Evening Sun Report
Boys’ Basketball
Norwich 74, Johnson City 54
NORWICH – One night after a hard-fought road victory at Owego, the Purple Tornado – for three quarters – easily played its best and most consistent basketball of the season in coasting to a 20-point victory over the Wildcats Thursday evening.
“We did a lot of good things, and I was especially pleased with the offense,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott. “We had great spacing and shot the ball with confidence.”
Norwich was particular effective in finding the open shooter in the first quarter, and in transition, had no trouble finishing on the fast break.
Josh Borfitz hit two three-pointers – the first and last three points of the opening stanza – and Corey Dietrich along with Casey Edwards canned three balls in between to stake Norwich to a 21-9 lead.
After JC scored the opening points of the second stanza, the Tornado went on a 10-0 run to create a 22-point bulge. Dietrich scored on two layups, Vaughn Labor and Christian Hotaling knocked down a pair of free throws, and Borfitz capped the spurt with another steal and layup.
“Defensively, we did a nice job mixing it up, and we kept them off balance most of the night,” Abbott said. “This (win) has to give us more confidence, especially coming off the tough win the night before. To come out with the energy we had was really good.”
Norwich finished the third quarter on three straight traditional three-point plays. Timmy Clark hit a floater on the baseline, while drawing a foul, and Edwards along with Richie Bonney took the ball strong to the rim for hoop-and-harm three-spots.
Labor led a balanced Norwich lineup with 16 points, Borfiz scored 11, and Dietrich 10.
Norwich hosts Chenango Forks Saturday with a 1 p.m. junior varsity start.
JC: Dominic Dellos, 0; Braden Kuzel, 2 1-1-5; Jake Spalik, 1 0-0-2; Josky Yebo, 2 2-2-7; Ronald Teekasineh, 4 0-0-10; Troy Robinson, 3 0-1-7; Gil Choi, 1 0-2-2; Jason Phillips, 1 2-3-4; Zach Matuszak, 1 3-3-5; Taylor Kettle, 2 0-0-4; Daquan Jones, 4 0-4-8. Totals: 21 8-16-54.
Norwich: Casey Edwards, 3 1-1-8; Richie Bonney, 3 1-1-7; Corey Dietrich, 4 0-0-10; Tim Clark, 2 1-1-6; Josh Borfitz, 4 0-0-11; Vaughn Labor, 6 4-5-16; Seth Thomsen, 1 1-4-3; David Carson, 1 0-0-2; Derek Hughes, 0 3-6-3; Cory Law, 0; Andrew Austin, 2 0-0-5; Christian Hotaling, 0 3-6-3. Totals: 26 14-24-74.
JCity 9 8 15 22–54
NHS 21 17 23 13–74
Fouled out: none. Team fouls: (N) 17, (JC) 22. Three-point goals: (N) Borfitz 3, Dietrich 2, Edwards, Clark, Austin. (JC) Yebo, Robinson, Teekasineh. JV: Johnson City won. Officials: Haynes, Vinsevich.
Otselic Valley 64, DeRuyter 47
DERUYTER – The Vikings won their fourth straight game, and dealt DeRuyter its first Central Counties League defeat of the season on Thursday.
David Cerasani scored 18 of his season-high 29 points after halftime. OV (5-1) trailed by two at halftime, but after the third quarter had turned the score into a 12-point advantage. “The first half was a slugfest with each team struggling to earn everything,” said OV coach Dave Loomis. “In the third quarter, we rebounded the ball well, got some good looks, and took command of the game.”
Brad Wentworth hit two three balls in the third quarter and Cerasani added a trifecta during a 19-5 period. Wentworth posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Cerasani dished out 10 assists. “We were down a couple of players, and I wasn’t sure if we would take care of business tonight,” Loomis said. “It was a real good win for us, and the supporting players stepped up well.”
OV: Adam Duell, 2 0-0-4 ; David Cerasani, 9 9-11-29; Tyler Davis, 2 0-3-4; Brad Wentworth, 5 2-5-15; Dusty Davis, 2 0-0-4; Jefferson Pittsley, 2 1-2-6; Jamin Selan, 1 0-0-2. Totals: 23 12-19-64.
DeRuyter: Cody Tiffany, 0 4-6-4; Brett Vosberg, 5 5-13-15; Josh Dunagan, 0; Shawn Rutherford, 4 2-6-10; Al Cizenski, 0; Ethan Grime, 2 2-2-8; Dan Raymond, 2 1-2-5; Eric Russell, 0 1-4-1; Matt Stevens, 2 0-0-4; Ryan Ellis, 0; Andy Driscoll, 0. Totals: 15 15-31-47.
Oval 13 10 19 22–64
DeR 9 16 5 17–47
Fouled out: (OV) D. Davis. Team fouls: (OV) 25, (D) 20. Three-point goals: Cerasani 2, Wentworth 3, Pittsley. (D) Grime. JV: DeRuyter won. Officials: Socker, Zonacci.
