Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH – For the second game in a row, Norwich controlled the boards en route to another victory. The 75-67 win comes against Susquehanna Valley for the second time this season in what was a very physical game Thursday night.

The Purple never trailed during the contest, in large part to their brute defense and knocking down their free throws.

Standing out on the defensive side of the game for Norwich was Marcus Cashman. Cashman usually is assigned to cover the opponents leading scorer and does a good job of holding them to very little – if any – points at all.

“Cash [Cashman] had a great night for us,” said Norwich’s assistant coach Tom Collier. “He is one of the toughest defenders we have and usually does a great job shutting down the opponents leading scorer.”

Collier also mentioned the Purple received a strong defensive presence from J.T. Vinal, who did a good job of limiting Sus Valley’s Jarred Frejie to 10 points.

“I had just finished watching some tape of them [Sus Valley] playing against Seton. They played them tough and I knew they were going to do the same with us. Mark Ward does a great job developing his kids,” said Collier.

Offensively, Norwich’s Marcus Benjamin had a strong night, recording a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Benjamin crashed the glass all game long, grabbing eight of his 11 on the offensive end.