Norwin boys use strong second half to pull away from Kiski Area

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 15, 2018 | 6:42 PM

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Sensing the need for a spark coming out of halftime, Norwin coach Lynn Washowich turned to a defense he hadn’t used all season.

The switch changed the tempo and changed the game, as Norwin rallied from a five-point halftime deficit for a 62-46 win over Kiski Area on Saturday in the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Shootout at Hempfield.

“We said (at halftime), ‘You’ve got to win the game on defense,’ ” Washowich said. “We just came out and played very tight man-to-man (defense) from half court. We usually don’t do that, but we just felt to win the basketball game, we had to change the game on defense.”

Not only did the increased pressure force the Cavaliers into turnovers they didn’t commit in the first half, it also helped wake up the Norwin offense. The Knights (4-1), after scoring 21 points in the first half, put up 26 in the third quarter as they began to hit shots from the perimeter.

“If we played offense well or shot the ball well in the first half, we probably wouldn’t have changed anything,” Washowich said. “There was a good chance we would have been up 10 or 12 at halftime and wouldn’t have changed anything. The defense really wasn’t the problem in the first half. The problem was we just couldn’t score.”

Ty Bilinsky hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Nick Fleming and Owen Sabol also made shots from the outside for Norwin. The Knights opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Norwin outscored Kiski Area, 26-13, in the third and 41-20 in the second half, leading by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.

“We knew they were going to come out stronger in the second half, and they hit back-to-back 3s (by Sabol and Bilinsky),” Kiski Area coach Will Saunders said. “It was just poor rotation. We didn’t get out on a couple shooters, and they knocked down 3s. Our five-point lead was gone, and we were playing uphill from there.”

Kiski Area, which was coming off a loss to Shaler on Friday, took a 26-21 lead into halftime thanks to a strong second quarter. The Cavaliers (1-5) outscored Norwin, 17-8, in the period, forcing five turnovers and getting scoring from freshman Kyrell Hutcherson and seniors Nick Smith and Ryne Wallace.

“I liked the energy we came back with today,” Saunders said. “We came out to be aggressive. We were going to throw caution to the wind and just say, ‘We’re going to come after them, and whatever happens, happens.’ … It helped us get a five-point lead at half, and then they came out and were super aggressive and we kind of took a step back.”

Bilinsky led Norwin with 15 points, 10 in the second half, and hit a trio of 3-pointers to help the Knights bounce back from a loss to Franklin Regional in the championship game of the Mike Rettger Memorial Tournament. Fleming scored 10 points, and Logan Liebdzinski and Jayden Walker had nine apiece.

The Knights open section play Friday at Hempfield.

“Every section game counts,” Washowich said. “It’s nice to be 4-1, but we start crunch time now.”

Hutcherson and Wallace led Kiski Area with 15 points apiece, and Smith scored 10.

“I thought we played really hard for four quarters,” Saunders said. “They made a run on us in the third, and then we had to play uphill for the rest of the game. But I just told the guys I was really proud of their effort. They fought hard.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com o r via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Kiski School, Norwin