Eagle Times Staff
CHESTER, VT — The Bellows Falls Terriers lodged an impressive win against Mount Saint Joseph to start the Green Mountain Tournament and then dropped a nail biter to Twin Valley in the Championship match on Thursday, Dec. 14, to take a 2-1 record into the weekend.
“Great tournament as always,” said Evan Chadwick, head basketball coach for Bellows Falls. “We learned a lot from these two games and will take those lessons into next week after we take a couple days off to heal up.”
Mount Saint Joseph
Ten players scored at least one basket for the Terriers on Tuesday, Dec. 12, as the Terriers took care of business against the Mounties, 70-38.
Bellows Falls would stretch their halftime lead of 18 to as many as 35 during a third quarter eruption to seize control of the contest. Colby Dearborn hit back-to-back threes and Jaxon Clark scored all his 8 points in the decisive run.
The fourth saw some firsts for the younger Terriers. Freshmen Aiden Weir scored his first basket of his young career and Camden Perry added a mid-range jumper to close out the scoring and earn the Terriers a trip to the championship game.
Twin Valley thriller
Bellows Falls and Twin Valley engaged in a back-and-forth affair on Thursday night, Dec. 14, in front of a packed Green Mountain Gymnasium. In the end, Twin Valley was able to squeak out a 54-51 win.
“What a fun game to be a part of,” said Chadwick. “Our effort was there, [Twin Valley]just made one more play than we did. That’s basketball.”
The Wildcats opened a 7-point lead in the first that quickly evaporated as the Terriers ran off 8 straight points midway through the second and took a 1-point lead into halftime 18-17.
The Purple and White lead would stretch to as many as 11 in the third quarter, but foul trouble would begin to catch up to the Terriers as Twin Valley was in the bonus with over four minutes remaining in the frame and shot 13 free throws in the quarter.
“Tough stretch there defensively,” Chadwick said. “We need to clean up those cheap fouls. Putting them on the line early in the third kept them in the contest.”
In the end, the charity stripe proved to be the Terrier downfall, as the Wildcats hit 3 free throws in the final minute to take a 3-point lead, and Bellows Falls was unable to get a clean look off to tie, dropping the Terriers to 2-1 on the early season.
Bellows Falls will take a couple days off before resuming practice on Monday, Dec. 18, as they prepare for a home matchup with Green Mountain. JV tips at 5:30 p.m. with varsity following at 7.
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