Norwalk Holds Off Masuk for Holiday Tournament Championship [VIDEO]

The Norwalk High School Bears won the Masuk Holiday Basketball Tournament Championship in David Strong Gymnasium Thursday night, topping the hometown Panthers 57-48. The visitors were led by star guard Ra'Von Shular, who scored 15 points and was named tournament MVP.

Roy Kane Jr. also scored 15 points for Norwalk, dominating inside and getting to the free throw line.

Masuk was led by Nick Davies (13 points) and Christian Terrell (16). Both were named to the All-Tournament team and Davies was the MVP runner up.

The Bears only led the Panthers 16-14 at the end of the first period and outscored them by three points in the second, but Norwalk was steadily building upon its lead.

Masuk pulled to within one point in the third period when Terrell drained two of his four three pointers on consecutive possessions, the latter closing the gap to 31-30. But then Norwalk went on a 10-0 run and held off the Panthers the rest of the way.

In a key sequence, Kane was fouled after making a layup, then hit the free throw for a 36-30 lead. Then Shular hit a jumper followed by a three pointer, increasing the Bears' lead to 41-30 with just under 2:30 left in the period.

Masuk outscored Norwalk 13-12 in the fourth, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"Norwalk played well tonight," said Masuk Coach John DeGennaro. "And our mistakes were because of them. They were athletic and strong in the paint and our legs were weary down the stretch. We just weren't able to make the big stop."

But DeGennaro did see some positive things out of his players, who had beaten Shelton High School 63-56 on Tuesday night to advance to the championship game.

"We had the tempo in our favor," DeGennaro said. "Nick Davies played a great game tonight. He was above the rim. Christian made some big shots."

Davies hit 6 of 12 shots from the field, including his only three point attempt, and pulled down 10 rebounds. Terrell was 4 of 6 from three point land and 6 of 9 from the field.

Matt Gerak scored 11 points for the Panthers on 4 of 8 shooting and blocked a shot; and Dominic Migliaro had 5 assists and three steals for Masuk.

Norwalk played tough defense in the paint as several of the Panthers' inside shots didn't fall down the stretch.

"We missed some shots we usually make," DeGennaro said. "We have to be more crisp on both sides of the ball, but it's early in the season. We're going to work hard and get better."

Masuk's record is 2-3 and league play begins next week with games against Newtown on Tuesday and Weston on Friday.