Boys’ Basketball

Norwich 61, Oneonta 44

NORWICH – Norwich senior Dennis Oralls was dead-on in the second half, and fellow senior Seth Thomsen put an exclamation point on the end of a Southern Tier Athletic Conference victory over longtime rival Oneonta, Monday night at Jack Jones Gymnasium.

Oralls scored on an array of jumpers, spot-up three-pointers, and driving baskets draining 16 of his 28 points over the final two quarters to finish one point shy of his career-high game.

“That was probably Dennis’ best all-around game as a varsity player,” said Norwich coach Tom Collier. “He’s been playing well anyway, but he was hurt and is getting healthier. That is good news for us.”

Oneonta was the latest team to get off to a fast start against Norwich scoring the game’s first six points. Bryce Wooden, Mike Calkins, and David Wright scored baskets prompting a Collier timeout.

NHS responded with the insertion of defensive standouts Danny Carson and Storm Cook, and the Tornado finished the quarter on a 12-2 run. Carson took a hand-off pass from Thomsen at the top of the key, and canned a three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to give Norwich a 12-8 lead.

Thomsen hit a short jumper after a helper from Mike Sutton to start the second, and Oralls completed a fast-break three-point play extending NHS’s lead to 17-8.