BRATTLEBORO-In what was touted to be a dog fight, the Colonels left fans with little doubt, outscoring the Keene Blackbirds 19-0 in the first quarter and easing their way to a 54-36 victory on Thursday afternoon at Brattleboro High School.
“Going into this game I expected a very difficult challenge,” stated Coach Evan Chadwick after the game. “The energy the boys gave in the first quarter was truly magnificent.”
Employing a full court press that fell back into a trapping zone defense, the Colonels pressed the gas pedal early and often. Irvin Melo was simply sensational, scoring 10 points in the first frame on a variety of driving layups that left the bigger Keene players flatfooted.
Josh McKenney, who was called on to battle in the post defensively contributed 4 steals in the quarter and dished out three assists while also adding a bucket of his own. “Josh lead us defensively, today” stated Coach Chadwick. “When a young man plays that hard, its impossible to take him out.”
The Colonels stretched the lead in the second quarter to as many as 26. Ayoub Lahar dropped 12 points in the frame, hitting a deep three and finishing several second chance opportunities, while Melo chipped in another 6 points.
With the Colonels comfortably in the lead, Coach Chadwick experimented with different personnel combinations in the third quarter. Keene started to take advantage, pounding the ball down low to big man Nick Maslowski and getting to the free throw line on their way to an matching the Colonels 8-8 in the quarter.
Keene continued to press the issue in the forth and had their best quarter of the matchup, outscoring Brattleboro 18-8.
“I though we mailed it in at the end,” stated Coach Chadwick. “You have to credit Keene for sticking with it, but as the boys know, I was not happy with how we finished.”
The 6-0 Colonels were lead by Lahar’s 17 points followed closely by Melo with 16 and Tristain Evans with 12.
Keene was lead by Maslowski’s 10.
Bellows Falls Basketball 