BRATTLEBORO-Records can be thrown out the window when the Colonels and Patriots face off. At 7-3 Mount Anthony have shown that they can compete with just about anyone. Compete the Patriots did in their Monday matchup with the Colonels as they took a 3 point lead midway through the second quarter and had the Colonels off balance for most of the first half.
Showing depth and resilience however, the Colonels finished the half on a 6-0 run thanks to back-to-back threes by Josh McKenney and then came out in the second half to turn a 3 point lead into an 11 point 4th quarter advantage on their way to a 57-36 victory at Brattleboro High School.
“I thought MAU had the better of play in the first half,” stated Coach Evan Chadwick after the game. “Their zone defense had us rattled.”
Packing the paint and turning the Colonels into a perimeter team MAU used their size and physicality to limit the Colonels to one shot a possession early on. The Colonels struggled to stretch the Patriot defense starting the game 0-5 from three.
Connor McPhail finally broke the seal for the Colonels hitting an elbow three with a minute left to notch the game at 12 at the end of the first quarter.
The shooting woes continued for the Colonels in the second as they missed their first three shots that allowed MAU to take a brief lead with three minutes remaining. McKenney was able to get hot at the right time, scoring 8 points in the quarter allowing the Colonels to claw back into the lead 22-20 at the break.
Wasting little time in the third, the Colonels blazed out of the break with a 12-2 run. Irvin Melo finished three transition layups and added a sensational and 1 finish to balloon the Colonel lead to 15. Ayoub Lahar, who had struggled with foul trouble early, also got into the action scoring 6 points in the frame.
MAU tried to hang in with Adam Whitman hitting from deep and following up with a put back bucket to cut the Colonel lead to 9. It was too little too late though for the Patriots as the Colonels closed out the contest with a 17-7 fourth quarter that pushed Brattleboro to 7-0 on the season.
The Colonels had eight different players score with Tristain Evans, McKenney, Lahar and Melo all scoring double digits. Joey Reynolds contributed 4 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in only 12 minutes of action.
The Colonels next take their show on the road, as they to New Hampshire to face off with the Hinsdale Pacers. Tip time is slated for 5:30pm.
Bellows Falls Basketball 