BENNINGTON-Shrugging off a slow start the Colonels Freshmen basketball team ground out a tough 45-31 road win on Thursday afternoon at Mount Anthony High School.
Nothing seemed to be going the Colonels way early. The Patriots dominated the first quarter limiting the Colonels to a single bucket, while pounding the ball inside to big man Matt Cody to take a 10-2 lead.
“We settled for too many quick shots in the first,” stated Coach Evan Chadwick. “What’s great about this team though is that they can adjust on the fly.”
Adjust the Colonels did, switching to a trapping 3-2 zone in the second and turning the Patriots over which lead to easy transition buckets. The trio of Jordy Allembert, Tristain Evans and Josh McKenney combined to score all 13 points in the frame as the Colonels closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to narrow the Patriot lead to 17-15 at the break.
The Colonels started the second half where they left off in the first, pressing the Patriots into quick shots and turnovers. Irvin Melo was a force defensively and finished a nifty inside move to give the Colonels their first lead of the game at 20-18. McKenney had his own inside finish and scored six points in the quarter to expand the Colonel lead to 28-23 going into the fourth.
The Colonels left little doubt in the final frame as they stretched the lead out to double digits early and ultimately outscored the Patriots 17-8 to finish off their impressive, if not pretty, road win.
McKenney lead the Colonels with 15 points, while Tristain Evans followed with 14 and Allembert chipped in 11. Matt Cody lead the Patriots with 10.
The 2-0 Colonels continue their road trip with a face off with the Bull Dogs of Burr and Burton Academy on Saturday January 18. Tip is slated for 11 a.m. in Manchester.
Bellows Falls Basketball 