Norwich - Norwich Free Academy was holding the ball in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. And then holding it some more.

"I don't think we're going to win any beauty contests for basketball this season," NFA coach Chris Guisti said.

But while Fitch, scoreless for the final 7 minutes, 47 seconds of the fourth quarter, was getting flustered (missing a breakaway layup) and frustrated (coach Alick Furtick would later say none of the plays were working), NFA left the door open just enough for the Falcons to bust through.

Playing for a final shot over the last two minutes of regulation, NFA never got the shot it waited for, sending the game into overtime tied 32-32.

Fitch then outscored NFA 9-0 in overtime, playing at the pace it wished it had been able to the entire game, securing a 41-32 victory in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division.

It was the seventh straight win for Fitch (8-1, 3-1).

And it was prompted by a 3-point field goal by the Falcons' John Floyd just 9 seconds into the four-minute overtime session.

Floyd (15 points, 11 rebounds) then assisted Eddie Volkerts (10 points, 11 rebounds), who converted a bank shot at the front end of a fast break. Floyd, a senior, had five points in overtime.

"We were fed up with getting stopped," Floyd said. "The play (for the 3-pointer) was to get a screen for me and I was going to pass it to Eddie. We didn't get that play, but I got the screen (from Pieter Khoury) and that gave me a little space."

"That 3 was the big difference in the game," Guisti said. "We defended it well. We had a hand in his face; it's not like it was wide open. In that game, somebody had to make a play and he did it."

Fitch was averaging 66.9 points per game prior to playing NFA.

NFA (4-5, 2-2) was allowing its opponents just 48.3 points per game, including a 38-22 victory in its last outing against Bacon Academy, leading that game 15-9 at halftime.

On Tuesday, Fitch led 9-3 early on a drive and bank shot by Floyd and 17-14 at halftime after four lead changes in the second quarter. NFA got a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Brian Feng to end the third quarter ahead 30-29.

The total number of points scored in the fourth quarter: 5. There was a 3-pointer by Fitch's Volkerts at 7:47 and a shot by NFA's Isaiah Joyner at the 4:13 mark that tied the game at 32.

"I just didn't want the loss," Volkerts said of the mentality headed to overtime, where the Falcons are 2-0. "I wasn't going on that bus with a loss."

"Not to keep talking about last year, but we're winning games we would have lost last year. This year we keep playing," Furtick said. "... There are no egos. All these guys were fourth or fifth options last year, so there are no egos. It took us nine games to get eight wins; last year it took us 16 games to get eight wins."

Furtick said that because it's Volkerts' first year playing varsity basketball, he isn't as finely tuned in the half court as he is on the open floor. Not yet. That's why he called for Floyd to show some leadership in overtime.

Guisti, meanwhile, whose team won the ECC tournament last season, said the Wildcats all know that if they want playing time, they need to play defense.

"We just practice and teach it," Guisti said of the team's ability to get back on defense, even against an uptempo Fitch team. "We emphasize it. It's always been there. That's the way (former coach) Neal Curland did it and I just carried it over.

"... I love the effort."

Brandon Drabinski scored a team-high 11 points for NFA.

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday