Dec. 28, 2009

Norris brothers propel Sand Rock to Invitational win

By Roy Mitchell

CHEROKEE ARENA — Christmas came early for Sand Rock sophomore Drew Norris.

With one minute remaining in last week's Cherokee County Invitational boys basketball championship game, Drew sat on the bench, his team down by two points. With his Wildcats having just turned over the ball to Cherokee County, Norris and the boisterous crowd were witnessing Sand Rock's last-ditch efforts to resuscitate their fading chances. Few could anticipate the twists of fate that would result in Drew and his eighth-grade brother, Riley, becoming tournament heroes.

Wildcat junior starter Brannon Burt was not in foul trouble with one minute remaining in the game, but he quickly used up his remaining infractions in Sand Rock's attempts to regain possession. Drew Norris replacing him just before the Warriors' Brett Burgess went to the free-throw line. With 44 seconds remaining, Burgess could have increased the Warrior's two-point lead. He missed, and Sand Rock advanced the ball up the floor quickly.
Not a starter, Drew Norris had only scored one basket in the entire game. Nevertheless, only seconds after he re-entered the contest, he found himself just behind the three-point arc. Drew Norris was completely unguarded. Amidst rapidly building suspense, Norris squared himself to the basket and released a high-arching shot. Fans stood. Cheerleaders, students, and parents held their breath. When the brown sphere fell to the earth, tickling the bottom of the net strings on its way down, his Sand Rock Wildcats led the tournament championship game 56-55 with 33 seconds remaining.

Though euphoria erupted amongst the Wildcat faithful, Cherokee County had enough time and talent for a game-winning attempt of their own. That attempt would never come.

On the Warriors' next possession, the most heralded athlete in Cherokee County and the game's leading scorer, Coty Blanchard, received the ball on the left wing and dribbled quickly toward his right. Yet, he slipped, lost his dribble, and fouled out of the game after grasping at the Wildcat defender who came up with the loose ball. That defender was Riley Norris, Drew's brother, an exceptionally tall and talented eighth grader. Riley connected on the first free throw, but missed the second.
Again Cherokee County had a chance to win, down 57-55. After a timeout, Warrior coach Kori Walker entrusted his team's fate to the game's second leading scorer, Keon Rucker. With 12.6 seconds remaining, Rucker rapidly advanced down court. Near the free-throw line, the senior's fumbled dribble was snatched up again by Riley Norris. The youngest man on the court promptly sank both free throws to seal the championship for the Wildcats, 59-55.

“They were right there fixing to put it away...We did good not to give up right there down the stretch,” said Sand Rock coach Brian Mackey. “They missed some free throws. We took advantage of that. I can't believe we won that game!”

Cherokee County (4-2) was led by Blanchard with 23 points; Keon Rucker tossed in 13. Riley Norris led Sand Rock (10-2, ranked number six in the state in Class 2A) with 17, and Brannon Burt tallied 13.

Previous tournament action saw a host of hot teams chilled for the Christmas break. Before the championships, two ranked boys teams (7-1 Piedmont, number three in 3A and 9-0 Cedar Bluff, number two in 1A) and two ranked girls teams (9-1 Glencoe, number six in 3A and Spring Garden, number seven in 1A) went down to defeat in games before the finals.

The tournament included two coaches who have won state championships: Ricky Austin of Spring Garden and Lamar Turner of Chattooga (Ga.), and two eighth grade stars in Sand Rock's Riley Norris and Woodland girls' Leah Strain. Both played instrumental roles in leading their schools to victory in their respective title games.

Also playing for Woodland was Alabama's all-time leading scorer, Courtney Strain, the Auburn commitment who piled on 32 points in the girls title game. Strain's Lady Bobcats defeated Chattooga 65-49 in the championship game, improving the number three-ranked (Class 2A) Bobcats to 11-0 on the season.