Oneonta 46, Norwich 37

NORWICH – Norwich’s margin for error was slim, and Oneonta punished the Tornado for failing to capitalize on a golden opportunity.

After the Purple missed a layup that would have cut the Oneonta’s lead to three, the ‘Jackets strung 11 straight points together over the next four possessions to put the game on ice.

Brendan Harder led Oneonta with 14 points and numerous blocked shots, while third-year senior starter Dan O’Brien added 12 points.

Harder converted a three-point play immediately after the Tornado’s missed layup, and Alex VanDeusen hit back-to-back three balls – his only points of the game – to help extend a once 35-30 game into a 14-point comfortable margin with 2 1/2 minutes to play. “I thought we played a good game against a really good team,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott. “Our effort was good, we just need to be more efficient offensively and do a better job putting points on the board. Our physical effort was fantastic, but every time we had a miscue, it came back to bite us. VanDeusen’s threes were killers.”

Norwich trailed from late in the first quarter throughout the rest of the game, and found themselves in a seven-point hole late in the third quarter – Oneonta’s largest lead outside of the final five minutes.