NORWICH – The Norwich Purple Tornado varsity boys basketball team has solidified themselves atop the rankings as they continue to mow down their competition.
As of Dec. 10, and according to the New York Sportswriters Association New York State ranking for each class in the state – Norwich comes in at a solid fourth in class B rankings.
However, only time will tell where Norwich will fall in the next release of the state rankings – as Norwich now has tacked on another win to their already unblemished season, when on Dec. 13, Norwich cruised to a 68-56 win over Owego.
The home win for the Tornado saw the two programs locked into a thriller at the half as Norwich and Owego remained all tied up at 30 when the halftime buzzer rang. Emerging from the half, Norwich rained down the points, as the Indians would play a respectable game but would be unable to keep pace with Norwich's 19 points scored in each of the third and fourth period's.
Doing a majority of their damage in the second half, Dashawn King grabbed 15 points after the half, as he truly helped lead the way for the Tornado in their win – King would finish as the game's leading scorer with a total of 20 points.
Assisting King in the second half surge for the Tornado was Chris Jeffrey and Tre Bonham. Jeffrey and Bonham would see a more evenly paced game throughout – but would each grab 8 points in the later half of play – with Bonham finishing second in scoring with 18 points and Jeffrey in third with 15 points.
Impressively, once again the Tornado defense seemed to step up their play – allowing the offense to settle in late for the win – while also holding five of the eight Owego athlete's who saw time under double digit scoring. The Indians three leading scorers would be held to low double digits with their leading scorers in their road loss – Sage and Crossgrove – coming in at just 12 points a piece. Owego's Paralius would trail his two teammates in scoring by just one point, as he grabbed 11 on the night.
Norwich (6-0 overall) will next see action when the Yellowjackets of Oneonta come to Norwich for a Friday, Dec. 16, matchup. The game in Norwich is slated to begin at 7:45 p.m. Notably the Norwich girls varsity team will be away at Oneonta for their next matchup on Friday, Dec. 16, at 7:45 p.m.
