Norwich’s second half push propels them past Blue Devils
Robert Jeffrey
Sun Sports Contributor
sports@evesun.com
Frank Speziale Photo
NORWICH – Playing against the reigning Class C New York State Champion in Moravia, the Norwich Purple Tornado refused to quit against the Ithaca area Blue Devils as the Norwich crew outpaced the visitors with a final score of 52-47.
The first quarter of play looked to go in favor of the hometown Tornado, but as the Blue Devils found their bearings on the offensive front later in the stanza, things became interesting quick. Michael Carson’s eight points in the early minutes of the first quarter promptly put Norwich in the lead. Aided by shooting-guard Marcus Cashman, it looked as though Moravia would be in for a long night. But don’t count out the reigning state champs out just yet.
The Purple led 15-6 with 2:28 left in the period but it wasn’t long before Moravia’s Kaleb Stayton pushed the pace and his team to end the quarter on a 10-2 scoring run. Norwich escaped the opening period with a one point lead. Making matters worse for Norwich was the late quarter ankle injury sustained by big-man Marcus Benjamin, who hobbled back into the locker room for treatment.
The second quarter bared similar fruit for the Tornado. Despite their best efforts to put the ball in the basket, Norwich could not convert their attempts from the field. Moravia’s streaky shooters in Carter Flick and Jack Ferdrizzi strayed behind the three-point line and the twosome combined for all of the Blue Devils second quarter points.
As the game churned into the half, Moravia took a 27-24 lead into the locker room. But that lead wouldn’t last for too much longer.
Keeping in fashion with the productive brand of basketball that Norwich has been defined by for years, hustle was on full display in the second half. It was the sheer excitement of the moment aided by the demand to take back the lead that fueled the Tornado. Their defense and rebounding is what led to their offensive output in the second half.
Leave it to the ruthlessness of J.T. Vinal, who found his way on the floor and Michael Carson, who surely acquired multiple court-burns on the evening to conduct the Purple Tornado comeback. Add in the sly pickpocketing by Carson Maynard and the vital rebounding of Marcus Benjamin and his newly taped up flat tire – it was clear the recipe for success was brewing on the Norwich bench.
At the four-minute mark in the second half of the contest, Moravia held a 36-33 lead. But combine the Purple’s transition game with impressive defense to match, the next five minute period was a tough pill to swallow for the Blue Devil faithful. Moravia was stuck in the Tornado’s ensuing 16-0 scoring run, which turned a five point advantage for Moravia into a 13 point Norwich lead with 7:05 left to go in the game.
With the Tornado holding onto a 49-38 lead with 5:05 remaining, it was beginning to look like a Moravia comeback was out of the question. Yet, the determination of the Blue Devils refused to waver as Kaden Hooper scored seven points in the fourth quarter with Kaleb Stayton conducting the offense. Hooper’s offensive efforts cut the NHS lead to 50-45 with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter.
With 3.3 seconds left on the clock in Thursday night’s contest, Stayton put Moravia within three and quickly fouled Norwich’s Carson Maynard, forcing him to shoot a one-and-one.
With the game lying in the balance, the composed sophomore swiftly drilled a pair of free-throws, putting the game out of reach of the Blue Devils and capping off the NHS victory in the process.
“We played much better defense in the second half and that’s what won us the game” said Tornado associate Head Coach Tom Collier. “They [Moravia] are a tough team. They’re extremely well coached and extremely well disciplined; they’ve been to the New York State Championship game the last two years.”
“Our guys just started to play with a much harder effort” said Norwich head coach Brian Collier in reference to Norwich’s 16-0 second half scoring run. “We executed defensively and offensively. We always made the extra pass, defensively we’re talking and switching and were much more active in the passing lanes.”
Michael Carson led Norwich in scoring with 14 points and Carson Maynard added in 11 points of his own. Carter Flick scored 10 for Moravia and teammates Kaden Hooper and Kaleb Stayton each scored 13 and 14 points respectively in the setback.
The Purple Tornado return to action on Thursday, January 4, when they travel to Binghamton to take on the Saints of Seton Catholic with game time scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
JV Notes: The Norwich junior varsity basketball team came away with an 80-40 win over Moravia. Anthony Cathcart led the JV Tornado in scoring with 14 points, Ben Skillin scored 11 and Thomas Flanagan scored 10 points with six of his points coming from outside the arc.
Moravia: S. Sovocool 1 0-0 3, Flick 4 0-0 10, G. Stayton 0, Hooper 5 2-4 13, K. Stayton 6 1-3 14, Ferdrizzi 1 0-0 3, Chen 2 0-1 4, Genson 0. Totals: 19 3-8-47.
Norwich: Walsh 0, Carson 6 1-2 14, Cashman 3 0-1 8, Maynard 2 6-6 11, Mutabiilwa 1 3-4, Vinal 3 0-2 6, Wessels 0, Benjamin 3 0-0 6, Clarke 0, Wenzel 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 10-15 52.
M 16 11 9 11 – 47
N 17 7 22 6 – 52
Fouled out: None. Three-point goals: (M) S. Sovocool, Hooper, Ferdrizzi K. Stayton, Flick 2; (N) Carson, Maynard, Cashman (2).
Sun Sports Contributor
sports@evesun.com
Frank Speziale Photo
NORWICH – Playing against the reigning Class C New York State Champion in Moravia, the Norwich Purple Tornado refused to quit against the Ithaca area Blue Devils as the Norwich crew outpaced the visitors with a final score of 52-47.
The first quarter of play looked to go in favor of the hometown Tornado, but as the Blue Devils found their bearings on the offensive front later in the stanza, things became interesting quick. Michael Carson’s eight points in the early minutes of the first quarter promptly put Norwich in the lead. Aided by shooting-guard Marcus Cashman, it looked as though Moravia would be in for a long night. But don’t count out the reigning state champs out just yet.
The Purple led 15-6 with 2:28 left in the period but it wasn’t long before Moravia’s Kaleb Stayton pushed the pace and his team to end the quarter on a 10-2 scoring run. Norwich escaped the opening period with a one point lead. Making matters worse for Norwich was the late quarter ankle injury sustained by big-man Marcus Benjamin, who hobbled back into the locker room for treatment.
The second quarter bared similar fruit for the Tornado. Despite their best efforts to put the ball in the basket, Norwich could not convert their attempts from the field. Moravia’s streaky shooters in Carter Flick and Jack Ferdrizzi strayed behind the three-point line and the twosome combined for all of the Blue Devils second quarter points.
As the game churned into the half, Moravia took a 27-24 lead into the locker room. But that lead wouldn’t last for too much longer.
Keeping in fashion with the productive brand of basketball that Norwich has been defined by for years, hustle was on full display in the second half. It was the sheer excitement of the moment aided by the demand to take back the lead that fueled the Tornado. Their defense and rebounding is what led to their offensive output in the second half.
Leave it to the ruthlessness of J.T. Vinal, who found his way on the floor and Michael Carson, who surely acquired multiple court-burns on the evening to conduct the Purple Tornado comeback. Add in the sly pickpocketing by Carson Maynard and the vital rebounding of Marcus Benjamin and his newly taped up flat tire – it was clear the recipe for success was brewing on the Norwich bench.
At the four-minute mark in the second half of the contest, Moravia held a 36-33 lead. But combine the Purple’s transition game with impressive defense to match, the next five minute period was a tough pill to swallow for the Blue Devil faithful. Moravia was stuck in the Tornado’s ensuing 16-0 scoring run, which turned a five point advantage for Moravia into a 13 point Norwich lead with 7:05 left to go in the game.
With the Tornado holding onto a 49-38 lead with 5:05 remaining, it was beginning to look like a Moravia comeback was out of the question. Yet, the determination of the Blue Devils refused to waver as Kaden Hooper scored seven points in the fourth quarter with Kaleb Stayton conducting the offense. Hooper’s offensive efforts cut the NHS lead to 50-45 with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter.
With 3.3 seconds left on the clock in Thursday night’s contest, Stayton put Moravia within three and quickly fouled Norwich’s Carson Maynard, forcing him to shoot a one-and-one.
With the game lying in the balance, the composed sophomore swiftly drilled a pair of free-throws, putting the game out of reach of the Blue Devils and capping off the NHS victory in the process.
“We played much better defense in the second half and that’s what won us the game” said Tornado associate Head Coach Tom Collier. “They [Moravia] are a tough team. They’re extremely well coached and extremely well disciplined; they’ve been to the New York State Championship game the last two years.”
“Our guys just started to play with a much harder effort” said Norwich head coach Brian Collier in reference to Norwich’s 16-0 second half scoring run. “We executed defensively and offensively. We always made the extra pass, defensively we’re talking and switching and were much more active in the passing lanes.”
Michael Carson led Norwich in scoring with 14 points and Carson Maynard added in 11 points of his own. Carter Flick scored 10 for Moravia and teammates Kaden Hooper and Kaleb Stayton each scored 13 and 14 points respectively in the setback.
The Purple Tornado return to action on Thursday, January 4, when they travel to Binghamton to take on the Saints of Seton Catholic with game time scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
JV Notes: The Norwich junior varsity basketball team came away with an 80-40 win over Moravia. Anthony Cathcart led the JV Tornado in scoring with 14 points, Ben Skillin scored 11 and Thomas Flanagan scored 10 points with six of his points coming from outside the arc.
Moravia: S. Sovocool 1 0-0 3, Flick 4 0-0 10, G. Stayton 0, Hooper 5 2-4 13, K. Stayton 6 1-3 14, Ferdrizzi 1 0-0 3, Chen 2 0-1 4, Genson 0. Totals: 19 3-8-47.
Norwich: Walsh 0, Carson 6 1-2 14, Cashman 3 0-1 8, Maynard 2 6-6 11, Mutabiilwa 1 3-4, Vinal 3 0-2 6, Wessels 0, Benjamin 3 0-0 6, Clarke 0, Wenzel 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 10-15 52.
M 16 11 9 11 – 47
N 17 7 22 6 – 52
Fouled out: None. Three-point goals: (M) S. Sovocool, Hooper, Ferdrizzi K. Stayton, Flick 2; (N) Carson, Maynard, Cashman (2).
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