By Robert Jeffrey

Sun Sports Contributor

Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH- For many high school hoops fans across the Southern Tier, this game has been circled on their calendars multiple times- and finally after three different postponements due to inclement weather, Mother Nature decided that instead of playing in January, she’ll wait until February. Now fans understand why she waited as the Tornado prevailed in a barn-burner against fellow Section IV foe Seton Catholic Central. And for some fans who may have already had a predetermined outcome, they left before pre-game warm-ups began.

Appropriately enough on senior night, the game was unlike any other that the Tornado have played thus far. Instead of tip-off, it was a miniature free-throw contest as both the Saints Leo Gallagher and the Tornado’s Tre Bonham both went to the line to shoot two freebies-this uncharacteristic start was due to two indirect technical fouls called on the both the Tornado and Saints benches due to players dunking/pulling on the rim during pregame warm-ups. Both teams went unblemished from the line and the game began tied at 2-2.

Bonham’s hot hand went beyond the free-throw line, opening the game with a trifecta followed by another pair of free-throws-awakening a still confused home crowd. Recording half of the Tornado’s scoring total in the first quarter with nine points, Bonham needed help offensively and Norwich needed a spark. Look no further than Tornado center Chris Jeffrey who delivered some momentum with a vicious two-handed Tomahawk slam dunk that drove those inside Jack Jones gymnasium into a frenzy. Seton, forced to now deal with a hostile crowd took a timeout. However, the boost that Jeffrey’s dunk provided seemed to vanish as the Tornado offense slowed due to multiple traveling violations-leaving the door open for the Saints to move within striking range. By the time the first period ended, the Saints waited for Norwich’s next move as the Tornado led 18-12.

With the Tornado’s offense still rolling on all cylinder, Norwich extended their lead to nine points with 6:00 left in the second period. Then as if right on cue, the Saints saw their opportunity. Chris Jeffrey received his second personal foul with 3:30 left in the first-half. It could be heard from the stands as Seton head coach Chris Sinicki told his team during a pair of Peter Hartrick free-throws to attack the rim with Jeffrey out of the game. The rim-protector was gone and the Saints attacked the rim, going on a 10 point run in which the Tornado defense couldn’t stop. With the game knotted at 30 apiece and under thirty-seconds left, Norwich senior Chris Brown delivered a pass to teammate Michael Carson underneath the hoop for a lay-up; putting the Tornado ahead 32-30 as first-half action ended.

With Bonham and Jeffrey seen as the Norwich’s main offensive threats, Seton started the third period focused on stopping the Tornado-tandem; enter Michael Carson and Dashawn King. King and Carson combined in the second half of play for an incredible 26 points. King scored 12 of his 17 points on the night solely in the third, while Carson scored three, but still awaited his final curtain call. With the game still hanging in the balance and the Tornado lead up to 47-42, while the night was designated to the Tornado upperclassmen, a lone freshman on the Norwich bench decided to crash the party.

J.T Vinal, guarding Seton Catholic’s eighth grade stud Marcus Dyes, decided to not only stop the man who scored 16 points on the night, co-leading his team in scoring, but Vinal as crafty and quick as he might be, pick pocketed Dyes before pushing the ball up the court- and went to free throw line-giving the Tornado a bit of momentum. Despite missing both shots, Vinal wanted an instant-replay; stripping Dyes again, this time passing it to King who went to the line and put NHS up 50-42.

“J.T (Vinal) is just a ball of energy and makes good things happen, he gets the crowd going and that was huge for us,” said head coach Brian Collier.

But Seton’s point guard Leo Gallagher, trying to silence the Tornado crowd and keep the game within range for the Saints - delivered a trifecta to end the third period. With the score 50-45, Norwich still led, but Seton still wanted to dance.

There is a time to win, and then there is a time for a comeback. In the case of Norwich junior Michael Carson, it was all about winning. And what better way to begin the final eight minutes than score the first two points of the final quarter, and follow it up with a huge four-point play off of another – one three pointer. Carson’s antics put Norwich up 56-45 early in the fourth and neither Carson nor the Tornado planned on losing this game.

“Michael (Carson) has been playing really good in the last couple of weeks, he was really aggressive in the second-half,” said coach Collier.