Norwich’s Colin Olds scores eight straight points in the first quarter and finishes with a team-high 15 points. However, Norwich fell to Waverly 59-55 in the final minutes. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

NORWICH – It was a wild game between the Norwich Purple Tornado and the Waverly Wolverines boys’ basketball teams on Monday evening. The game came down to the final few minutes with Waverly taking the overall 59-55 advantage. Norwich held the lead in the first three quarters before their opponent pushed past, leaving them at a stand still while still putting up a good fight to the finish.

Norwich’s Colin Olds had an excellent first quarter with eight straight points with help from Steven Dowdall and Jacob Morris on the assists. While offensive efforts were strong, the Purple Tornado forced Waverly to turnover the ball multiple times with pressure on the pass.

Norwich took a 21-15 lead at halftime before the Wolverines showed their strengths in the second half. Norwich kept up efforts after the break, but Waverly kicked it up a notch. Waverly tied the game at 26 late in the third quarter, which Norwich was able to answer back and held a brief two-point lead heading into the final eight minutes. Those eight minutes were the major factor in the outcome of the game.

Both teams played strong within those minutes, but Norwich fell deep in foul troubles. Waverly showed consistency at the foul line, where overall, they made 19-of-29 free-throws. They also had two players stand out in that final quarter alone with one, Joey Tomasso, excelling with double-digits.

Norwich was within two points in the final three seconds of the game as Jacob Morris knocked in his fourth three-pointer of the night. However, Waverly added two additional free-throws and Norwich had no time to answer as time expired.

Norwich’s Colin Olds scored a team-high 15 points from his early efforts as Morris finished with 12 from strong three-point shooting. Graham Burton had nine points as Mitchell Collins and Steven Dowdall both added seven points in the loss.

Norwich (7-6) heads to Owego Apalachin on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.

Scores by quarter:

WA 5 10 18 26–59

NO 10 11 14 20–55

WA: Joey Tomasso 24, Xavier Watson 15, Jacob Benjamin 7, Hogan Shaw 4, Jake VanHouten 4, Jay Pipher 3, Kolsen Keathley 2.

NO: Colin Olds 15, Jacob Morris 12, Graham Burton 9, Mitchell Collins 7, Steven Dowdall 7, Wyatt Thornton 6.

Three-pointers: WA 1 (Watson); NO 5 (Morris 4, Collins)