The Norwin Knights Boys Basketball Team is after another great season after losing the class of 2023. The class of 2023 had players such as Adam Bilinsky, who scored over 1000 pts and plays DII basketball at Mercyhurst University. With only three games under their belt, the Knights are off to the season with a whole new roster, and the team is 1-2. The senior contributors this season are Dylan McCullough, Alex Wiggins, Noah Wilson, and Luke Denny. The second part of the Knights key contributors are sophomores Mario Csukas, Alex Graney, Nathan Kuch, Chris McKnight, and Max Levendosky.
The Knights kicked off their season on December 1st at 7:30 pm at a Norwin Tip Off Tournament. Norwin got a big start against Steel Valley ringing in 11 rebounds in just the first quarter. From there the Knights took took over the game putting up 23 points in the third quarter shooting 45% from three. Luke Denny and Christopher McKnight were Norwin’s leading scorers, scoring 10 points each.
Off of the hot start, Norwin once again played at home, taking on Seton LaSalle on December 2nd. Norwin had a slow start giving Seton LaSalle a 16 point lead heading into half-time, with Norwin having 10 and Seton LaSalle having 26. However, the Knights stormed back in the third quarter putting up 13 points and 10 rebounds. Throughout the fourth quarter, key contributors Chris McKnight, Alexander Graney, and Mario Csukas were able to ring the Knights back to be down by only 3 points. Unfortunately the Knights were not able to complete the comeback leading them to lose 48-45 to Seton LaSalle.
Chris McKnight is one of Norwin’s starting guards and is a sophomore. At this game which was part of a tournament Chris ended up receiving the All Tournament Award which is essentially an MVP award for the tournament.
“After a rough first half we showed in the second half that we can be a solid team by making a great comeback,” key sophomore contributor Mario Csukas said.
Following the small loss to Seton Lasalle, Norwin went head to head against rival team-Penn Trafford on December 5th. The game was intense and physical from the start with Norwin both teams going head to head for a total of 17 rebounds in the first quarter. Penn Trafford unfortunately outscored Norwin in the first and second quarter putting up a total of 34 points compared to Norwin’s 23. However, the Knights didn’t quit as they came back to outscore Penn Trafford in the third quarter by seven points shortening Penn Trafford’s lead to just four points. Following the third the Knights outscored Penn Trafford leading to the last minute of the game, where Chris McKnight hit a clutch jumper to get a one point lead. Unfortunately Penn Trafford, was able to score on a runner at the buzzer for the win, 49-48.
“I loved the energy throughout the game, I was proud of my team even though we just came up short,” second leading scorer (10 ppg) sophomore Alex Graney said.
The Knights fourth game is tomorrow, December 9th, against Latrobe at Jeanette tipping off at 12 pm.
Terri Wilson • Dec 12, 2023 at 8:26 am
This is a great article and very informative. The writers description of what was happening on the court throughout the games really held my attention. I also enjoyed reading the players comments that the writer included in the article. I’m hoping to hear how the team does for the rest of the basketball season.