BINGHAMTON – The Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena served as the venue for another vintage Norwich comeback victory.
Down 10 points to New York Mills to start the fourth quarter, Norwich made up that deficit, held the Marauders to a single field goal over the final eight minutes, and won the Stop DWI Holiday Classic Regional 2 title, 48-45 Monday night.
Michael Sutton scored a team-high 19 points, eight in Norwich’s fourth-quarter charge. A pair of Sutton free throws with four seconds left iced the win as New York Mills failed to get off another shot.
“I really can’t name the spark, but we’ve come back in this type of situation,” Sutton said, who was named the tournament’s MVP. “We got some stops in the fourth quarter and scored in transition.”
Seemed like a lid was placed on the Norwich bucket for most of the first three quarters. Sutton lamented his own misses around the bucket, and Norwich shot under 30 percent for the game (18-for-61). “Just a bad day,” Sutton said of his team’s shooting woes.
Yet Norwich still won at less than its best. “The biggest concern I’ve had since day one is shooting percentage, and the numbers (this season) are below where we can shoot,” said Norwich coach Tom Collier. “You have to think that they will even out by the end of the season.”
The Purple Tornado (6-0) briefly held the lead in the first quarter, but found itself playing catchup to a Marauders team that was ranked number one in the state among Class D schools, and should retain that position based on a impressive performance against a state-ranked NHS club.
Early in the third quarter, New York Mills senior standout Nick Comenale triggered a 10-1 run that increased his team’s lead to 41-27. Comenale broke out against the NHS press and received a pair of pinpoint, full-court passes from teammate Zach Vennaro that ended in layups. Comenale stole the ball from the NHS offense on another sequence that led to a layup, and two more buckets – one from Zach Griffith and Ali Hassan – had Norwich reeling.
“I could see things were going south, and as a coach, I knew I had to do something,” Collier said. “I started to encourage instead of discourage. Every little thing I was encouraging them.”
Michael Oralls converted a three-point play, Zan Stewart nailed a jumper, and Sutton hit a free throw as Norwich drew to within 10, 43-33, to enter the fourth.
