By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Thayer Bobcats claimed the Cabool Holiday Tournament trophy with a 70-53 victory over the Norwood Pirates Thursday night.
“It was a tough game, and the score doesn’t indicate how close that was,” said Thayer head coach Matt Pitts. “They are a great team, they are well-coached, and they’re going to win a lot of games.”
In the battle of the No. 1 ranked undefeated team from class three, Thayer, and the number one undefeated team from class two, Norwood, the teams were back and forth until late in the third quarter, when Jordan Andrews hit two shots underneath the basket, and Landry Pitts connected from downtown for back-to-back threes to launch the Bobcats to a 10-point lead they never relinquished.
“Landry made a couple of big shots that gave us some separation and that let us have a bit of a cushion, and we made it kind of hard for them to score on the defensive end,” said Coach Pitts.
But Pitts was quick to note the contributions of his entire team for the tournament victory. “Last night, Lane Grimes was great, tonight Landry Pitts was great, Jordan Andrews did great things, Aidan Burns did great things, Keaton Nicholson did great things, Gaige Pitts did great things…it’s a culmination of all those guys, and that’s why we’re successful,” he said.
“With four state-ranked teams at the top of this thing, it was going to be tough to win,” he added. “So for us to beat Alton last night and to turn around and beat Norwood tonight, that’s two big wins for us.”
Norwood head coach Shane Chadwell said he was proud of his team and how they competed.
“For three quarters, we played like we needed to play,” he said. “There were just a couple of minutes where they got some offensive boards and second-chance opportunities, and we knew that would kill us if they did that. They are big, strong, physical, and they got us in those three minutes.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Norwood led by a point to close the first frame, and a Gavin McGraw layup at the buzzer gave the Pirates the one-point lead again going into the second half. Tied up at 33 in the third quarter, Andrews and Landry Pitts combined for 10 unanswered points with 2 minutes left. Thayer dominated the boards in the third and outscored Norwood 19-7, closing the quarter with a 46-35 lead.
In the fourth, Norwood’s Jacob Sinning and Garrett Davault closed the gap to five points before Thayer took over again. Ten of Thayer’s 24 final quarter points were from free throws, while Davault added 12 of Norwood’s 18 points in the frame.
Coach Chadwell said he felt his team improved in the tournament and will learn from the experience. “It’s a great tournament of four days of small school basketball, where no one has legs, so we’re all in the same boat. It was a good four days. We’ve got a tough road coming out of New Year’s with a county rival,” he said. The Pirates travel to Hartville Tuesday and now have a 10-1 record on the season.
The Bobcats are now 10-0 and travel to Gainesville Tuesday.
Members of the All-Tournament Team: Gavin Keeling, Summersville; Bryce Hambleton, Gainesville; Chanler Sisco, Alton; Tom Emerick, Mansfield; Gavin McGraw, Norwood; Garrett Davault, Norwood; Aidan Burns, Thayer; and Tournament MVP, Jordan Andrews, Thayer.
Scoring for Thayer: Jordan Andrews, 27; Aidan Burns, 14; Landry Pitts, 12; Keaton Nicholson, 10; Gaige Pitts, 7.
Scoring for Norwood: Garrett Davault, 20; Jacob Sinning, 10; Gavin McGraw, 8; Noah Drake, 6; Justin Chadwell, 5; Max McGowan, 4.
