It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Norwayne had no problem doing just that on Wednesday. They pulled ahead with a 58-57 photo finish over the Keystone Wildcats. The win was all the more spectacular given the Bobcats' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 376th, while the Wildcats are ranked 181st).
Leading Norwayne to victory were Cole Gasser and Jaxson Gasser. Cole shot 64% from the field en route to 17 points, while Jaxson went 8-for-12 to rack up 18 points. What's more, Cole also posted a 50% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he's achieved since back in December of 2025. Another player making a difference was Austin Gasser, who posted nine points.
Norwayne was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. They are 14-7 when they've passed the ball that well.
Keystone lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Liam Goran, who shot 55% from the field on his way to 17 points and five assists. His evening made it ten games in a row in which he has scored at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Colt Cowling, who put up 18 points.
The victory made it two in a row for Norwayne and bumps their season record up to 15-9. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.5 points over those games. As for Keystone, the defeat snapped their winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 18-6 record.
Coming up, Norwayne will challenge Chagrin Falls at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Keystone does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
