NORWICH – Finding their rhythm in the second quarter, Norwich’s defense came alive. With their defensive effort in the second and third quarters, the Purple Tornado gained the lead and held it for the remainder of the contest to defeat Chenango Valley 66-48 for their seventh win of the season.
Chenango Valley’s Marcus Hanyon tallied eight points – six coming from beyond the 3-point line on back-to-back plays – in the first four minutes, aiding in the early 10-4 lead for his team.
Hanyon’s teammate Nate Klein, who had already dished out two assists in the game to Hanyon, started his own scoring spurt with two layups just seconds apart to give the Warriors a 14-9 lead with just over two minutes left in the first.
Norwich’s offense was triggered in the early stanza by Drew Walsh coming in off to the bench. Walsh, who is more so known for his defensive effort on the floor, scored seven of his game total nine points in the quarter – including the layup with 1:20 left to tie the game at 16-16.
“Drew gave us a big spark off the bench after our slow start,” said the Tornado head coach, Tom Collier. “He had a good week of practice and that resulted in him having a good game on Saturday. I keep telling the guys, you get out of this what you put into it.”