NORWICH - After a solid win against Chenango Forks, the Norwich Purple Tornado boys basketball team returned to STAC play against a tough Chenango Valley. Norwich pushed through but their strong efforts were cut short as the Warriors took the 72-63 victory.

Chenango Valley fired away in the first half of play, taking a 44-31 lead at halftime, including posting 24 points in the second quarter. Norwich stayed up tempo, but couldn't put a stop on defense.

Junior Graham Burton led the Purple Tornado offense with 22 points, excelling in the third quarter with eight points. Steven Dowdall finished with 16 points, making five-for-10 free-throws and finding room to push the score in all but the fourth quarter.

Mitchell Collins knocked down four three-pointers to have 14 points in the loss.

Norwich sits at 1-1 in the STAC league with an overall record of 2-3. The Purple Tornado will be back in action on Thursday, December 21 against Central Valley Academy at 7 p.m.

Scores by quarter:

CV 20 24 13 15–72

NO 12 19 18 14–63

CV: Warren Walters 23, Nate Marinaro 21, Jordan Benowski 16, Jayden Jannotti 6, Jimmy Fitzgerald 3, Ben Kresge 3.

NO: Graham Burton 22, Steven Dowdall 16, Mitchell Collins 14, Kassen Stubb 4, Wyatt Thornton 2, Colin Olds 2, Chase Colley 2, Jacob Morris 1.

Three-pointers: CV 11 (Walters 4, Benowski 4, Marinaro 3); NO 5 (Collins 4, Dowdall).