Boys’ Basketball

Norwich 79, Whitney Point 47

NORWICH – For the second game in a row, Norwich was facing a touted unbeaten team, and for the second straight time, the Tornado remained as the lone unbeaten.

In a rematch of last year’s Section IV Class B championship game Saturday afternoon, the Purple Tornado finished the first half on a 16-0 run on their way to the Tom Schwan Memorial Tournament finals.

The getaway for NHS was spurred by flash, hustle, and good ol’ blue collar work ethic. In just a few moments, what was shaping up to be a barnburner turned into a laugher.

“We weren’t pushing the ball early in the game,” said Norwich coach Tom Collier. “Once we started to do that, it created a lot of problems for (Whitney Point).”

The start of the tournament was delayed by a day as inclement weather postponed Friday’s games. Norwich mirrored the late start to the tournament with an “average” quarter and a half of play. Whitney Point sophomore Brady Harrington hit his third three of the first half to tie the game at 18-18. No more than a 10 seconds later, the Tornado’s Mike Sutton buried a three ball for the lead. From that point, the only delay was the inevitable purple and white onslaught.

Buckets came with ease as Zan Stewart also hit a three during the closing first-half spurt, and Storm Cook finished off a 10-point first half with a put-back basket.

As good as the last four minutes of the first half looked, the third quarter was downright gorgeous. Whitney Point had trouble getting the ball past halfcourt succumbing to one turnover after another. The 16-point halftime lead became a bloated 29-point margin just 2:45 into the second half. Still, the level of intensity remained a 10 on a 10 scale.

Proof of the superlative effort resided in the diving steal of senior Matt Burke. Already leading by nearly 30, Burke dove over a Point player, and before hitting the ground, looped a pass over his shoulder to set up a fast-break layup for Sutton.