Boys recap: Norcom knock off Landstown in nonconference contest

757 Basketball, Ultimate RecruitLeave a comment

by Romelo Styles, recruit757

The Eagles Nest would host a big non-conference battle on Wednesday night, as the high-flying Norcom Greyhounds would come into town to take on Landstown.

Both teams would fight for all four quarters, putting on a show. there were moments in the game where each team looked as if they would run away with the game, then the next minute it would swing in the other team’s favor.

The first quarter belonged to Norcom as Landstown would struggle to try to find their shot. It was hard for them to figure out how to score around the length of Norcom. Senior KJ Davis would show some of his three-point shooting off early, a precursor to his plans at East Carolina next year. Norcom led at the end of the first quarter, 16-8.

The Greyhounds’ Travis Ingram, a Towson commit, would make his presence known in the second quarter as two big dunks would send the Eagles Nest into a frenzy. He would chime in 10 points in the period. However, Landstown would not go away, attack Norcom on every possession. Michael Christmas would make a big three for Landstown late giving hopes that he would have a big second half.

Turnovers would play into Norcom’s favor as they forced eight first-half turnovers. At the end of the first half, Norcom shot 12-32 from the floor as the Eagles were 8-19.

Even with 10 turnovers, Landstown trailed by nine points in a 29-20 game.

Norcom would come out hot early in the third quarter, but it was not long before Michael Christmas would begin to heat up, as a big one-handed slam would cut Norcom’s lead to 5. The fight in the Eagles would show in this half as they would keep nipping at Norcom’s heels. Landstown’s Catlin Hamlin nailed a buzzer beater put back, putting his team in a position to only be down 7 points heading into the final period, with a score of 41-34.

Free Throws cut Norcom’s lead down to four in the middle of the fourth quarter. Davis and Quivon Crittenden would have some transition baskets to stretch the lead to 6 with little over two minutes remaining. Christmas would get the deficit down to three on a basket. But a pair of Free Throws from Travis Ingram and a steal from KJ Davis would pretty much seal the deal.

Norcom took home a 57-46 nonconference win, led by Davis, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and eight blocks. Ingram added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Both Davis and Ingram would speak after the game, giving their thoughts about this big non-conference matchup and how they planned to prepare for the second half of the season.

Davis would express his thoughts first saying,” We played a really good team, we had to fight the whole game, we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. We want to get more wins as the season progresses, we look to get better as a team, and as individuals. We need to continue to work on being a better team overall, we find ourselves sometimes trying to do a little too much on offense. State Championship will probably be my most memorable moments here at Norcom. The relationships I have built with teammates and coaches will be something I will always cherish.”

Ingram followed with similar sentiments, “We knew this was a good team, we had to go back to playing our style of defense because we had stopped putting the pressure on them. We expected Christmas to have a good game, but we knew if we stuck to what we were doing we could come out with a win. We would like to build on a game like tonight and get better as a team. For myself, I believe I need to improve my shooting, which in turn will help my team.”

Norcom improves to 9-2 on the season.

-Romelo Styles