WICHITA, Kan. – The Norwich boys basketball team opened play in the 1A-DI State Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Friends University. Battling a tough Rural Vista squad, the Eagles used a 21-9 fourth quarter to finish with a 49-35 win.
Norwich 49, Rural Vista 35 – The Eagles led 10-2 after the first quarter, holding the Heat to just two free throws. Needing a spark, Rural Vista got two three-pointers from Cameron Mistic off the bench to cut into the Eagle lead and they were with 13-12 at one point. Norwich got back up by four at halftime, taking a 19-15 advantage into the locker room. The Eagles would lead by as many as six on two occasions in the third quarter but could not pull away as they led just 28-26 after three. Leading 32-27 in the fourth quarter, they got a big three-point play from Jayden Benge to take a 35-27 lead. Rural Vista got back within 35-30, but an 11-0 run from that point put the Eagles up by 16 as they finished with the 14-point victory.
Junior center Lucas Adams was a beast on the inside for Norwich, finishing with a 19-point and 13-rebound double-double. Benge was held in check for three quarters, but got rolling in the fourth, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the final stanza, including going 6-7 from the free throw line. Norwich improved to 23-4 with the win and they move on to face St. John’s/Tipton in the 1A-DI semifinals in Dodge City on Thursday night at 8:00.
After an upset win over Olpe to make it to the state tournament, Rural Vista finishes their year at 16-8 with the loss.
Rural Vista – Sanford 9, Van Bemten 7, Mistic 6, Eskeldson 5, Mein 5, Riedy 2, Brockmeier 1
Norwich – Adams 19, Benge 18, Kelly 7, K. Schroeder 3, Hilger 2
