Eagle Times Staff
WESTMINSTER, VT — The Terriers raced out to a 21-4 lead after one quarter and held off a late Green Mountain charge to earn their third win of the season 63-51 in front of a pack house at Holland Gymnasium on Thursday night, Dec. 21.
“Had a great start,” said Evan Chadwick, Bellows Falls head coach. “Not happy with how we finished the game, but overall, a solid win for us.”
Bellows Falls would open the game setting the nets on fire, scoring 14 points in the first 3 minutes of the contest. Cole Moore and Colby Dearborn combined for three 3-pointers in the frame, combining for 13 of the Terrier 21 points. Jaxon Clark added four and Andrew Dunbar finished an inside hoop off an offensive rebound to put the Terriers in control early.
The Bellows Falls lead would stretch to as many as 24 in the second frame off of 5 straight points from Terrier center Will Hallock. The Chieftains would find a spark to end the quarter, closing the half on a 6-2 run that kept them within 20.
Green Mountain came out in the second half with some newfound energy and outscored Bellows Falls 16-12 in the third. Matt Murphy scored 8 in the frame while Evan Kirdzik added two treys.
“We got complacent in the second half,” said Chadwick. “Green Mountain beat us to loose balls and started creating opportunities for themselves. This is something we need to work on the rest of the week.”
Bellows Falls was able to keep the lead at 16, in large part to the inside play of Jaxon Clark, who scored 10 of his 17 points in the third on a variety of inside moves.
“Jaxon muscled dudes in the paint tonight,” said Chadwick.
Green Mountain would close the gap to as few as 12 in the fourth after Tanner Swisher hit his second 3 of the quarter. The Terriers were able to hit 8 of 11 free throws to ice away the home win and go 3-1 on the season.
Three Terriers reached double figures in points, with Dearborn’s 21, Clark’s 17 and Moore’s 11. Will Hallock chipped in 7 points and 7 boards.
The Purple and White will take a short Christmas break before they travel to South Royalton to face off with White River Valley on Dec. 27. JV tips at 5:30 and varsity follows at 7 p.m.
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