Reed Fenton’s big night leads Latrobe boys over Norwin

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, January 27, 2018 | 10:42 AM

Latrobe couldn't afford a letdown against Norwin on Friday in a key Section 3-6A game.

Thanks to a career night from junior guard Reed Fenton, he wouldn't let them have a letdown.

Fenton scored a career-high 37 points, including five 3-pointers, and Latrobe (12-5, 7-3) held on for a 68-58 victory against a scrappy Norwin squad.

Fenton opened the game by scoring 12 of Latrobe's first 16 points and helped his team race to a 16-5 lead.

But Jake Williams, who finished with 13 points, kept Norwin in the game by scoring 11 points in the first half, including eight in the first quarter. Josh Ratesic, who finished 23 points, got hot when Williams cooled off. Ratesic scored 16 points in the second half for the Knights (9-8. 4-6).

“The guts these guys showed, showed me a lot,” Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said. “A lot of times when games go like this, I think our first eight shots were 3-point attempts, which isn't us. We never got into any continuity.

“They started outplaying us, getting to loose balls, and what we did fighting uphill was that third quarter was huge. That third quarter was a hard-fought quarter. We were better focused in the fourth quarter.”

Norwin closed to within 29-27 at halftime and then grabbed the lead, 31-29, on a basket by Gage Luptak and then 34-33 on a three-point play by Luptak, who finished with 11 points.

“We definitely played well enough to win the game,” Norwin coach Lynn Washowich said. “We certainly didn't do it in the first couple of minutes. You have to give a ton of credit to our kids on how they battled and fought back.”

Each time Norwin got the lead, Fenton had an answer. His 3-pointer gave Latrobe a 36-34 lead, and then, after Norwin tied the score on a basket by Luptak, Fenton scored seven consecutive points to push the lead to 43-36.

“We just didn't have an answer for Fenton,” Washowich said. “He was absolutely phenomenal. A couple times we got lost and gave him wide-open looks. His ability to come off the dribble and pull up, it's really tough for a high school kid to guard that.”

Latrobe held a 51-48 lead with 6:01 left when Bryce Butler hit a layup off a steal, and Fenton connected on two free throws.

Fenton (11 points), Butler and Jason Armstrong scored big baskets down the stretch to secure the victory. Butler finished with 15 points and Armstrong 14.

“I was a hard-fought game, and we knew Norwin was going to give us a good game,” Fenton said. “I was glad I was able to perform at my best. When the first couple of shots go in, you get confidence and find your groove.”

And once Fenton found that groove, he never stopped shooting. Latrobe was happy for that.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Latrobe, Norwin