NEW BERLIN – The Storm’s Levi Rifanburg and Andrew Jackson averaged double-doubles to lead their team to the Unadilla Valley Holiday Tournament championship trophy, a two-day showcase of local boys basketball talent.
The annual tournament saw four games in two days as UV played host the Norwich Purple Tornado, the Sherburne-Earlville Marauders and the Vestal Golden Bears. The Storm claimed bragging rights as they topped Vestal in the championship game Friday evening while Norwich went home with third place after defeating S-E. 
In Friday’s championship game, three Unadilla Valley players recorded more than 15 points in the scoring column with tournament MVP (Most Valuable Player) Jackson pouring in a game-high 23 points to lead the way. He added 12 rebounds to his statline.
A day earlier, the Storm took on Sherburne-Earlville and Jackson put up triple-double numbers – scoring 22 points while dishing out 10 assists and pulling down 15 boards as he added six steals in the 70-49 victory.
Rifanburg, an All-Tournament selection, grabbed 16 boards in the game to finished with 18 points in the win over Vestal but was a force inside in the opening round against the Marauders as he tallied a game-best 26 points and added 10 rebounds in the game.
Wyatt Grey, UV’s third scorer over 15, ended the championship night with 16 points.
The Storm held a 45-22 lead over the Golden Bears after three quarters of play. With the margin being as high as it was, Unadilla Valley head coach Matt Osborne stated he mixed up his rotation in the fourth quarter.
Vestal took advantage by going on a 30 point scoring run for the final eight minutes of play but the Storm’s lead from the first three quarters was enough for them to hold on for the win.
In the consolation game, Norwich saw the return of Marcus Cashman after an injury he suffered before the holiday and head coach Tom Collier said it provided the defensive lift the Tornado needed as they took down S-E, 63-56.
Offensively, Norwich’s Carson Maynard found his way to the rim as the Tornado were able to establish the attack early as they took an early 18-14 lead after one quarter.
Sherburne-Earlville battled back to close the deficit down to one point at halftime but out of the break, Norwich took the commanding lead once again as they finished the third with a 19-8 run.
The Marauders outscored the Purple Tornado by five as they racked up 20 points in the final eight minutes of play but Norwich’s third quarter run was took much for S-E.
Maynard led all scorers in the game with 26 and added 10 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season. He received an All-Tournament nod while Sherburne-Earlville’s Gabe Irwin tallied a team-high 21 in the game.
“Sherburne-Earlville was a very good team and Coach [Kevin] Vibbard has done a great job at putting his players in a position to succeed,” said Collier. “We got a really nice effort from everyone off our bench and it was our best balanced scoring effort team wise as more players contributed to the cause.
S-E also received 19 from Hunter Lane, who was named to the All-Tournament team, and 11 from Robert Hill.
Thursday kicked off the first round of the tournament and Norwich took on the Golden Bears to open play.
The Tornado missed 15 chances inside five feet of the rim against Vestal and the Golden Bears captured a five point win to move into the championship game, winning 65-60.
Norwich and Vestal were tied at 40-40 entering the final eight minutes. Collier stated that the Tornado defense struggled to the inside paint down the stretch, which allowed the Golden Bears to squeeze out the victory late in the game.
“That was disappointing to see as it showed a lack of effort on our part in competing when we needed it most,” said Collier. “You also can’t be successful when you miss that many chances at the rim.”
Tom Flanagan led Norwich with 16 points while Maynard put up 12, J.T.Vinal added 10 and both Skylar Wenzel and Mujuni Mutabiilwa tallied eight in the loss.
Vestal was led by Gabe Whiteman’s game-high 22 points. Teammates Noah Ecnomides and Ettore DiRado added 14 and 15 points to help paced the Golden Bears.
Thursday’s second game saw Rifanburg and Jackson combine for 48 points as Unadilla Valley defeated Sherburne-Earlville. 70-49.
The Storm took a 19-9 lead after one and continued to add to the lead throughout the next three quarters, holding off the Marauders.
S-E battled in the two middle quarters, scoring 14 and 16, but the 10 point lead by UV was too much to overcome.
Grey was also in double digits for the Storm, finishing with 10 points. Teammate Caleb Parker added 10 points also to give Unadilla Valley four scorers with 10 or more points in the contest.
Lane finished with 26 points to tie Rifanburg for the game-high. Noah Posson chipped in eight in the loss.
Thursday at 7 p.m. sees Sherburne-Earlville head to Sauquoit Valley for a Center State Conference contest while Unadilla Valley hosts Midstate Athletic Conference (MAC) opponent Unatego.
“It’s back to work on Monday and back to league play,” said Collier. “Our league is extremely competitive this year. Any team can beat anyone on any given night and our team needs to understand that every possession matters. Once we reach that mindset we will be successful I like what I saw in the Sherburne game now we just need to continue that effort nightly to be able to get to the position we want to reach.”
Norwich’s next game is also to be played on Thursday as they travel to Chenango Forks. Tip-off is slated for 7:15 p.m.