Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH – The Norwich boys varsity basketball team earned a solid all-around team win when they hosted and defeated Chenango Forks by a score of 86-51.

The 35 point win at home in front of a full crowd of onlooking fans was led by Norwich's Dashawn King. King maneuvered his way to a game high 25 points as King and the Tornado truly trounced the Blue Devils.

The big home win for Norwich came following a weekend of basketball where Norwich competed in the Utica-Notre Dame Juggler Tournament – falling to a subpar 1-1 record on the weekend.

Norwich saw their first action of the weekend on Jan. 14, as they defeated Schalmont by a score of 57-45. Leading the way for Norwich in scoring during the Saturday game was Chris Jeffrey who boasted a solid 22 point game – as Norwich advanced to the finals of the tournament.

In the finals, Norwich faced off against Ithaca where the subsequently fell to the Bombers by a score of 86-62. Leading Norwich in the finals loss was Tre Bonham who hit two 3's going 4-4 from the line en route to a 20 point performance. Notably, Dashawn King and Tre Bonham both made the all-tournament team selection.

Coming off the tough loss to Ithaca, Norwich was faced with the Blue Devils of Chenango Forks on Wednesday, Jan. 17, where a moment of silence was held at the beginning of the game, showing respect to breast cancer awareness.

Waisting no time following the moment of reflection, Norwich jumped out to a solid 24-7 lead after just one period of play. Leading scorer on the night – King – managed to score 11 of his 25 total in the early offensive explosion in the first period.

Taking the game to the half, Norwich led Chenango Forks by a commanding 46-28 score. Impressively in the game, the Tornado was able to have all participating athletes score in some fashion as the true team effort allowed enough cushion early for the Norwich win. Despite the early scoring frenzy, the scoring would not drop off throughout the game as one might think when a lead has been established.

The Tornado boys enjoyed nearly four periods of 20 point plus of scoring – with only the third period ending short at 19 points. Securing some glory in the win – Marcus Cashman and Michael Carson would hit double digits in scoring with Cashman cashing in at 13 points and Carson following with 11 scored.

Next up for the Norwich Purple Tornado, they will play their next scheduled game on the road at Windsor this coming Friday, Jan. 20, at 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday game:

N: 24 22 19 21– 86

CF: 7 21 15 8– 51