BINGHAMTON – The last time Norwich was held under 40 points was the finals of the Section IV Class B tournament almost a year ago when Seton Catholic Central topped the Purple Tornado.
Johnson City nearly mirrored that defensive performance, and pulled away in the second half to down the Purple Tornado, 51-35, Friday night at Binghamton High School.
Up for grabs was the STAC Central Division title, and Johnson City came from behind for the title forcing a tie-breaking game after winning at Norwich last Wednesday night. The Wildcats now play Union-Endicott in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference playoffs.
“Our effort, intensity, and toughness were outstanding, and we battled the whole way,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott. “Johnson City is just a talented team that has played extremely well against us the last two times we’ve played them.”
Johnson City knew Norwich would make adjustments from the Wednesday night game in which it won, 64-54. In that contest, senior Rashawn Powell scored 25 points and Troy Robinson added 17.
Powell had just two points in the first half on two free throws, while Robinson scored four. Still, Johnson City managed to lead 21-17 finishing the final two minutes of the first half on a 10-0 run.
Powell, passing out of a Norwich double team, found teammate Isaiah Washington for an open jumper at 1:59 making it 17-13. After a Norwich turnover, Powell again passed out of a double team identifying a wide-open Cody Arvantakis for a dead-on three-pointer.
Norwich missed a layup on its next attempt, and Arvantakis drove the court finishing with a hoop-and-harm three-point play and the lead. At the end of the half, quick JC point guard Ian Pettiford hit a driving layup, and the Wildcats forged a four-point halftime edge that continued to grow. “We weren’t adjusting early to what they were doing, and I knew they would double and triple Pop (Powell),” said Johnson City coach Mark Woitach. “I thought for the most part, we were finding the open guys out of the double team. We also needed to pick up the defensive intensity and get out and run. We were able to do that.”
Early in the third, Johnson City extended its string of consecutive points to 17. Pettiford drove for a layup after Norwich’s Jacob Kelly missed at the other end, Arvantakis popped in another three-pointer from the top of the key, and Grant Vicks scored his only points of the game hitting a short-range bank shot.
Norwich responded with a putback basket by Dennis Oralls and Oralls followed that up with a three from the wing after a dish from Kelly. That made it 28-22, the closest Norwich would come in the second half. JC promptly answered with seven straight points to open a 13-point lead. In the middle of that run, Powell converted his first two baskets stroking a jumper from the foul line, then downing an inside jumper from the low post.
Johnson City shot 7-for-14 from the field in the last quarter, but on four of those misses, it hauled down the offensive rebound and put it back for two points. Powell had two of those, while Washington, playing the role of “super sub,” had the other two. Powell scored eight points in the last period to finish with 14 points and six blocked shots. Pettiford scored 13 and Arvantakis had 11.
