Windsor
There were some strange goings on, but perhaps nothing stranger than at the free-throw line, where Windsor was 17-of-27 on the night and Hartford just 2-for-5. Windsor managed just four points in the second quarter, but the Canes produced just two in the third. And the visitors owned a 17-15 advantage in field goals, which the Yellowjackets erased at the line.
Slocum, who Windsor coach Harry Ladue said has to play well for his team to succeed, had 12 points in the first quarter, was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe for the contest and connected on three 3-pointers. Still, Slocum was a bit perplexed why Windsor let a 14-point second-quarter lead dissolve to just three at the half.
“I think we got tired,” said Slocum, who along with his teammates did a lot of running against Hartford’s five-out motion offense. “That and the fact that we’ve been on vacation for a while worked against us. We had to do lot of running around.”
While Hartford is 0-7, it hasn’t discouraged Steve Landon, the veteran Hartford coach.
“We’ve got sophomores all over the place, and it shows,” he said. “How many teams with so many sophomores (seven) do well? We’ll get better. I love my team; the parents are great. We’ll get there eventually.”
Windsor, which started the season with five road games, is 3-4 and as always can rely on defense when the offense is not as potent as some past teams.
“We’re not terribly balanced on offense, but we still get after it on defense, although we did some nice things offensively in the first and third quarters,” Ladue said.
With Slocum hot early, Windsor held a 19-6 lead after one period. Hartford tried to survive by throwing up threes and very much looked like a team that was not in the mix. Someone must have put a cover over the Windsor basket at that point, as the Hurricanes went on an 11-2 run and what once looked like a rout was a ballgame.
“The shots went in,” said Landon, a Windsor High graduate, as the simple answer as to what turned the game around. “We believe in that offense, and we’ll get better at it.”
What the five-out motion also does is leave the paint pretty much open, although Landon said someone is supposed to move in for rebounds. It didn’t happen in the third quarter, with a Nick Clay one-hander the only Hartford scoring as Windsor’s lead grew to 36-22 after three quarters. Windsor then made nine of 13 free throws in the final quarter to wrap things up.
Hunter Grela also finished in double figures for Windsor with 13 points. Daniel Bushway posted 12 points and Alex Bushway added 10 for Hartford. Newport comes to Windsor on Tuesday. Hartford is off until Jan. 11, when Lyndon pays a visit to White River Junction.