Boys’ Basketball

Norwich 79, Whitney Point 47

NORWICH – For the second game in a row, Norwich was facing a touted unbeaten team, and for the second straight time, the Tornado remained as the lone unbeaten.

In a rematch of last year’s Section IV Class B championship game Saturday afternoon, the Purple Tornado finished the first half on a 16-0 run on their way to the Tom Schwan Memorial Tournament finals.

The getaway for NHS was spurred by flash, hustle, and good ol’ blue collar work ethic. In just a few moments, what was shaping up to be a barnburner turned into a laugher.

“We weren’t pushing the ball early in the game,” said Norwich coach Tom Collier. “Once we started to do that, it created a lot of problems for (Whitney Point).”

The start of the tournament was delayed by a day as inclement weather postponed Friday’s games. Norwich mirrored the late start to the tournament with an “average” quarter and a half of play. Whitney Point sophomore Brady Harrington hit his third three of the first half to tie the game at 18-18. No more than a 10 seconds later, the Tornado’s Mike Sutton buried a three ball for the lead. From that point, the only delay was the inevitable purple and white onslaught.

Buckets came with ease as Zan Stewart also hit a three during the closing first-half spurt, and Storm Cook finished off a 10-point first half with a put-back basket.