Bark River-Harris sophomore Gabe Spear (14) and Norway senior Cole Baij (3) battle for positioning on a free throw during a game on Jan. 10, 2025 at Norway High School. (Sean Chase/Daily News)

NORWAY — With six upperclassmen on its roster, the Norway boys varsity basketball team has focused on defensive pressure to find success.

On Friday, that point of emphasis was on full display as the Knights (7-2, 1-1) picked up a 64-40 Skyline Central Conference – Large School win over Bark River-Harris (3-7, 0-2).

“We were a little stagnant in the first half,” Norway head coach Jeff Gallino said. “Even in the third quarter. But, we were able to put some pressure on them in the fourth, and I think we wore them out with our pressure.”

Although the Broncos stayed step-for-step with Norway, they couldn’t adjust to the Knights’ late-game pressure.

“We played a good 26 minutes of basketball, and then all of a sudden we got a little careless with the ball,” Broncos’ head coach Nicholas Lippens said. “They switched up their press, and that definitely affected us. We were used to the other press and didn’t adjust very well in-game.

“We didn’t box out as well as we should have. They’re a good team, and this is a tough place to play.”

Bark River’s Brayden Derouin struck first with a floater. But Norway senior AJ Gallino immediately answered with two points of his own. From there, it was a mad dash for points.

“I was just trying to spark us however I could,” AJ Gallino said. “We started off slow. We missed a few shots that we usually make. But we picked it up in the second half.”

Bryce Adams buried a mid-range jumper that kissed the glass to put the Knights ahead, 6-4, three minutes into the first quarter. AJ Gallino scored six points in the frame, Cole Baij had five points, and Norway led 18-13 heading into the second.

“AJ came out with a lot of energy,” coach Gallino said. “We had some steals and was able to finish. He’s bringing a lot of energy, and he’s playing hard.”

Mason Trudeau took over the offensive load for the Knights in the second quarter. He scored eight points in the frame while AJ Gallino pitched in four, and the lead was up to nine points at halftime. Derouin scored eight points in the second for the Broncos.

“We thought having Mason and Anthony (Pineda) up top could cause them some problems,” coach Gallino said. “They did a great job, later in the game, getting deflections and some steals for easy run outs.”

Both teams struggled in the third quarter, with Bark River-Harris outscoring Norway 9-8 over eight minutes. Cole Baij led all scorers with four points.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Knights were looking to make a statement on the offensive glass.

“That’s one of our big points of emphasis,” coach Gallino said.

It paid off as the Knights overwhelmed the Broncos on the offensive glass in the fourth quarter.

“We wanted them to play with some urgency,” coach Gallino said. “We didn’t have a good third quarter, so we wanted to see what they had in the fourth quarter. We found a little energy there, which was great to see.”

Norway answered the challenge and with six minutes to play, the tides changed for the Broncos.

“We came out well, and that’s different than what we have in the past here,” Lippens said. “So I’m happy with what I saw. It’s just a little bit of inexperience, a lack of understanding. Fall apart in the last six minutes. Tension gets a little bit higher, and the closer it is, the closer it is. … We’ve got to get better at those turnovers, especially.”

The Knights’ three players (Baij, Trudeau, and Adams) scored six points in the fourth, securing the 64-40 SCC win.

“We’re going to need that balanced scoring to be successful going forward,” coach Gallino said.

Trudeau led all scorers in the contest with 19 points.

Norway also received contributions from AJ Gallino (12 points), Adams (10 points), Cole Baij (16 points), Anthony Pineda (4 points), and Elliott Kraemer (2 points).

Derouin led the Broncos with 14 points. They also received contributions from Jacob Mileski (4 points), Derouin (14 points), Ben Knauf (10 points), Gabe Spear (5 points) and Gionni McDonough (7 points).

Norway heads to Felch Township today to face North Dickinson while the Broncos are headed to Crystal Falls to face Forest Park.