OWEGO – After fighting off a tough end of the regular season, the Norwich Purple Tornado boys’ basketball team traveled to Owego in the Section IV, Class A Quarterfinals. Norwich, who strived in Class B before new classifications bumped them up, kept up with their familiar STAC opponent, but dropped 64-60.

The game was just as competitive as the last time these two teams met at the end of January, where Owego won 75-70. However, anything was possible with the season on the line.

Norwich found themselves down by small margins throughout the contest with Owego remaining consistent with 16 points scored in all four quarters. Norwich could not match such efforts, but had a major boost in the final eight minutes with posting 22 points. However, they couldn’t stop the River Hawks from slowing down on their end of the court.

Both Norwich and Owego’s leading scorers posted 30 points with Norwich’s Steven Dowdall having his best game to close out his junior year. Dowdall scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. Colin Olds followed with 14 points with eight in the second quarter as Wyatt Thornton finished with 10 points.

Great season, Norwich and best of luck to seniors Jacob Morris, Wyatt Thornton, Jackson Sastri, Colin Olds, Jerome Palen, and Carmello Ithier. Norwich finished the 2023-2024 season with a 9-10 record.

Scores by quarter:

NO 13 12 13 22–60

OW 16 16 16 16—64

NO: Steven Dowdall 30, Colin Olds 14, Wyatt Thornton 10, Graham Burton 6, Kassen Stubb 4.

OW: Riley Loomis 30, Ben Rollison 9, Joe Palladino 8, Talan Schumacher 7, Zach Bensley 6, Owen Bronk 3, Kam Wicklund 2.

Three-pointers: NO 7 (Dowdall 5, Thornton 2); OW 7 (Rollison 3, Schumacher 2, Loomis, Bronk).