Windsor
“We’re still playing,” said Windsor coach Harry Ladue.
There were times when it didn’t look like that would be happening, especially when a nine-point lead late in the third quarter disappeared thanks to a 9-0 run with which the Rangers tied the contest at 44-44 with 6:20 to play. The game would be tied twice more before the Yellowjackets squeezed out the win.
Next for No. 4 Windsor (14-8) is a trip to the semifinals on Thursday against No. 1 Williamstown in a 6:30 p.m. game at Barre Auditorium. Williamstown defeated Peoples in its Saturday quarterfinal.
The Jacks and Lake Region drew level for the third time at 49-49 with 2:33 to play. Windsor got a clutch steal and hoop from Seth Balch and two free throws from Dakota Page after another Ranger turnover to go up, 53-49, with just 32 seconds left.
Lake Region closed to with 53-51, but it took the Rangers four shots at the basket and a lot of valuable time off the clock. They were forced to foul on Windsor’s next possession, and Windsor’s Robbie Slocum, just a sophomore, stuck two pressure free throws with 5.3 seconds left to put the game away.
“There’s no doubt about it — I was nervous,” said Slocum. “I just blocked everything out and concentrated on the basket. I was glad that Harry makes us take 25 free throws at practice every day.”
Riley Urie, who had 44 points in Lake Region’s quarterfinal win over Thetford, had 15 on Saturday. He did not play in the first quarter, sent to the bench for disciplinary reasons. The Rangers, the No. 5 seed, finished at 13-9 and played just one senior Saturday.
James Ingalls, who coached Lake Region to a second-round upset of Windsor in 2015, said he wanted to his players to control the tempo, but “that’s not easy to do against a team like Windsor. They kind of took us out of our game.”
Ingalls also thought that a couple of decisions late in the game, “when we had the ball in our hands hurt us,” referencing two late turnovers that led to four Windsor points.
Windsor got a surprise six points off the bench from sophomore Hunter Grela who had two baskets in the crucial fourth quarter.
“He certainly looked like he belonged out there,” said Ladue. “He made two left-handed layups look easy.”
The game was tied at 16-16 after one period, and Lake Region led, 25-24, at the break in a game between two teams with identical records. Then Windsor caught fire and went on a 12-4 run to lead, 36-29, and it was 44-37 going into the crazy final period.
Ben Meagher had a 15-point game for Windsor, while Balch added 12. Both players had two 3-pointers.
Trey Azur, the only senior who saw playing time, had 13 for the Rangers.
“It’s was a frustrating day,” said Ingalls. “We just got too excited at the wrong times.”
Windsor will take a 10-game winning streak into the semifinals. A season that started out 1-7 has turned into quite a ride for the Jacks.