Norwich 61, Johnson City 52

NORWICH – On any given night in the STAC Central Division, any one of the four teams can beat the other three. Friday night at Jack Jones Gymnasium, it was Norwich’s night.

Norwich seniors Seth Thomsen and Dennis Oralls scored their team’s final nine points, and the Tornado picked up their first division win of the season defeating Johnson City.

Thomsen and Oralls started for last year’s Tornado club, one that was eliminated from the postseason by the Wildcats. “The last thing we talked about before we took the floor was that (Johnson City) ended our season last year,” said Norwich coach Tom Collier. “I think you saw how Dennis, Seth, and Ian (Weaver) answered that. They remembered what happened last year, and it was definitely on their minds.”

Weaver, playing his best game of the season, scored on a layup with 2:58 left. From there, Oralls and Thomsen traded points.

Thomsen penetrated the interior and kicked out a pass to Oralls on the right wing. Oralls stroked the three – his lone trey of the night – giving Norwich a 55-46 lead with 2:16 left. Each player went 3-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch as JC failed to mount a rally.