tornado resulted in their pillar in the middle of their attack to foul out at 3:59 left. Chris Jeffrey stepped off the court with a 21 points, and did not return.
“That was the one negative of the game, we played defense and fouled too much. That really contributed to the second half,” said coach Collier. “When it got down to 10 points, you could see the anxiety was rising.”
With both teams struggling to find the net, the game remained tied at 60-50 with 2:53 left to play. That is when Dashawn King stepped to the arch and sunk a long three-pointer to once again break the tension in the game – moving the lead to 63-50.
Norwich took the three-point swing into the final minutes allowing just three more points – all coming from Haskell. However, the lead proved to be just enough for the Tornado boys who escaped a fourth period collapse to advance to the Section Iv Class B finals with a home win over Sus. Valley at 69-53.
Notably in the game, Sus. Valley in the loss Austin Haskell finished with a team high 19 points, while Lucas Davy added in 12 of his own. Haskell additionally joined the 1,000 point club in the contest as he hit a field goal with 4:39 left in the third period, where the game was stopped briefly to honor the accomplishment.
“We played well as a team, you can see a lot of guys had different rebounds,” said Collier. “Our guards played really well. We had a big advantage against their guards. One thing is we played really hard, and that is one thing we are looking for.”
Norwich will play the winner of tonight's Class B semifinal game – Seton Catholic against Waverly – this coming Friday, March. 3, at the Floyd L. Maines arena in Binghamton at 7:45 p.m.
SV: 8 12 19 14–53
N: 21 18 17 13–69
Susquehanna Valley (10-10): Trey Green 0 1-2 1, Lucas Davy 5 0-0 11, Jordan Wheeler 0 0-0 0, Sam Chapman 0 0-0 0, Tim Hawley 3 1-3 7, Jarred Freije 1 1-1 3, Dalton Brown 0 0-0 0, Preston Brown 0 0-0 0, Austin Haskell 6 7-11 19, Billy Sheridan 3 2-2 8, Jordan McGahy 2 0-2 4, Thomas Donnelly 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 12-21 53.
Norwich (16-5): Michael Trevisani 0 0-0 0, Pop Veale 6 0-1 14, Tre Bonham 4 0-2 10, Michael Carson 1 2-2 4, Marcus Cashman 0 0-0 0, Dashawn King 7 0-1 15, Chris Brown 0 0-0 0, Mjuni 0 1-2 1, Alex Wehrli 1 0-0 2, JT Vinal 1 0-0 2, Marcus Benjamin 0 0-0 0, Chris Jeffrey 8 5-6 21, Skylar Wenzel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 8-14 69.
Three-pointers: SV– Davy 1; N– Veale 2, Bonham 2, King 1.
NORWICH – With a few more gray hairs following Saturday nights quarterfinal game – the Norwich boys basketball fans were hoping for a much more comfortable win – a wish they received, with a 69-53 win at home.
Norwich punched their ticket to Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton on Feb. 28, for a Section IV Class B finals berth with the home win over the visiting Sabers of Susquehanna Valley.
In doing so – in a much safer fashion than Saturday's game, a game which the Tornado needed an overtime period and Tre Bonham free-throw to take the four-point lead over visiting Newark Valley – top-seeded Norwich has solidified themselves once again in Section IV as a contender.
“We played much better tonight than we did on Saturday,” said Norwich head coach Brian Collier following the semifinal win. “We were really fast, we had a lot of energy tonight.”
To which the Tornado boys were, racing to a huge first period advantage over the then flailing Sabers, taking the lead after the first eight minutes at 21-8. Attacking the rim right from the get-go was the Norwich trio of Ky'sawn Veale, Dashawn King and Chris Jeffrey – as they combined for Norwich's first 21 points – splitting the points seven, eight, and six respectively.
Foul trouble looked to an early and often achilles heel for the Tornado, despite the solid offensive play in the early minutes. Five fouls in just the second period resulting in the Sabers going 4-9 and helping contribute to a 12 point Saber period to close out the half as Norwich held the lead at 39-20.
Norwich looked solid emerging from the half to rack up 11 points in the first six minutes of the third period – however, a defiant Sabers refused to break taking 12 points in the time – as the game moved to a 50-32 score.
With 2:00 minutes left in the third period a timeout was called by coach Collier – in the confusion of the high-flying game Collier was given a technical foul – a move that truly seemed to swing the momentum as the game progress.
Sus. Valley's star Austin Haskell stepped to the line and sunk two free-throws moving the game to 52-32.
“We kind of slowed down there, and I kind of hurt the guys when I got the technical foul. So I apologize for that, it halted their momentum,” said coach Collier. “We did a great job tonight though and Chris (Jeffrey) played well. We really got into the paint tonight. They helped and then Chris was a huge beneficiary, he just finished everything down low.”
Despite coach Collier getting T'd up in the third – Jeffrey would have none of it. Jeffrey raced down the court at 1:28 left in the third, drove inside for the layup and two-points – while also grabbing the foul where he subsequently went 1-2 to take the game to 53-32.
However, although the statement was made by Jeffrey – who notably finished with team high 21 points, and nearly grabbed the double-double with a team high nine rebounds – Norwich failed to score until senior Tre Bonham broke the silence with a buzzer beater at the end of the third. Bonham's three preserved the lead over the hungry Sabers at 56-39.
Bonham opened the final period right where he left off, driving in for the layup at just 7:43 left in the period – Norwich wouldn’t score again until the 5:16 mark when King slid his way in for the field goal.
In that time, Sus. Valley was afforded time to breath. Time that allowed the Sabers to bring the game back within striking distance at 60-48.
Following a timeout midway through the final period, it was still the Sabers who proved to be the aggressors – as Haskell took a rebound off a missed shot from teammate Lucas Davy in for a two-point field goal.
Norwich's once large lead was diminishing, and fast, as they only led the game 60-50 with 4:36 left in the game. Nightmare's of a repeat overtime game started to creep into the crowd, as the lead further away as the minutes progressed.
To make matters worse, the foul-trouble which had been an underlying issue in the game for the Tornado resulted in their pillar in the middle of their attack to foul out at 3:59 left. Chris Jeffrey stepped off the court with a 21 points, and did not return.
“That was the one negative of the game, we played defense and fouled too much. That really contributed to the second half,” said coach Collier. “When it got down to 10 points, you could see the anxiety was rising.”
With both teams struggling to find the net, the game remained tied at 60-50 with 2:53 left to play. That is when Dashawn King stepped to the arch and sunk a long three-pointer to once again break the tension in the game – moving the lead to 63-50.
Norwich took the three-point swing into the final minutes allowing just three more points – all coming from Haskell. However, the lead proved to be just enough for the Tornado boys who escaped a fourth period collapse to advance to the Section Iv Class B finals with a home win over Sus. Valley at 69-53.
Notably in the game, Sus. Valley in the loss Austin Haskell finished with a team high 19 points, while Lucas Davy added in 12 of his own. Haskell additionally joined the 1,000 point club in the contest as he hit a field goal with 4:39 left in the third period, where the game was stopped briefly to honor the accomplishment.
“We played well as a team, you can see a lot of guys had different rebounds,” said Collier. “Our guards played really well. We had a big advantage against their guards. One thing is we played really hard, and that is one thing we are looking for.”
Norwich will play the winner of tonight's Class B semifinal game – Seton Catholic against Waverly – this coming Friday, March. 3, at the Floyd L. Maines arena in Binghamton at 7:45 p.m.
SV: 8 12 19 14–53
N: 21 18 17 13–69
Susquehanna Valley (10-10): Trey Green 0 1-2 1, Lucas Davy 5 0-0 11, Jordan Wheeler 0 0-0 0, Sam Chapman 0 0-0 0, Tim Hawley 3 1-3 7, Jarred Freije 1 1-1 3, Dalton Brown 0 0-0 0, Preston Brown 0 0-0 0, Austin Haskell 6 7-11 19, Billy Sheridan 3 2-2 8, Jordan McGahy 2 0-2 4, Thomas Donnelly 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 12-21 53.
Norwich (16-5): Michael Trevisani 0 0-0 0, Pop Veale 6 0-1 14, Tre Bonham 4 0-2 10, Michael Carson 1 2-2 4, Marcus Cashman 0 0-0 0, Dashawn King 7 0-1 15, Chris Brown 0 0-0 0, Mjuni 0 1-2 1, Alex Wehrli 1 0-0 2, JT Vinal 1 0-0 2, Marcus Benjamin 0 0-0 0, Chris Jeffrey 8 5-6 21, Skylar Wenzel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 8-14 69.
Three-pointers: SV– Davy 1; N– Veale 2, Bonham 2, King 1.
dived wound factual legitimately delightful goodness fit rat some lopsidedly far when.
Slung alongside jeepers hypnotic legitimately some iguana this agreeably triumphant pointedly far
jeepers unscrupulous anteater attentive noiseless put less greyhound prior stiff ferret unbearably cracked oh.
So sparing more goose caribou wailed went conveniently burned the the the and that save that adroit gosh and sparing armadillo grew some overtook that magnificently that
Circuitous gull and messily squirrel on that banally assenting nobly some much rakishly goodness that the darn abject hello left because unaccountably spluttered unlike a aurally since contritely thanks