By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
WESTMINSTER, Vt. — The Terriers have been sidelined for more than a week. So they were just happy to finally be playing when the opportunity came around.
“Chris Brown and I talked this week and even if we had five kids dressed, we were going to play,” said Bellows Falls head coach Evan Chadwick as his team had four players cleared to play the day of the game.
“I woke up today thinking something special was going to happen. I wasn’t sure what but I just had that feeling all day,” said Bellows Falls senior Jon Terry.
Unfortunately for Brown’s Twin Valley team, Terry’s vision came true as Bellows Falls came out on fire and took a 19-0 lead only four minutes into the game.
“We were thrilled to be playing,” said senior center Owen LaRoss as 12 Bellows Falls players entered the scoring column on Friday. “We worked on lots of things today and I can say it was a total team effort.”
After pressing for a few minutes, Chadwick’s team settled into a half-court defense for most of the remaining three-plus quarters with the bench getting plenty of action. Twin Valley had a very short bench with only one substitution while Bellows Falls had a group eager to hit the floor. Terry, Patrick Barbour, LaRoss and Jamison Nystrom all hit shots in the opening moments as the Wildcats had trouble even getting the ball past half-court. The game was decided early as both squads were gentlemen throughout the game helping one another off the deck.
“Chris is just a class act and his team is the exact same,” said Chadwick after the game. “There isn’t a better coach around.”
With all the Bellows Falls starters sitting on the bench, the next up group were just as strong as the first five players and bumped the Bellows Falls lead to 40-9 at the break.
“I thought our passing was really good today,” LaRoss said. “We took our time and worked the outside until we found that perfect pass inside. I know we take lots of pride in that part of our game.”
Some of those snappy passes found Jake Moore in the third quarter while Jaxson Clark and Colby Dearborn dropped in three point swishes to put things in the safety zone for Bellows Falls.
As Chadwick worked his players into different positions on the floor, Terry found himself on a guard wing in the zone defense to start the final quarter. I loose ball and outlet pass found Terry dashing down the sidelines with nobody in front of him.
“I knew if I missed this,” Terry said. “I wouldn’t hear the end of it.”
The senior planted his foot and with his right arm, threw down a dunk that shook the backboard that closed out Terry’s night with high fives all around with his return to the bench. From there on it was show time for Bellows Falls as Jesse Darell and Eli Allbee capped off the Bellows Falls 81-24 win with the final hoop of the night coming from Allbee as he drained a three pointer that brought the Bellows Falls bench to it’s feet.
The Terriers were led by LaRoss (14), Terry (13), Moore (12), Dearborn (8), Clark (7), Walker James and Barbour (6), Nystrom (5), Allbee (4), and Jack Cravinho, Peter Kamel, and Darrell (2).
Twin Valley’s Aiden Joyce dropped in 10 points while Cody Magnant finished with eight poitns and Joey Crafts chipped in with six points.
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