Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH – For the second game in a row, Norwich controlled the boards en route to another victory. The 75-67 win comes against Susquehanna Valley for the second time this season in what was a very physical game Thursday night.
The Purple never trailed during the contest, in large part to their brute defense and knocking down their free throws.
Standing out on the defensive side of the game for Norwich was Marcus Cashman. Cashman usually is assigned to cover the opponents leading scorer and does a good job of holding them to very little – if any – points at all.
“Cash [Cashman] had a great night for us,” said Norwich’s assistant coach Tom Collier. “He is one of the toughest defenders we have and usually does a great job shutting down the opponents leading scorer.”
Collier also mentioned the Purple received a strong defensive presence from J.T. Vinal, who did a good job of limiting Sus Valley’s Jarred Frejie to 10 points.
“I had just finished watching some tape of them [Sus Valley] playing against Seton. They played them tough and I knew they were going to do the same with us. Mark Ward does a great job developing his kids,” said Collier.
Offensively, Norwich’s Marcus Benjamin had a strong night, recording a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Benjamin crashed the glass all game long, grabbing eight of his 11 on the offensive end.
The Purple opened the contest with the inside game. Between driving to the basket and the inside play of Benjamin, Norwich closes the first quarter 20-13.
Still driving, the Tornado ended up at the free-throw line for 10 foul shots in the second quarter, making all but one.
Coming out of the intermission, Norwich went slightly flat, allowing the Sabers to outscore them 19-16 and closing the gap down to just five points.
However, the Purple recovered quickly when they opened the final stanza with a 9-2 run, scoring all of their fourth quarter field goals during that run. Norwich shot 18 free-throws in the quarter, with Carson Maynard going to the line for six of the them.
Making all but one, Maynard finished 11-12 from the line for the game and ended the night with a career-high 20 points.
“It’s nice when you are young team and your leading scorers the past two games are only sophomores. It shows that we can count on anyone to step up and score on any given night,” commented Collier.
The Purple’s veterans can’t be counted out though. On top of Benjamin’s 17, Michael Carson added 14 for Norwich.
“We gave up too many points again tonight,” said Collier. “It’s the second game in a row we allowed 60-plus points. But we are scoring very fast and again, that gives the other team a lot of possessions. And Sus Valley shot really well tonight. We will get it figured out soon and really start to limit our opponents points.”
The Sabers were led by Joe Waitkavicz, who finished with 14 points.
Norwich (3-1) plays on the road against Windsor Monday, December 18. “Windsor always gives us a tough time on their court but I think we will be ready,” stated Collier. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Sus Valley: Trey Green 2 1-1-5; Lucas Davy 3 0-0-6; Alex Knewasser 0; Ryan Ewanow 0; Matt Fiorentino 2 1-2-6; Mason McCormack 1 0-0-2; Jarred Frejie 4 2-2-10; Josaiah Frank 0; Preston Brown 0; Zach Taro 4 1-2-11; Billy Sheridan 0; Jordan McGahy 2 2-2-7; Joe Waitkavicz 5 4-4-14. Totals: 25 13-15-67
Norwich: Drew Walsh 1 0-1-2; Michael Trevisani 0; Michael Carson 4 4-9-14; Marcus Cashman 3 0-0-8; Carson Maynard 4 11-12-20; Mujuni Mutabiilwa 1 2-2-4; J.T. Vinal 1 2-4-4; Grant Wessels 0; Marcus Benjamin 8 1-2-17; Jon Clarke 0; Skylar Wenzel 1 3-3-5. Totals: 24 23-32-75.
Sus 13 17 19 18 – 67
Nor 20 18 16 21 – 75
Fouled out: Freije and Davy (SV). Three-point goals (SV) Fiorentino 1, Taro 2, McGahy; (N) Cashman1, Maynard 1. Officials: Fletcher and Smith. JV: Norwich won.