STAC BOYS BASKETBALL: OWEGO FALLS LATE IN BATTLE WITH NORWICH (February 4, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — For 3 ½ quarters, the Owego boys basketball team gave Norwich a run for its money before the Purple Tornado pulled away for a 59-48 STAC crossover victory.

Norwich took advantage of the River Hawks’ foul troubles to gain a 15-point advantage at the free throw line while the Owego fans clearly were not satisfied with the level of officiating.

That became obvious when Calvin Smith took a steal three-quarters of the length of the court and was fouled on the forearm going for a layup. There was no call on the play and River Hawks coach Chris Evans was livid, resulting in a technical foul with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“That third quarter, fourth quarter, it's a back and forth game, it's a one-point game, and Calvin Smith gets that steal, and he makes a great move and he gets to the basket and everybody except the guy, the official standing underneath the ring, knows that it's a foul. It's the most obvious thing I've ever seen and he doesn't call it.

“We talk to the kids about honoring basketball. I've got to do that. I've got to do a better job of being calm, but I think the officials have to honor basketball as well, and it just wasn't. I can't take that. It's just beyond me to settle and just say, oh, OK, he missed it. He wouldn't even admit that he missed it.

“There's that, then they get up a little bit, and we're still there. We're still in pretty good shape. We just missed a lot of bunnies. The basket just got too small for us.”

Aiden Young made two free throws to tie the game, and he and Cooper Chrystie followed with one free throw apiece, giving Norwich a 43-41 edge heading into the final frame.

Carmine Pastore and Chrystie scored early in the fourth to extend the lead to 47-41, then Duke Snyder responded with a basket, Young countered with a bucket to make it 49-43.

Snyder fouled out on a controversial blocking call with 4:36 remaining, then Kassen Stubb and Young stretched the Norwich advantage to 53-43 with 3:09 on the clock.

Nolan Card stopped the six-point burst with a basket in the paint, Young found the inside of the rim at the other end, then Carter Rieg knocked down a 3-pointer, closing the gap to 55-48.

Chrystie made a free throw at 1:22 and followed it up with a basket at 1:08 to put the game away. Young tacked on a free throw for the game’s final point with one minute to go.

When all was said and done, the Tornado had attempted 31 free throws, making 22, while the River Hawks went 7-for-9.

The game looked like it might be light on fouls at the onset as only eight free throws were attempted in a low-scoring start that saw a 7-7 deadlock heading into the second quarter. Smith accounted for five Owego points.

Snyder started off the second period with a basket, then Rieg followed with a bucket and a trey as the River Hawks doubled up Norwich, 14-7.

The Tornado narrowed the margin to 14-11, then Snyder made an acrobatic move to put back a teammate’s miss to make it 16-11.

Again, Owego doubled up Norwich on back-to-back 3-pointers by Kingston Brainard, however, his celebratory actions after the latter trey drew a technical and Young converted both foul shots.

The Tornado’s Gavin Burrell scored five consecutive points, offsetting a free throw by Snyder and two more freebies from Card.

Trailing, 25-17, Norwich hit a field goal and went 5-for-7 at the charity stripe over the final 67 seconds of the half, making it a 25-24 contest at the break.

“It was a one-point game at halftime and we were still ahead,” Evans said. “We were in there, we were OK, and we were just talking about rebounding a little bit better, being a little tougher, and we were fine, we were in good shape.”

The Tornado made their first two baskets of the third quarter to surge ahead, 29-25, but the River Hawks responded with a Card field goal, Smith 3-pointer, and a pair of Snyder free throws to go back on top, 32-29.

Pastore cut the lead to 32-31 midway through the period, but Card went coast-to-coast with a rebound to make it 34-31 at 3:34.

A Chrystie free throw and Pastore trey lifted Norwich to a 35-34 edge, but a Smith three-ball and Snyder basket moved Owego back in front, 39-35.

Pastore nailed back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 39, but Card countered with a basket with 48 seconds left in the quarter, giving the River Hawks their final lead of the night at 41-39.

Then came the non-call involving Smith.

“We got pretty frustrated,” said Evans. “I thought the first technical on King was a little iffy, but whatever, that's fine.”

Card led Owego with 12 points, and Smith and Snyder added 11 apiece. Rieg finished with eight and Brainard added six. Smith drained three 3-pointers, and Brainard and Rieg tacked on two apiece.

Pastore led all scorers with 16 points and Young contributed 15, including an 8-for-10 effort at the stripe. Chrystie added 13 points, seven coming at the line.

Norwich improves to 13-3 overall while Oweo slips to 5-10. The River Hawks must win their last two games against Delaware Academy on Saturday and Waverly next Wednesday to qualify for the postseason.

Evans said the team will put this game behind them and move on.

“We don't talk about it,” he said. “We talk about Delaware Academy and we talk about Waverly again, and they know what has to happen, but at the end of the day if the shots go in we're pretty good. If they don't go in, probably going to go home.

“I've never been in this position as a coach, but I don't think the 40-50 rule is a good role either. A lot of the coaches are (against it), and I think it's ridiculous, and I don't know why they do it. They think they're saving money or something, but the whole thing, I'd love to see some athletic directors actually step up and make a change there.”

In addition to recognizing their seniors, the River Hawks also paid tribute to Evans, who is retiring at the end of the season.

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IN PHOTO 1: Nolan Card. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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