By RICK SPRUNGER
Norwell rode the inside-outside play of Ashton Federspiel and Adam McBride to a big 54-46 win over defending regional champion Fort Wayne Dwenger at the Castle Tuesday night.
Federspiel scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half to stake Norwell to a 30-20 halftime lead. McBride added 21 points on 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range plus four of four free throws in the final 0:21 to keep Dwenger at arm’s length.
Norwell improved to 3-1 on the young season.
The game was Dwenger’s first of the campaign.
“Our kids are really competing right now,” smiled Norwell coach Mike McBride of his team’s effort against a big, rugged opponent from the Summit Athletic Conference.
“I really like our intensity and the way we have kids diving for loose balls.”
He also liked the way his Knights stared down challenges from Dwenger in both halves.
Dwenger never led in the game but forged the only tie at 16-16 early in the second quarter.
But Norwell immediately tore off a 10-0 run to force the Saints to play from behind, and right in the center of it was Federspiel.
He rifled a pass to an open Cade Shelton under the basket to give Norwell the lead back at 18-16, then closed the burst with a reverse layup and a three-point play on a power move underneath for a 26-16 score.
“We had some matchups,” said the elder McBride of Federspiel’s breakout second quarter. “They were playing (6-8 senior Caleb) Lehrman on Cade Shelton. I don’t think they wanted him to get into foul trouble, and Ashton played really well with that matchup.”
Norwell came out firing in the second half and grabbed a 39-23 advantage midway through the third period on a jumper in the lane by Cohen Bailey, but Dwenger was there with an answer.
Between the 4:03 mark of the third quarter and the 6:40 mark of the fourth, Dwenger outscored the Knights, 15-3, to get right back in it at 42-38.
This time, it was McBride who stepped up for Norwell.
He had scored the Knights’ only points during that Dwenger run on his fourth three-pointer.
And now he blunted the Dwenger charge with his fifth, this one from the top of the key for a 45-38 score.
But back-to-back Dwenger threes around a Federspiel score underneath inched the Saints to within one possession at 47-44.
“They really stepped up and hit some shots,” said McBride later of the Dwenger comeback.
It was then that Bailey stepped up and left his mark with two big steals on defense that helped preserve the Norwell advantage.
The first came after Dwenger had regained possession after a Norwell turnover, down just those three points.
Dwenger tried to push the ball down low to the big 6-8 Lehrman on the block, but Bailey stepped in front of the pass and denied Dwenger the opportunity to draw even closer.
Then, after a pair of Federspiel free throws pushed the margin to 49-44 with 1:22 left, Bailey came up with another steal.
“Those were two huge steals,” said McBride. “And he blocked a shot. He was kind of dinged up a little bit, so he was not as explosive offensively as he can be. But he was gritty and tough on the defensive end when we needed him to be.”
Dwenger still managed to get back to within 50-46 with 0:24 to play, but McBride hit four straight free throws to put things on ice.
Norwell finished 18-for-37 from the field for a .486 shooting percentage for the game.
Dwenger was 15-for-32 for .468 and was led by Lehrman with 14 points, 10 of them coming in the second half, and Ryan Groves with 11.
Norwell also won the junior varsity contest, 39-23. Will Case led the team with 16 points. Brady Smith added eight, Caiden Petrie and Nick McBride five apiece, Ryne Thornton three, and Gary Riley two.
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NORWELL 54, FORT WAYNE DWENGER 46
at Norwell
BISHOP DWENGER (0-1): Harrison Parent 0-1 3-5 3, Luke Jacquay 1-2 0-0 3, Ryan Groves 4-8 0-0 11, Caleb Lehrman 5-12 4-9 14, Aslan Nolan 4-6 0-0 9, Brady O’Keefe 0-0 0-0 0, Eddie Miller 1-3 3-4 6, Joe Schenkel 0-0 0-0 0. TOTAL: 15-32 10-18 46.
NORWELL (3-1): Cade Shelton 2-5 1-2 5, Adam McBride 6-12 4-4 21, Owen Wallis 0-1 0-0 0, Cohen Bailey 1-2 2-4 4, Ashton Federspiel 8-14 5-7 22, Kaedyn Quintanilla 1-2 0-0 2, Trace Moser 0-1 0-0 0. TOTAL: 18-37 12-17 54.
Bishop Dwenger 11 9 13 13 — 46
Norwell 14 16 12 12 — 54
Three-point shooting: Dwenger 6-15 (Parent 0-1, Jacquay 1-2, Groves 3-5, Lehrman 0-1, Nolan 1-3, Miller 1-3), Norwell 6-11 (McBride 5-9, Federspiel 1-1, Quintanilla 0-1). Rebounds: Dwenger 22 (Lehrman 8, Groves 6, Nolan 5), Norwell 22 (Shelton 8, Federspiel 5). Turnovers: Dwenger 14, Norwell 10. Personal fouls: Dwenger 19, Norwell 14. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
Junior varsity: Norwell 39, Dwenger 23.
