Windsor
A couple weeks ago, Newport tried a 1-3-1 and the Yellowjackets ran 15 3-pointers through the nets. On Thursday night, Bellows Falls tried a triangle-and-two, the two being Windsor’s Seth Balch and Dakota Page.
While the new-look defense worked against the duo, who had just eight points between them, the rest of the team poured in 60 points as Windsor had an easy 68-34 win.
Once again, it was the 3-point bombs that did the damage as the Yellowjackets hit six from way out in the first quarter and nine in the game.
“We found the gaps in the zone and made some shots,” Windsor coach Harry Ladue said. “We’ve been shooting a lot better lately.”
It’s been an uphill climb this season for the Jacks, who have won three in a row after losing seven straight.
“I think our defense, especially in the first quarter was really good,” Ladue said.
What was also good in the first quarter was the Windsor bombers. Just last Friday, these same teams met in a game that was a one-point affair at halftime before Windsor went on to a 70-59 win.
On Thursday night, the game was pretty much decided in a first quarter that ended with a 22-4 Windsor lead. There was one span of 1:42 in the period when the Jacks hit four straight 3s, as Robbie Slocum hit twice and one each from Page and Duncan Frazer. Those consecutive 3s got the rout going at 19-2. Frazer ended the night with three from beyond the arc.
While Bellows Falls (5-5) is a Vermont Division II team, the Terriers are a Marble Valley League “B” team that plays just Woodstock and Springfield in divisional play. The rest of the games against Division III and IV teams.
Windsor, meanwhile, is a Division III team, but because of its past success, is an Marble Valley League “A” team with a schedule comprised mostly of D-II teams, including Mount St. Joseph (8-2) ,which will host Windsor on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Ladue said.
Bellows Falls coach Ryan Stoodley didn’t think the zone defense was to blame as much as an offense that couldn’t get untracked to stay in the game.
“We’ve been averaging 50 or so points a game, but the 34 we got tonight is not going to do it,” he said. “We can shoot the ball pretty well, but not tonight.”
While Balch, who is among the Upper Valley’s scoring leaders with more than 17 points a game, he had one only bucket and was dealing with foul trouble. But he had plenty of help as all 11 players scored, paced by a strong rebounding game from Ben Meagher, who also contributed 12 points.
“Ben’s been playing great all year,” Ladue said.
Bellows Falls eventually came out of the zone and went to ma,n only to make Stoodley wonder if he shouldn’t have to a man-to-man defense earlier.
“I think we played them pretty even in the second half,” the second year coach said.