B-G and S-E squeeze out wins against non-league opponents

NORWICH – A circus shot during the third quarter ignited a 15-0 run by the Norwich Purple Tornado, leading to a comfortable lead by the start of the final eight minutes of play. The host Tornado then cruised to their 12th win of the season, taking down Southern Tier Athletic Conference divisional opponent Windsor Friday night.
The shot came from the hand of JT Vinal of Norwich after gathering a rebound while on his knees. With no Windsor defenders around and knowing he couldn’t get up fired a shot attempt that banked off the backboard for the 47-44 lead.
Following Vinal’s shot from the floor, Tommy Flanagan knocked down a big 3-pointer – his fifth of the game – and Carson Maynard hit a turn around 15-footer to extend the Purple Tornado lead. Vinal ended the third with two made free throws to give the home team an 11-point advantage.
Norwich then started off the fourth still in the same spurt to build the lead to a 20-point margin. The Windsor Black Knights attempted to chip away but every basket on the offensive end of the floor was answered by a Tornado bucket.
To open the game, Norwich jumped out to a 17-7 lead but Windsor responded, scoring 25 points in the second to pull the game back within two before the halftime break.
The Black Knights’ Jack Beattie led the scoring run, tallying 12 of the 25 in the stanza to bring his team back into the game.
Out of the intermission, the two teams exchanged points until midway through the third when Flanagan drained a shot from behind the 3-point arc to give Norwich the 45-44 lead. Then Vinal’s shot fell and the Tornado ran away with the momentum.
Flanagan led all scorers in the win, finishing with 20 points – 15 from his 5 made 3-pointers. Vinal ended the night with 17 while Maynard contributed 15 points.
Norwich saw 19 points from the bench as Torin Lawrence and Keegan Franklin each chipped in seven points, Anthony Cathcart had two and Andrew Mullen capped off the Tornado’s scoring with a deep 3-pointer to end the game.
Beattie was Windsor’s big scorer with 19 while Jordan Starley and Jim Lindsley finished with 10 points a piece. Ethan Reed also added nine in the loss for the Black Knights.
Norwich (12-3) is on the road for the week as they travel to Chenango Valley and Chenango Forks. They will see the CV Warriors first on Tuesday before heading to Chenango Forks on Friday. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.
Bainbridge-Guilford 59, Newark Valley 51
BAINBRIDGE – The back and forth contest between Bainbridge-Guilford and Newark Valley ended with the Bobcats of B-G coming away with the 59-51 non-league win against the Class B opponent Saturday afternoon.
Bainbridge-Guilford held a slim one-point lead after the first quarter but the visiting NV Cardinals held the home team to 10 points in the second. Newark Valley outscored the Bobcats in the stanza 13-10 to take the two point advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Yet in the second half of play, the balanced scoring along with the rebounding from Kolby Furgason and Parker Finch, B-G was able to take the lead back and go into the fourth quarter holding the one point margin in their favor.
Thanks to the clutch free throw shooting by the Bobcats down the stretch, Bainbridge-Guilford was able to come away with the win. Finch and Michael Stevens combined to go 6-for-11 at the foul line, helping the team outscore Newark Valley 18-11 in the final eight minutes of play for the victory.
Finch led all B-G scorers with 14 points while Furgason and Stevens each registered 10 points. Furgason and Finch also pulled down eight rebounds and Stevens dished out five assists.
As the Bobcats had balanced scoring throughout, Ryan Porter tallied nine in the win and Haiden Burns scored eight. Trent Thornton also kicked in six points.
Bainbridge-Guilford hosts Walton on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
Sherburne-Earlville 55, Sidney 50
SHERBURNE – Clinging to the one point lead Sherburne-Earlville held after the first quarter, the Marauders were able to top non-league opponent Sidney Friday night by a final score of 55-50.
S-E ended the first up 13-12 and the two teams each scored 12 points in the second to keep the advantage at one point during the intermission. During the second, the Sidney Warriors jumped ahead with a quick 4-0 run.
However, the Marauders had an immediate response, taking the lead back after going on their own scoring spurt that was sparked by Ethan Simonds made basket and one of two free throw attempts.
In the third, the Marauders’ John Oley scored a bucket then teammate Robert Hill tallied the next 12 points – including a made field goal as time expired in the stanza – to allow Sherburne-Earlville to slightly extend their lead with eight minutes left to play.
The fourth quarter saw the Warriors take the lead with Devon Johnson’s 3-pointer with 6:34 remaining. Six of the next eight points scored were by Sidney as they jumped ahead 50-44 with 3:20 left.
Four different S-E players register points in the final minutes of play as the Marauders defense shut down the Warriors and found their way back into the game, tying the score at 50-50 with 1:34 on the clock.
Gabe Irwin’s big 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining gave Sherburne-Earlville the lead for good. The Marauders’ senior then secured the victory for the home team with two made free throws.
Irwin finished the game with 13 points while Hill led all scorers with 20 on the night. Oley ended up chipping nine in the win.
Sidney had three score in double figures and were led by Jon Palmatier’s 19 points. Devon Chabot and Liam Matthews eached tallied 10.
Sherburne-Earlville (7-9) travels to Clinton on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game.