Boys’ Basketball

Norwich 58, Susquehanna Valley 47

CONKLIN – Norwich chopped down an opponent with much bigger size, and won its fifth straight game to start the season beating Susquehanna Valley on the road Friday night.

The Tornado, facing a formidable SV front line that featured 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-6 starters, won the rebounding battle, did not give up an offensive rebound in the first half, and forced 19 turnovers to lead 32-20 at the break. The only shortfall on the Tornado’s ledger was less than 30 percent shooting in the first half.

“For us to outrebound that team, given the size differential, is a testament to the heart and desire of this team,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott.

Jon Foulds had his best all-around game for Norwich this season finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds, five steals, six assists, and four blocked shots. Norwich upped its lead to 19 after three periods, but had to withstand SV’s early fourth-quarter spurt.

The Sabers started the final quarter on a 10-0 run to close to within nine points. “We didn’t play good offense at the start of the quarter,” Abbott said. “We were shooting the ball too quickly and weren’t making good choices.”

After that spurt, a Norwich timeout settled the Tornado down with Foulds grabbing a rebound, then taking the ball coast-to-coast for a layup. Following a defensive stop, Dennis Oralls hit a three, and Foulds following that up with a trifecta raising the lead back to 17 points. Oralls led Norwich with 18 points to go with five steals. Seth Thomsen added his first double-double of the season totaling 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“We’re very excited about our start to the season,” Abbott said, whose club held a 35-34 rebounding edge and forced 30 SV turnovers. “At the beginning of the season, there may have been questions about what ability this team had and its team chemistry. I think we’re coming together nicely. The guys enjoy practice and being around each other. We’re very tight-knit.”

Norwich (5-0) plays at Johnson City Tuesday.

NOTES: Norwich has now forced 59 turnovers over the last two games (EFA and SV) and has 36 steals in those contests...Norwich shot 22-for-67 for the game (32 percent) and had 13 turnovers in the contest.

NHS: Kyle Edwards, 1 0-0-2; Nate Ashton, 0; Dennis Oralls, 6 2-4-18; Patrick Taylor, 0; Josh Favaloro, 0; Jacob Kelly, 2 0-0-4; Frank Somich, 3 0-0-7; Seth Thomsen, 5 1-3-11; Jon Foulds, 5 4-4-16; Eric Walling, 0; Zach Martinson, 0. Totals: 22 7-11-58.

SV: Sam Green, 0; Nick Stenton, 0; Taylor Deeter, 0; Austin Simond, 3 0-0-7; Josh Swanger, 1 0-0-3; Dylan Brandow, 0; Colin Manchester, 4 2-2-13; Brendan Normile, 7 3-4-18; Trenton Benton, 3 0-0-6. Totals: 18 5-6-47.

NHS 17 15 18 8–58

SV 9 11 11 16–47

Team fouls: (SV) 12, (N) 12 Three-point goals: (N) Oralls 4, Somich, Foulds 2, (SV) Normile, Manchester 3, Swanger, Simond. JV: Sus Valley won 57-47; Officials: Szelkowski, Blair.

Oxford 65, Walton 46

OXFORD – After an 0-3 start, Oxford won its second league game this week to move over the .500 mark in Midstate Athletic Conference play.

Andrew Golden had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Booker Davis added 22 points and nine boards. “We’re just doing a better job of being patient on offense and getting better looks at the basket,” said Oxford coach Tim Davis.

Oxford, who beat Walton in last year’s league championship game, jumped out to a 24-11 halftime advantage. Walton upped the pace in the third closing to within nine. Davis scored 11 in the fourth quarter to push that advantage back into double digits.

“The move to varsity has definitely been a change for the guys who came up from JV,” Davis said. “I think we’re getting better and coming along.”

Oxford (2-3) plays at Harpursville on Wednesday.

Walton: Matt Bartlett, 1 1-2-4; Tim McGuire, 0; Dan Jacquays, 0 ; Ben Conklin, 0; Orrin James, 0 1-2-1 ; Collin Shick, 1 0-0-2; Tyler Magnis, 5 9-9-21; Donyelle Rouge, 0 1-2-1; Brian Hodges, 2 0-2-4; Dalton Kaminsky, 4 0-3-11; Tyler Davis, 1 0-0-2; Justin Dijiulio, 0. Totals: 14 12-20-46.

Oxford: Justin Schray, 2 1-2-7; Ryan Moore, 1 0-0-2; John Wonka, 0; Andrew Golden, 8 4-4-23; Paul Wonka, 0 1-2-1; Booker Davis, 9 4-5-22; Justin Harding, 1 0-0-2; Eric Dilfer, 0; Caden Izard, 2 0-0-4; Quincy Davis, 2 0-1-4; Corey Olsen, 0. Totals: 25 10-14-65.

Walt. 5 6 24 11–46

Oxfd. 14 10 20 21–65

Three-point goals: (O) Schray 2, Golden 3, (W) Magnis 2, Kaminsky 3, Bartlett. JV: Walton won 49-27.

G-MU 32, Laurens 29

COPES CORNERS – G-MU coach Bill Hartman drew up a play for a final shot against Laurens. The play was not executed properly, but junior guard DeMario Reed made it work.

Reed hit a running three-pointer from the top of the key that banked in at the buzzer to give the Raiders (3-0) the three-point win on Friday.

The Raiders overcame a sluggish performance where it scored a season-low point total. “We were very flat and didn’t have the intensity that we had earlier this week against Edmeston,” Hartman said. “Despite that, we led through the entire game except the last minute and a half. And the truth is, we held a team to 29 points. That’s a good sign.”

After Laurens moved ahead 29-27, G-MU sophomore Eddie Ray Cotton had a steal and a layup to tie the game up. Laurens had possession of the ball with a chance to score the winning basket, but Cotton deflected a ball off a Laurens player that went out of bounds to set up the winning basket. Cotton led the Raiders with 11 points and Ian Edwards scored nine.

“I think this was a good test for our kids to understand that you have to play every day, and you can’t look beyond anything,” Hartman said.

G-MU plays McGraw on Dec. 28 at the DeRuyter Tournament.