BRATTLEBORO-Playing the Bulldogs for the second time in four days, the Colonels gave the Bulldogs little hope in pulling off the road upset as they raced out to 16 point lead at halftime and never looked back on their way to a 53-33 victory on Tuesday evening at BUHS.

“We talked about taking control of the game early,” stated Coach Evan Chadwick. “I think our energy was great, which gave us the chance to seize momentum.”

Race the Colonels did, as they employed a full court man defense that frustrated the Bulldogs on their way to an quick 8-0 start. Josh McKenney finished a left hand transition bucket, while Jordy Allembert finished two nifty inside moves. After a second chance bucket by Bulldogs big man, Josh Oulette, cut the Colonels’ lead to 8-2, McKenney hit a deep corner three to stretch the lead to 9 only four minutes into the contest.

The Colonels used their depth in the second frame as four different players scored that expanded their lead to 16 at the break. Irvin Melo was a force on both sides of the floor as he converted three steals in a row to go on his own 6-0 run. Ayoub Lahar also got into the action, crashing the glass and finishing two inside buckets, while McKenney also contributed 6 points.

Despite struggling offensively, the Bulldogs showed grit coming out of the break as they were able to narrow the Colonel lead to 12 on several occasions early into the third period. Jason Scaliest hit an NBA range 3 and followed it up with a driving layup, while Burr and Burton also went 3-5 from the free throw line, as the Colonels got into foul trouble due to numerous reach-in fouls that again narrowed the deficit to 12.

“We are still trying to gamble to much on defense,” stated Coach Chadwick. “If we are to take our game to the next level we need to clean those defensive lapses up.”

Any hopes of an epic comeback soon fizzled out for the Bulldogs in the fourth frame as Tristain Evans and Phoenix Chambers each connected from deep to keep the lead comfortable and allow the Colonels to go to 4-0 on the season.

McKenney lead Brattleboro with 16 points, while Evans followed with 11 and Melo contributed 8 points and 6 steals.

The Bulldogs were lead by Oulette’s 8 points.

The Colonels face a big contest on Friday, as the Rutland Red Raiders come to town. Tip is slated for 4:15.

Due to the flu bug which has ravaged high school basketball teams across the state, practice is CANCELLED TODAY.

Please be at gym tomorrow no later than 5:15 for the 6pm tip vs Burr and Burton.

MANCHESTER–Trailing by a point at halftime, the Colonels opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run and never looked back on their way to a 50-35 road victory against the Bull Dogs of Burr and Burton on Saturday morning.

“Early on we were getting the looks but just couldn’t finish” stated Colonel’s Coach, Evan Chadwick.” “I thought we stuck with the game plan despite trailing early and we finally were able to see those shots drop in the second half.”

The Bulldogs found success early by pounding the ball in the paint and winning the rebound battle in the first half, 22-12. The Bulldogs also went 7-11 from the charity stripe while the Colonels failed to go to the line once.

“If anything has been our achilles heal, it has been defensive rebounding,” stated Chadwick. “Credit Burr and Burton, they really dominated the glass in the first half.”

Despite the struggles, the Colonel’s stayed close with transition buckets and forcing Bulldog turnovers. Ayoub Lahjar was dominate inside, scoring 6 points in the first half, while Tristain Evans used a variety of inside moves to score 10.

The Colonels wasted little time jumping out to a double digit lead in the third, changing up to a pressure man-to-man defense that appeared to wear down the Bulldog guards. Josh McKenney hit back-to-back threes while Evans hit one of his own on the way to a 15-4 third quarter and a 35-25 lead.

Any thought of a Bulldog rally was quickly stamped out by the Colonels as they scored the first 5 points of the fourth to expand the lead to 35-20. Waylund Walsh and Connor McPhail had the hot hand as they combined for 10 of the Colonel’s final 13 points to close the contest out and keep the Colonels unbeaten at 3-0.

“We had 9 guys score at least one bucket today,” stated Chadwick. “Out of all things offensively we did well, that was the most important.”

Evans lead the Colonels with 15 points, while Lahjar added 8. Burr and Burton was lead by Will Clark’s 11.

The Bulldogs will get an instant chance at revenge as they travel to Brattleboro for a rematch on Tuesday January 21, with a tip time of 6pm at BUHS.

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.

Practice scheduled for Friday is cancelled, next practice is Saturday at 11am.

BRATTLEBORO–The Colonels extended a three point lead after one quarter to 18 at the half and never let the visiting Hurricanes closer then 16 on their way to a 53-34 victory in Brattleboro on Tuesday afternoon.

Tristain Evans led the Colonels with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Josh McKenney followed with 13 points and Ayoub Lahjer contributed 7 points and 10 rebounds.

“I can’t be upset with the effort today,” Coach Evan Chadwick stated after the game. “However, we still have a lot to improve on.”

The Colonels raced out to an 8-0 lead with Evans and Connor McPhail each hitting treys in the first three minutes. The Hurricanes clawed back, finishing the first quarter on a 6-0 run to close to within 3.

Using a stifling half court man defense the Colonels extended the lead in the second quarter, finishing the half on a 10-0 run to go into the break leading 33-15.

The Colonels kept the Hurricanes at bay in the third, trading baskets for most of the quarter. Dylan Brown got into the action, hitting consecutive buckets, while Jordy Allembert also hit from deep.

Things got sloppy in the fourth, as Colonel turnovers saw their lead shrink to as few as 16 thanks to a 6-0 run by the Hurricanes, including converting two second chance opportunities. “We had a stretch in the fourth where we got outworked,” said Coach Chadwick. “If we are gonna be the team that I think we can be, we cannot have those types of lapses.”

The 1-0 Colonels travel to Bennington for a show down with Mount Anthony Patriots on Thursday, with the tip slated for 5:30pm.

Practice is off for today and tomorrow. I will be trying to get some gym time on Saturday so please stay tuned.

I will be at the Brattleboro Rec department today at 3:45 if athletes want to get in some pickup.

Practice time has been changed to 7:15pm-9pm on January 6. The Work Hours Page has been updated to reflect this change.

Be safe out there.

Next practice time can be found on Work Hours Page.

I will check the roads tomorrow morning and will post something no later than 8am regarding whether practice will be cancelled.

Please be sure to check back tomorrow.

If you need to contact me earlier, text me at 802-258-7071.