Norwood Pirates win Cabool Holiday Tournament

Norwood head basketball coach Shane Chadwell has taken many talented teams to the annual Cabool Holiday Tournament, but had never left the classic with a championship.
That changed last week when the Norwood Pirates knocked off a solid Liberty (Mountain View) squad in the championship game, 68-64.
Tournament MVP Cooper Vaughan came up big for his team in the final minutes. He scored four points late. Then with just a one point lead with under a minute to go, the Eagles would eventually foul him. He made three free throws in the final 17.3 seconds to help seal the win for the Pirates.
“This is what a championship game is all about,” Coach Chadwell said. “Every shot we hit they had an answer, but our kids were resilient.”
He was especially proud of how his team continued to attack Liberty, in spite of their post player finishing the game with 10 blocks.
“I told the kids to take it at him and he had a bunch of blocked shots,” Chadwell noted.
Early on in the championship game, the Pirates were up 18-11 as McDaris  had seven points. They had a 9-0 run in the frame.
In the second quarter, Liberty’s post player helped his team get some momentum with a dunk and a 4-0 run.
Liberty would cut the lead two three with a 3-pointer.
Norwood answered soon after with McDaris’ 3-point play.
The Pirates took a 35-26 lead into halftime after making 12-of-37 shots from the field and 9-of-12 free throws.
Carder Kelly converted a 3-point play in the third quarter after a steal to push the lead to 40-26.
The Eagles would respond though with a 7-0 run before the end of the quarter.
In the fourth, Cooper Vaughan scored 11 points and Pirates held on late for the win. He ended up with 25 points, four rebounds and three steals; All-Tournament selection Peyton McDaris added 24 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block; Noah Drake scored five points, three assists and two rebounds; Kelly had six points; Gunner Bradshaw added five points, six rebounds and one steal; and Gary Williams had three points, two rebounds, one block and one steal;.
In the semifinals, the Pirates took on a solid Eminence squad, but managed to pull away for a 66-47 win.
The Pirates’ defense held the Redwings to just five points in the second quarter.
Norwood opened the game with 22 points in the first with the help of three, 3-pointers. Drake hit  two of them for six points and Gunner Bradshaw also had six points.
Kelly added a pair of 3-pointers before halftime as Norwood was up 33-21 at the break.
Cooper Vaughan came up big in the second half with 13 points while McDaris added 10 to pace the Pirates to victory.
Cooper Vaughan scored 20 points; McDaris had 14; Gunner Bradshaw had 12; both Drake and Kelly scored nine; and Williams had two points.
In the second round, the Pirates cruised past Salem, 72-43.
McDaris scored eight points and Cooper Vaughan added seven in a 29-point second quarter to help Norwood pull away in the big win.
McDaris scored 16 points; Gunner Bradshaw had 13; Drake had 11; Cooper Vaughan had 10; both Andrew Bradshaw and Kelly added seven; Hayden Finch scored five points; and Pierce Lawson had three points.
In the opening round, the Pirates had no trouble dispatching the host Cabool Bulldogs, 88-24.
Norwood’s defense held Cabool to just nine points or less in all four quarters of the contest.
Norwood was up 54-12 at halftime as Kelly hit five 3-pointers in the first half for 17 points.
Twelve different players scored in the win.
Kelly had a team-high 22 points; Gunner Bradshaw scored 17; Cooper Vaughan added 11; Drake had eight; Williams scored seven; Andrew Bradshaw had five points; both Hayden Finch and Carson Vaughan scored four points; Remington Hill and McDaris added three points each; and both Laken Coatney and Lawson scored two points in the win for the Pirates.