Sharon
The Phoenix shot just 13-of-37 from the field and committed 21 turnovers in Tuesday night’s 45-36 loss to Long Trail, a second-year varsity program.
Liam Sheldon scored 17 points and Jackson Washburn had 10 for the Mountain Lions (2-1), who led by as many as 18 in each half.
The Phoenix (1-1) netted just 10 points combined in the first and third quarters in their first game since a season-opening win at Cabot on Dec. 13.
“It was definitely not our best effort tonight,” Sharon coach Blake Fabrikant said. “We’d faced a lot of man-to-man defense (against Cabot) and were able to exploit it. Today, against zone, we didn’t play with any confidence when they brought ball pressure.”
It’s a year of adjustments for the Phoenix, which returns one full-time starter in Harvey Kelley (16 points, five rebounds).
Sharon graduated its backcourt in Jay Knoerlein (team-high 10.9 points per game in 2015-16) and point guard Max Perkins, while small forward Carter Blanchard averaged 10.7 points shooting mostly from the outside.
Sharon possesses lots of size this year — all five starters, plus freshman Olly Skeet-Browning, are 6 feet or taller — but not a lot of experience aside from Kelley and Sam Knoerlein, its sixth man a year ago.
Kelley, a power forward last year, is making a switch to shooting guard that he feels better suits his abilities. All of his points on Tuesday came from either the free-throw line or the paint, though he did dash through the lane on several baskets rather than posting up.
“Throughout my career, I’ve felt kind of undersized in the post, so I think it’s going to be a good switch,” Kelley said. “I’ve been working on my dribbling and just getting more comfortable to make an impact as a guard.”
Eventually, Kelley hopes to be more comfortable shooting mid-range and farther, something Sharon as a whole will aim to improve on. All but two of its field goals against the Mountain Lions were delivered inside the rectangle.
Knoerlein scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, including a pair of layups during a 6-2 Phoenix spurt in the third quarter, sandwiched around a Kelley bank shot from just inside the free-throw line.
Sharon appeared poised to close the gap further but missed a pair of free throws and continued to turn the ball over, sometimes moments after garnering its own steals.
“We just had some turnovers and a lot of silly passes,” Fabrikant said. “It was clear we weren’t very comfortable against their 2-3 (zone) and 2-2-1 trap, and it didn’t help that we missed some makeable layups.”
At least the Phoenix is comfortable with the notion of transition. That wasn’t the case during a season of high expectations last year, coming off of a 20-4 campaign and narrow loss to Proctor in the 2015 final.
Last year’s Phoenix started 5-0 before dropping seven of nine and finishing 12-10, bounced out of the second round of the playoffs by Proctor.
“Last year was definitely disappointing; we weren’t able to accomplish what we expected to do,” Fabrikant said. “Really (the high expectations) have been there the three years because of what (personnel) we saw that we had.”
This year’s newcomers include sophomore Fisher Kelley, who started at power forward on Tuesday and scored six of his eight points in the first half. Senior small forward Billy Connelli, who spent the last two years on JV, scored 15 points against Cabot, but was blanked against Long Trail. Cordell Benjamin, also a senior, played two years for the Phoenix’s JV before playing last year at Thetford and transferring back to Sharon this year. Benjamin had one point and two rebounds on Tuesday.
Point guard Cole Ward, a junior, played in 16 varsity games a year ago, with a season high of eight points.
“This year, the kids playing the biggest roles are the ones who were on JV a couple years ago when we went to the final,” Fabrikant said. “At the time we thought, ‘These guys are going to be good in a couple years,’ and they will be, but they need some time to get that varsity experience. One thing that I think helps is that we’re not talking about (the final four at Barre Auditorium); we’re not talking about the finals. We’re just focusing on playing hard and playing smart.”
Harvey Kelley, the team’s lone captain, feels more positive results will come.
“It’s a fresh team, a young team, and guys are adjusting to new roles,” he said. “The confidence aspect is huge. Eventually, we’re going to find our rhythm.”
Free Throws: It was the second trip to the White River Valley in six days for the Dorset, Vt.-based Mountain Lions, who beat Whitcomb in Bethel last Wednesday, 55-23. Long Trail went 9-9 and earned the No. 9 seed in Vermont Division IV during its inaugural varsity season a year ago, falling to No. 8 Websterville in the first round. … Sharon was outrebounded, 19-15, and hit 10 of 14 free throws. The Mountain Lions were 3-for-5 from the line. … The Phoenix closed the game on a 6-0 run, Dylan Carson-Turner finding Knoerlein for a layup before Harvey Kelley went 4-for-4 from the line in the final 1:15. … Sharon has another weeklong layoff, not playing again until Tuesday at West Rutland.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.