Jan 17, 2023 5 min read

BURGETTSTOWN – Burgettstown PA announcer Troy Elich said Owen Norman’s name a lot Tuesday night.

That wasn’t good news for the home team.

Fort Cherry’s star senior scored 19 points in the first quarter, 21 in the first half and ended with 31 to lead Fort Cherry to a commanding 81-49 win.

By halftime, Fort Cherry (6-0, 13-2) had a 31-point lead and the game – along with first place in Class 2A Section 4 – secured.

Fort Cherry got off to a hot start, leading 31-8 by the end of the first quarter.

Norman led the way with 19 points, outscoring Burgettstown (4-2, 6-7) by double digits.

For him, getting off to a hot start, both personally and for Fort Cherry’s team, was essential.

“It’s B-Town,” Norman said. “They’re a big rivalry, so I think just putting them in the ground early just made them feel like they couldn’t win the game at the start.”

For Burgettstown’s first-year coach, Bryan Maltony, his team “hit a buzzsaw right off the bat.”

“(Fort Cherry is) a very good team,” Maltony said. “They’re very disciplined, they know what they want to do and they execute it very well. I addressed my team and I told them what to expect, but seeing it is believing it.”

Things didn’t get any better for the Blue Devils in the second quarter.

Fort Cherry’s lead got to as big as 53-20 in the first half, and the Rangers led 53-22 at the break.

Norman finished the half with 21 points. His backcourt mate, freshman Matt Sieg also cracked double-figures with 12 points, and Derek Errett followed closely behind with an even 10. Errett ended with 15 points and Sieg 14.

Sieg, a freshman, is Norman’s new backcourt make, replacing the productive Dylan Rogers, who graduated last summer. Norman and Rogers developed quite a chemistry, and Norman feels him and Sieg are building one as well.

“It’s great,” Norman said. “He’s a good kid. He has a good head on his shoulders. He’s just a dawg. He likes to play the game, and he’s a good athlete. It’s just fun working with him.”

For Burgettstown, Zack Schrockman finished with 19 points, making five 3-pointers.

Norman was the Observer-Reporter’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year last season, and he’s only getting better.

Norman feels his mindset and basketball IQ have improved from last season.

“Finding the right looks, making the right decisions when I need to and not getting frustrated when things don’t go my way,” Norman said.

Norman also unofficially finished the night with five assists and just one turnover,

“He took the shots the gave him,” Fort Cherry coach Eugene Briggs said. “He’s done a terrific job playing defense and carrying the ball around the floor.”

Fort Cherry’s looks to stay unbeaten in its section Friday night at Beth-Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.

Over the past two seasons, Fort Cherry is 37-6 with a WPIAL Championship Game Apparence- the first since 1966- and a state playoff win.

Although it’s always nice to win a rivalry game, winning has become a habit for Fort Cherry.

“It feels like just another win,” Norman said. “I just think we’re all kind of of the mentality where its business as usual, what we like to say. We win games all the time, so we’re just kind of used to it by now. So it’s nothing different than any other year.”

Burgettstown looks to get back on the horse at the same time Friday night when it hosts Chartiers-Houston.

While Tuesday’s loss stung, Burgettstown is 4-2 in section play after not winning a league game last year. Maltony knows things have improved and sees further progress ahead.

“We are a better team than what we showed on that court tonight,” he said.

“We are a much better team than what we showed on that court. Our 4-1 record was legit. I’m trying to build this team to believe in themselves. This is a team that didn’t win a section game last year. I’m trying to build, and until we believe, it won’t be possible, and until we do and we keep on stacking wins and getting better, then we’re going to believe more.

“One game does not make a season. We are a good team. We will be a much better team at the end of the year. It’s hard to change coaches, and then just get tour players at the beginning of the year and have none of it during the summer, none of it during the fall, so its hard for them to grasp what I’m trying to get across to them and put it into play. So, each game, we’re striving to get better and I think we are.”