Newport
Balch scored 29 points on Tuesday to lead the Yellowjackets to a season-opening 67-41 win over Newport at Wheeler Gym.
Windsor will have to get more outside scoring this season following the graduation of big inside threats Nick Kapuscinski and Mike Bradley. A junior guard, Balch did his best against the Tigers, burying eight 3-pointers.
“It has been a great year so far,” Balch said. “It’s not always about talent; sometimes it’s about hard work. And we work hard.”
Newport tried to zone Windsor and was effective on most of the Jacks, but Balch went 8-of-13 from 3-point land on a night in which the Jacks had 12 trifectas as a team.
“We just needed to get out another foot or so in our zone,” Newport coach Greg Pickering said.
Newport opened the season with a win over Newfound after going winless last winter. Pickering is glad to get that monkey off his back.
“Now we have to show more composure, tighten up on defense and be more patient on offense,” he said. “We didn’t take the best of shots. I hope we can give them a more compelling game the next time around.”
It was the lid-lifter for Windsor, which is coming off an 18-2 season.
Veteran Yellowjackets coach Harry Ladue felt that it was a decent effort for an opener.
“The defense was pretty good and we shot the ball well, but we still have a lot of things to work on,” he said. “We’ll get right back at it tomorrow.”
Newport hung with the Jacks in the early going, even though Balch hit two 3s in the first two minutes and Windsor went ahead, 10-0. Newport recovered quickly and outscored Windsor, 12-7, the rest of the period to draw within 17-12 after one quarter. Freshman guard John Thibault keyed the Newport spurt with two late-period baskets.
The game, however, began to get away from the Tigers in the second period.
Balch hit two more 3s, and the lead grew to 33-20 at the break.
“We have to shoot a little better to have a chance against a good team like Windsor,” Pickering said.
“I think some of the plays we run put them in good position to shoot, but sometimes we didn’t take enough time to set ourselves.”
Newport needed a run to get back in the game during the second half. The Tigers showed flashes, but the Jacks kept banging in 3s as the Tigers spun their wheels. As a result, Windsor increased Newport’s deficit to 19 points after three periods.
Max Fraser complemented Balch’s scoring output with a 13-point night. Ethan Houde had 10 for Newport.
This was the first of four consecutive home games for the Tigers, who host Kearsarge on Friday. Windsor opens its home schedule against Hazen, also on Friday.