Near perfect free-throw shooting leads to the Wildcats win over Norwich Tuesday night
Frank Speziale Photo
NORWICH – The Purple Tornado held the lead through the first three quarters of the contest but a 24-10 in the fourth quarter lead to the Johnson City Wildcats stealing a 61-52 win over the host Norwich Tuesday night.
The first stanza was a game of back-and-forth between the two teams, each answer their opponents lead. Marcus Cashman continued his hot shooting from Friday’s game into Tuesday, hitting a three-pointer near the end of the quarter to give Norwich the 12-10 advantage.
Again in the second, the Tornado and the Wildcats played point-for-point but JC pulled out the quarter 18-17. Despite the one point difference in the quarter, the Purple held the one point lead into in the intermission, due in large part to the scoring by Michael Carson. Carson finished the half with 12 of his team-high 22 points.
The Norwich defense limited the Wildcats to just three baskets and three made free-throws after the halftime break, again outscoring JC 13-9 to go into the final quarter of play leading by five.
The stingy Tornado defense only allowed Johnson City’s leading scorer, Xavier Hill, to just 12 after three quarters. In the last two games Hill has played in, he has scored a combined total of 90-plus points.
However, in the fourth, Hill nearly matched his point total from the first 24 minutes by scoring 11 in the quarter. His 11 along with 100-percent shooting at the foul line from Alec Lopez, Marquis Smith, Jakire Hillard and Ladarius Thompson – shot a combined 9-for-9 – paced the Wildcats for the win.
From the 6:07 mark, the lead changed between the two teams seven times. With 2:52 left, the Wildcats obtained the lead by two of their made free-throws and did not give it back to Norwich for the remainder of the contest.
“We played pretty well but made some mistakes down the stretch that we weren’t able to overcome,” said Norwich’s assistant coach Tom Collier after the game. “We handled their pressure very well and have improved over the course of the season in that aspect.
“JC has some great athletes but we didn’t back down and played hard until the end. We have improved over the past month.”
To go along with Carson’s 22, Norwich’s Cashman finished the game with 10, Carson Maynard added eight, Marcus Benjamin scored six and J.T. Vinal chipped in four in the loss.
The Tornado is currently waiting for their sectional seed, which will be found out later tonight. Once all seeds are determined, game location, opponents and times will be announced.
The game was held at the Norwich YMCA due to a leak in the gym at the high school.
Johnson City: Jacob Harding 0; Alec Lopez 4 2-2-13; Marquis Smith 0 2-2-2; Dah-Shawn Warren-Howard 1 1-1-3; Jakire Hillard 1 1-1-3; David Chilson 0; Ladarius Thompson 5 7-10-17; Keith Harris 0; Xavier Hill 8 7-9-23; Adam Burns 0; Nick Conklin 0; Isaiah Osby 0. Totals: 19 20-25-61.
Norwich: Drew Walsh 0; Thomas Parrella 0; Michael Trevisani 0; Michael Carson 10 1-2-22; Marcus Cashman 3 2-2-10; Carson Maynard 4 0-0-8; Mujuni Mutabiilwa 0; JT Vinal 1 2-2-4; Grant Wessels 0; Marcus Benjamin 3 0-0-6; Jonathan Clarke 0;Skylar Wenzel 1 0-0-2. Totals: 22 5-6-52.
JC 10 18 9 24 – 61
N 12 17 13 10 – 52
Fouled out: Carson (N). Three-point goals: (JC) Lopez 3; (N) Cashman 2, Carson 1. Officials: Stepanorsky and Springer.
NORWICH – The Purple Tornado held the lead through the first three quarters of the contest but a 24-10 in the fourth quarter lead to the Johnson City Wildcats stealing a 61-52 win over the host Norwich Tuesday night.
The first stanza was a game of back-and-forth between the two teams, each answer their opponents lead. Marcus Cashman continued his hot shooting from Friday’s game into Tuesday, hitting a three-pointer near the end of the quarter to give Norwich the 12-10 advantage.
Again in the second, the Tornado and the Wildcats played point-for-point but JC pulled out the quarter 18-17. Despite the one point difference in the quarter, the Purple held the one point lead into in the intermission, due in large part to the scoring by Michael Carson. Carson finished the half with 12 of his team-high 22 points.
The Norwich defense limited the Wildcats to just three baskets and three made free-throws after the halftime break, again outscoring JC 13-9 to go into the final quarter of play leading by five.
The stingy Tornado defense only allowed Johnson City’s leading scorer, Xavier Hill, to just 12 after three quarters. In the last two games Hill has played in, he has scored a combined total of 90-plus points.
However, in the fourth, Hill nearly matched his point total from the first 24 minutes by scoring 11 in the quarter. His 11 along with 100-percent shooting at the foul line from Alec Lopez, Marquis Smith, Jakire Hillard and Ladarius Thompson – shot a combined 9-for-9 – paced the Wildcats for the win.
From the 6:07 mark, the lead changed between the two teams seven times. With 2:52 left, the Wildcats obtained the lead by two of their made free-throws and did not give it back to Norwich for the remainder of the contest.
“We played pretty well but made some mistakes down the stretch that we weren’t able to overcome,” said Norwich’s assistant coach Tom Collier after the game. “We handled their pressure very well and have improved over the course of the season in that aspect.
“JC has some great athletes but we didn’t back down and played hard until the end. We have improved over the past month.”
To go along with Carson’s 22, Norwich’s Cashman finished the game with 10, Carson Maynard added eight, Marcus Benjamin scored six and J.T. Vinal chipped in four in the loss.
The Tornado is currently waiting for their sectional seed, which will be found out later tonight. Once all seeds are determined, game location, opponents and times will be announced.
The game was held at the Norwich YMCA due to a leak in the gym at the high school.
Johnson City: Jacob Harding 0; Alec Lopez 4 2-2-13; Marquis Smith 0 2-2-2; Dah-Shawn Warren-Howard 1 1-1-3; Jakire Hillard 1 1-1-3; David Chilson 0; Ladarius Thompson 5 7-10-17; Keith Harris 0; Xavier Hill 8 7-9-23; Adam Burns 0; Nick Conklin 0; Isaiah Osby 0. Totals: 19 20-25-61.
Norwich: Drew Walsh 0; Thomas Parrella 0; Michael Trevisani 0; Michael Carson 10 1-2-22; Marcus Cashman 3 2-2-10; Carson Maynard 4 0-0-8; Mujuni Mutabiilwa 0; JT Vinal 1 2-2-4; Grant Wessels 0; Marcus Benjamin 3 0-0-6; Jonathan Clarke 0;Skylar Wenzel 1 0-0-2. Totals: 22 5-6-52.
JC 10 18 9 24 – 61
N 12 17 13 10 – 52
Fouled out: Carson (N). Three-point goals: (JC) Lopez 3; (N) Cashman 2, Carson 1. Officials: Stepanorsky and Springer.
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