By James Champlin
Sun Sports Correspondent
NORWICH – Six-four-nine-four.
Powerball numbers? Combination to a safe? Perhaps a long forgotten code? None of the above, but rather the quarter by quarter scoring of a Sidney offense that was harassed, pressured, and generally befuddled by a Norwich defense that helped NHS coach Tom Collier claim his inaugural championship, 47-23, in the finals of the 16th Annual Tom Schwan basketball tournament Saturday night.
Junior Kyle Edwards, the tourney's MVP, scored six of his game-high 14 in the first quarter, but Norwich’s high-energy, full-court pressure was the story of this game. The menacing strategy designed to exploit the young backcourt of the Warriors repeatedly forced near desperation shots from long range as the shot clock ominously ticked down on nearly every possession.
“That was the best defensive effort I have seen in a long, long time,” Collier said after the victory. “Every player sold out and followed the game plan to a ‘T.’ Coach (Mike) Brazee (of Sidney) is a great man-to-man defensive coach, and he said some nice things about our full-court defense. The kids deserve all of the credit.”
In the opening quarter, Sidney's Billy Kozak converted a fast-break layup to knot the score at four-all, but the Warriors would then go into one of their many prolonged droughts, not scoring again for nearly five minutes. After all-tourney selection Seth Thomsen slashed to the hoop to give Norwich a 10-6 lead to end the first stanza, Sidney’s Brazee could only hope the quarter was not a portent of future misery.
But, after Norwich's Dennis Oralls, also an all-tourney pick, converted two free throws on a nifty crossover and spin move, followed by his three ball from the left wing to open the second quarter, Sidney's Damian Zimmer responded to keep the score close at 15-6.
No rain fell for the Warriors or Coach Brazee for another span of four minutes, and only Norwich's inability to convert numerous second chances and open looks from behind the arc kept the contest close. When Thomsen missed the front end of a bonus with 1:32 remaining in the half and the score standing at 18-10, neither team could enter the break pleased with their offensive proficiency. " believe our offense will turn the corner, but in the meantime we'll lean on our defense to keep us in games,” Collier said.
For the Warriors, the halftime adjustments produced minor improvements as they nearly doubled their first-half production, but eight of the nine points were scored in the final two minutes of the third. By then, Norwich was finishing fast breaks and continuing to pound the glass for additional opportunities. Edwards’ second bomb from behind the arc pushed the Tornado lead to 33-13 at the 3:04 mark of the third quarter. Thomsen slashed and bounced to a pair of short jumpers, and Sidney's Joe Matzel scored on a layup to close the quarter's scoring.
Entering the fourth up by eighteen, 37-19, Norwich had leaned on its defense and found it not wanting. The final quarter became merely a chance for both coaches to test their bench players under game conditions for the grueling season ahead. The final had Norwich a winner by 24 points...and it may still not be raining in Sidney.
