WALTON – The Storm came out of the gate flat and the host Walton Warriors took full advantage by jumping out to a large 15 point lead, a lead that Unadilla Valley was unable to recover from Tuesday night in the 67-57 loss on the road.

The Warriors outscored UV in the first eight minutes 18-9 as the hot, shooting hand of Walton’s Shane Merwin nailed four three-point field goals to pace the home team.

Merwin showed no signs of slowing down in the second, adding another six to his point total while his team went into the halftime break up 15 on the Storm.

In the third, UV shook off the first half with 25 points as they pulled within four as 2:40 remained in the quarter. The Storm received a big quarter from the duo of Levi Rifanburg Andrew Jackson as the two combined for 15 of the team’s rally.

Entering the final stanza down by six, Unadilla Valley needed their defense to take over and make some stops to stay in the game. Unfortunately, UV was unable to come up with said stops as the two teams nearly exchanged every basket, allowing Walton to hold on to their lead for the win.

“They [Walton] shot the ball very well tonight and forced a lot of turnovers,” said Matt Osborne, Unadilla Valley’s head coach. “Late in the game, we couldn’t get a stop and a score to get any closer.”