WOODSTOCK — With fewer than five seconds to play, Windsor High boys basketball guard John Cook III let loose a jumper from the left side of the free-throw line.
Swish. The basket gave the Yellowjackets a two-point lead with 3.4 seconds to play. Woodstock coach Tom Avellino quickly called a timeout, but before the Wasps could even get the ball to half-court on the inbounds play, time expired.
The Yellowjackets erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit Tuesday night inside Dailey Gymnasium to leave Woodstock with a 59-57 victory, their first win since mid-January to end a five-game losing streak.
“We just kept plucking away,” Windsor coach Harry Ladue said. “We said, ‘Look, we gotta do something here. Let’s make a run at ’em.’ Guys dug in, dug down and pulled out a win.”
Windsor trailed, 50-39, entering the fourth quarter. The Jacks were having trouble stopping Woodstock from beyond the arc, and their 1-2-2 full-court trap wasn’t causing the havoc or turnovers they needed it to.
A turnover to start the quarter resulted in a quick Owen Abrahamsen layup. Another Abrahamsen bucket with 6:11 to play cut the Wasps’ lead to seven. Avellino called a quick timeout, but a Woodstock miss led to a trey from Windsor freshman Maison Fortin to make it 50-46 with more than five minutes to play.
By the time Harrison Morse sank two free throws with 4:29 remaining for the Wasps’ first points of the period, Windsor trailed by only three points. Fortin hit the final of his four 3s on the night to tie the game at 52-52.
“We got the ball out of Morse’s hands as much as we could,” Ladue said of the senior forward, who finished with 17 points.
Jordan Place’s basket with 3:09 to play in the fourth gave Windsor its first lead of the game since the 3:54 mark of the first quarter.
And, yet again, Avellino was forced to call a timeout.
“We played at their tempo,” he said. “We weren’t smart enough to slow things down, even though we called several timeouts to get them to play a little differently. We took some ill-advised shots and played right into their hands.”
A Manny Pacheco 3-pointer from the top right of the arc gave Woodstock a one-point lead out of the timeout. He fouled Caden Lockwood with 1:11 left, and Lockwood hit the first of his free throws to make it 55-55. Windsor grabbed the rebound on Lockwood’s miss, and Cook III hit a floater to give the Jacks a two-point lead.
Woodstock brought up the ball and found an open Cooper Dorsogna to tie the game again with 46.8 seconds remaining. Lockwood and Morse each traded shots before Cook’s game-winner.
“This is a microcosm of our season right here,” Avellino said of VPA Division II Woodstock, which fell to 2-14 on the season. “We’ve been up on teams, but we haven’t been able to play with a lead. We give it right back to them. That’s on us; we’re trying to get better. We’re just not playing the smartest brand of basketball right now.”
The Wasps led comfortably at halftime, 27-21. Midway through the third quarter, Woodstock hit four 3-pointers in less than two minutes to create that 15-point lead. It seemed hard to believe the Jacks would get back into the game.
But the Windsor press was too much, as it forced the Wasps into traps and bad passes. Woodstock was also without starter Corey White, who fouled out with 4:57 to play.
Dorsogna had 15 points and Pacheco chipped in 11 points for Woodstock.
Windsor was led by Abrahamsen’s 17 points. Fortin added 14 points, and Cook III and Place each had eight points.
The victory improves the Division III Jackets to 4-11. The two teams will meet again next Thursday at Windsor.
“It’s been a while. Let’s go with one win in a row,” Ladue said with a chuckle.
Notes: The Wasps travel to Springfield on Friday night, while Windsor heads to Hartford. … The Wasps have now lost nine games by 10 points or fewer. … Morse entered Tuesday’s game as the Upper Valley’s leading scorer. … Woodstock athletic director Quaron Pinckney is serving as Avellino’s assistant coach for a few games. … Windsor won the junior varsity game, 49-46.
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.