By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Norwood Pirates won the Cabool Classic tourney Friday night in a tight decision over Galena, 54-51.
“We’re undersized against them and we knew we had to control the boards, and I think we did a good job of that,” said Norwood head coach Shane Chadwell. “We hit some shots early that kind of set the tone for us and our kids stepped up and met the match.”
Gavin McGraw and Garrett Davault helped the Pirates to a 7-0 start with a bucket each, as well as a big shot from downtown from Davault. Brayden Sartin connected on his own three for the Bears, but Norwood’s hot start helped them close the frame with a 13-7 lead.
The early lead held in the second quarter as each team added 11 points. Wyatt Snelson had 8 of Galena’s points under the basket and Gavin McGraw added 6 for Norwood in the frame.
Norwood stretched its lead in the third, as McGraw connected underneath and on an outside jumper and Davault scored on a steal and on a deep three. They closed the quarter with a 12-point lead over Galena.
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Galena came roaring back in the final frame, led by senior forward Wyatt Snelson with 10 points in the quarter. With 30 seconds left, Zayne Gale connected on a three to bring the Bears within 3. The Pirates’ missed free throws led to a Jake Poole layup for the Bears with 12 seconds remaining. But Garrett Davault’s work at the charity stripe in the final seconds was enough to close the contest with a Norwood victory.
“We play as a team,” said Coach Chadwell. “We aren’t flashy, we don’t have 6’6” athletes walking around, but we get down and get the job done. We play 1-8 guys and we had some of our 6, 7, 8 guys stepping up and getting big shots throughout the whole tournament. We knew for us to be good we had to have a bench and our bench guys have been huge for us.”
“Our goal is a district championship and this is the type of game that prepares you for that,” he said. “Every game is a big game and we have a tough road the rest of the way, but I think the kids are ready for the challenge. They felt like they should be here tonight.”
The All-Tournament Team included: Garrett Davault, Norwood (MVP); Korbyn Tune, Houston; Jacob Shockley, Cabool; Zayne Gale, Galena; Wyatt Snelson, Galena; and Gavin McGraw, Norwood.
Scoring for Norwood: Garrett Davault, 19; Gavin McGraw, 17; Josh Bradshaw, 10; Jalen Drake, 5; Justin Chadwell, 3.
Scoring for Galena: Wyatt Snelson, 22; Zayne Gale, 14; Jake Poole, 7; Ethan Bailey, 3; Brayden Sartin, 3; McHale Hyde, 2.
