Newark, Yorkville prevail

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:58PM

John Avery pumped his fist once after draining a three-pointer in the

fourth quarter at the Sandwich Thanksgiving Tournament Wednesday night.

The basket didn't give the Newark Norsemen the lead nor did it propel them

to victory. Newark held a large margin at the time, but the field goal meant

a bunch to Avery. It marked his 1,000th point, and it came in the same

gymnasium where his father, Rick, and brothers, Drew and Derek, played.

"With my dad and my brothers playing here, it definitely gives it a little

more meaning," Avery said. "I think it's kind of interesting that this is

the only tournament that we've ever played here throughout my four years of

high school. I think it's pretty cool."

Newark (3-0) held a 28-17 lead over Sandwich at halftime and extended the

advantage to 47-21 after three quarters. The Norsemen went on to a 67-36

win.

Coach Rick Tollefson and the team were aware of the inevitable for Avery.

Moments after a timeout, Paul Hines found Avery on the wing and the 6-foot-6

senior released the 20-footer. It hit nothing but net.

"I was kind of counting down in the back of my mind because I knew how many

I had," Avery said. "That was the whole timeout talk. Coach told me I just

needed a few more to get there."

Avery finished with 12 points and seven rebounds while Brett Anderson scored

a game-high 22 points and hauled in nine rebounds, including six offensive,

for the Norsemen. Hines and Jeremy Anderson chipped in 11 points each.

Sandwich grabbed an early 4-0 lead and went ahead 9-7 before the Norsemen

closed the first half with a 21-8 barrage. Kyle Anderson gave Newark the

lead for good when he converted an old fashioned three-point play at the end

of the first frame. A pair of treys by Cameron Berg in the second quarter

helped the Norsemen forge the halftime margin.

Newark's size and quickness took its toll on the Indians, yet Sandwich

competed to the end. Ryan Valentne led the Indians with 14 points while Nick

Brown and Zane Thompson each added eight points.

"They're ranked third in the state and have almost everybody back, and we

were in a tough situation not only becaue they're such a great team but also

because we still have some guys who are fighting through the football

stuff," said Sandwich coach Scott Bantz.

"But I'm extremely proud of the kids that stepped on the floor. We wanted to

compete, we wanted to make them work and we wanted to make them know that

when the game was over that they had to play a basketball game tonight."

For Avery it was a memorable one.

"I'm really proud of him," Tollefson. "His dad and brothers played in this

gym and they hold records for scoring so it was a special night for him."

Yorkville 69, Serena 37: In the opening game, the Yorkville Foxes throttled Serena 69-37. Utilizing

their quickness, the Foxes (1-1) cruised to a 25-5 lead after eight minutes.

Derek Fitzpatrick notched eight points in the first quarter while Josh

Williams and Brandon Holmes added five points each. Serena never recovered,

and 12 Foxes inked the scoring column. Fitzpatrick finished with a team-high

12 points, Ryan Herron tossed in 11 (nine in the third quarter) and Williams

had 10 points.

"We like our transition game," Fitzpatrick said. "We like to push the ball

up and get steals."

Yorkville grabbed 13 steals in the contest and ran the fastbreak at every

opportunity. The Foxes forced 18 turnovers and played solid team defense.

"I thought our team defense was a lot better tonight," Yorkville coach Jerry

Farber said. "We were getting out of position Tuesday night (in a one-point

loss) trying to help, and they were going to the foul line. It was a total

four-quarter game tonight."

Yorkville added 22 points in the third quarter before coasting to the win.

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