By RICK SPRUNGER
FORT WAYNE – The Norwell Knights did Tuesday night what good teams are supposed to do when the chips are down.
They battened down the hatches on defense, took over in the fourth quarter, hit their free throws down the stretch, and rallied to post a 54-47 win over upset-minded Wayne at the Summit City gym.
Trailing 42-38 heading into the final eight minutes, Norwell held Wayne scoreless for nearly five minutes while running off 9 unanswered points to surge in front, 47-42, then held off the Generals from there.
“We played our best defense in the fourth quarter and kept our mental focus better,” acknowledged Norwell coach Mike McBride after watching his team win for the ninth time in 12 outings.
“Give our guys credit for staying resilient, staying focused, and winning the game at the end.”
But for much of the evening, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“We were not very aggressive early,” assessed McBride. “Foul trouble hurt us, plus I think we played a little frustrated in the third quarter.
“We turned the ball over on three of our first four possessions (in the third quarter), and we had a couple of breakdowns where we didn’t have a man back.
“And you just can’t do that against a team like Wayne.”
The foul trouble saw Brody Bolyn and Ashton Federspiel both pick up their second foul by the 7:38 mark of the second quarter, a daunting proposition when faced with 6-foot-7 Wayne freshman Trey Dillard in the post.
And the stumble out of the third-quarter gate came after Norwell had taken a 28-25 halftime lead and started the second half with the ball.
But back-to-back traveling violations, a missed fielder, and a Wayne steal led to 6 quick ones for the Generals and a sudden 31-28 Wayne advantage less than two minutes into the quarter.
Norwell steadied a bit after a timeout but still trailed, 42-38, heading into the final frame after a Shawn Collins layup with 14 seconds left in the quarter for Wayne.
But then came the fourth quarter, and Norwell grabbed the game by the throat.
Luke McBride started the fourth quarter with a steal on the baseline and a bucket from underneath at the other end to swing the momentum in Norwell’s favor.
Lleyton Bailey knocked down a huge three to return the lead to Norwell for the last time at 43-42, and McBride and Luke Graft each followed with a pair of free throws to force Wayne to play from behind.
The Generals, meanwhile, were turning the ball over four times while missing their first four shots in the quarter.
A 3-pointer by Jevon Lewis and a three-point play in the lane by Monte Smith got Wayne within 49-47 with 2:13 left.
But McBride hit two big free tosses at the 1:02 mark, then took a long cherry-pick pass for a layup when Norwell caught Wayne’s fullcourt press napping on an inbounds pass to salt things away with 33 seconds remaining.
McBride led all scorers with 20 points and went over the 1,000-point mark for his career with a three-point play at the 4:04 mark of the second quarter.
He now has 1,017 points and counting.
He was the only Norwell player in double figures.
Graft with 9 points and Lleyton Bailey with 8 were the Knights’ next-highest scorers.
But the elder McBride singled out Cohen Bailey for special praise.
“Cohen played really well for us,” noticed his coach. “He handled the ball really well, played with a lot of poise, and played good defense.”
Lewis finished with 15 points for Wayne, 7 of them in a first quarter that set the pace of the game.
Norwell finished 20-for-46 from the field for the game (43.5 percent), just shy of Wayne’s 18-for-40 (45 percent) effort.
The Knights outrebounded the Generals, 27-22, with Graft picking off nine caroms.
Norwell turned the ball over 11 times for the game but just once in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Wayne finished with 14 turnovers with five of those coming down the stretch when the game was on the line.
Norwell also won the junior varsity contest by a 47-40 score. Adam McBride and Cade Shelton each scored 10 points for Norwell.
Wayne won the freshman contest, 41-34. Garry Riley scored 9 points and Noah Turk 8 for Norwell.
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NORWELL 54, FORT WAYNE WAYNE 47
At Wayne High School
NORWELL (9-3): Jake Parker 3-11 0-0 6, Luke Graft 3-6 3-4 9, Lleyton Bailey 3-7 0-0 8, Luke McBride 6-12 7-7 20, Brody Bolyn 1-3 0-0 2, Ashton Federspiel 1-3 1-2 3, Cade Shelton 1-1 0-1 2, Cohen Bailey 2-3 0-0 4. TOTAL: 20-46 11-14 54.
FORT WAYNE WAYNE (1-8): Monte Smith 3-7 2-2 8, Jevon Lewis 6-12 2-2 15, Chase Barnes 2-8 0-0 5, Marquette Lee 2-5 2-3 7, Trey Dillard 3-6 2-2 8, Shawn Collins 2-2 0-0 4, Kishawn Toles 0-0 0-0 0, Jamarius Eldridge 0-0 0-0 0. TOTAL: 18-40 8-9 47.
Norwell 12 16 10 16 –– 54
Fort Wayne Wayne 13 12 17 5 –– 47
Three-point Goals: Norwell 3-12 (Parker 0-2, Graft 3-6, L. Bailey 2-4, McBride 1-3, Federspiel 0-1, C. Bailey 0-1), Wayne 3-11 (Smith 0-1, Lewis 1-4, Barnes 1-4, Lee 1-1, Dillard 0-1). Rebounds: Norwell 27 (Graft 9), Wayne 22 (Dillard 8). Turnovers: Norwell 11, Wayne 14. Fouls: Norwell 16, Wayne 17. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Norwell 47, Wayne 40.
Freshmen: Wayne 41, Norwell 34.
