Isaac
Years ago
Norwood vs Sturt
Last night at MARS, Sturt ended the giant-killing run of the Flames, beating Norwood by a solitary point in a superb win in front of a decent crowd.
After jumping to an early lead, Sturt looked like they had the collective skill to knock off Norwood comfortably, but wayward first half shooting from Oscar Forman (3/11 in the half, missing anything that wasn't inside) cost the Sabres a chance to extend the opportunity.
Excellent shooting from Arnold and Bell reversed the fortunes and the Flames held a single digit lead for much of the game. A buzzer-beater from almost out-of-court for Bell helped Norwood going into the final quarter.
However, clutch defensive pressure and shooting from Sturt pulled things back. Forman, Gower, Shepherd, Bauer and Benson combined to regain the lead.
With 9 seconds in the fourth quarter, Sturt leading by a solitary point, and Gower with the inbounds pass, a not-particularly-safe pass to Benson at the half-court line went high and long, giving the Flames possession. The shot in the dying moment went to Foster who was fouled and sent to the line.
With 2.1 seconds remaining, Foster missed both free throws and a put-back attempt by Arnold also missed. The Sabres had come from 9 points down to snatch a win.
The Bauer of 2002 returned in the final quarter with two huge outside shots under solid defense and finished with 15 points. Gower again picked up steals when they mattered to end with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Coming off the bench, Benson performed offensively with a 10 point haul, and Shepherd was consistent yet again (something of a tautology in there). Recovering from poor early shooting, Forman ended with 18 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists (6/18 FG, 5/7 FT).
For Norwood, Arnold was persistent with around 20 points. Bell was faultless, and Krause put in a good game (11 points, 14 rebounds I think, and solid shooting). I don't know Webber's stat-line, but he's been well-discussed on this forum and I didn't see much from him (Shepherd played on Webber for much of the game).
Overall, a fantastic game.
Hot: Basketball (the finals are looking good!), the kid banging the benches to make some noise in front of me (Benson's little brother? Great job!), players from other teams coming along to watch, no fights at the game (somehow!), clutch performers from both teams, Carlos Boozer, Boomers killing NZ.
Not: Floorwiping kids: universally inattentive; my roof leaking.
At the game: Pero, Dix, a good number of Sturt fans, EC & K (both from this forum) and others. Oh, and of course Pantano.
