BINGHAMTON – Corey Dietrich and Josh Borfitz hit the floor diving for a loose ball as the final seconds ticked off the clock. It was that type of hustle – from the opening tap to the final horn – that gave Norwich the slimmest edge over previously-unbeaten Vestal Sunday night at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

With its unblemished mark still intact, the Tornado progressed to the Regional Division One finals at the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic nipping the Golden Bears, 53-52. NHS meets Seton Catholic Central Tuesday evening for the title at 7:30 p.m. “We definitely have not faced anyone with the size of Vestal,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott, whose club is off to an 8-0 start. “We battled hard and I’m really proud of our guys. It’s a huge win and we’re very excited about it.”

Norwich struggled with its shooting in the first half making six of 28 attempts. It trailed by eight early in the second quarter, yet still managed to close the first-half deficit to 25-22. Josh Borfitz scored seven in the second quarter – three coming on one of his five three balls. Still, Borfitz misfired from long range more often than not. His short-term memory on those misfires; however, keyed a second-half rally.

“Offensively, we did not have a good rhythm in the first half, and Josh missed some shots he normally makes,” Abbott said. “I told him to hang with it and keep shooting. Shooters have to keep shooting.”