Frank Speziale Photo
NORWICH – In Norwich’s first home game of the season, the Purple Tornado put on quite a rebounding and scoring display for the crowd on their way to a 79-61 win over the visiting Chenango Valley Warriors Monday night.
Norwich finished with very balanced scoring as a team having five finish in double digits in the points column.
After a slow start, Norwich started to find their grove getting back-to-back three-pointers from Carson Maynard and Marcus Cashman. The Purple Tornado then went on a 20-2 run, ending the quarter with a 18 point lead.
The Warriors fought back with balanced scoring throughout the team, out scoring Norwich 16-13 in the second quarter, taking momentum into the intermission.
But the Purple came out of the break and quickly I created the gap between the two teams, as Maynard sunk another shot from beyond the arc to start the scoring in the third. Norwich dropped 25 points in the quarter with a large contribution from J.T. Vinal and Mujuni Mutabiilwa. Mutabiilwa scored nine points in the third after being very quiet in the first half while Vinal chipped in six of his game-high 17 points.
Norwich’s defense caused many turnovers and grabbed many rebounds, helping them score quickly in transition.
“Our defense gave up 61 points and that’s a lot of points but there were a lot of possessions in the game,” said Tom Collier, Norwich’s assistant coach. “When we are scoring so quick, it gives them a lot of chances to score. We talked about it but we will just have to play better defense.
“Overall, we are happy. For the first time since I have started coaching with the program, CV came out of their zone defense, which is what they usually always play against us. That’s really a credit to our kids for their execution of our offense.”
Before entering the final quarter, the Tornado had Michael Carson (10), Cashman (11), Maynard (16), and Vinal all eclipse 10 points. Mutabiilwa joined in the fourth to give Norwich their fifth player. Jon Clarke came off the bench to add seven.
Vinal recorded a double-double with his 17 and 12 rebounds. Carson added another seven for Norwich.
“Our sophomores really played well tonight,” said Collier. “J.T. [Vinal] had a great game for us. Carson [Maynard] has been solid all year. He’s obviously playing well now and hopefully he just continues to keep improving.”
Chenango Valley was led by Pat Buchinsky as he finished with 16 points, eight coming from the free-throw line. His teammate, London Jeter chimed in 13 points, nine coming from behind the arc.
