Sports

Terriers fall short despite career night from Dearborn

By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
ORFORD, NH — The starting shooting guards stole the show when Bellows Falls traveled to face the reigning Division 4 champions from Rivendell on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Bellows Falls’ Colby Dearborn scored a career-high 34 points, while Rivendell’s Finn O’Donnell posted 37 points to lead the Raptors to a 76-69 victory.

The game was a fast-paced battle from the start as the Terriers applied full-court pressure throughout the night. The Raptors dynamic backcourt duo of O’Donnell and Jacoby Patterson had little trouble handling the pressure, allowing them to create easy opportunities for themselves and their teammates. The Terriers were more successful on the offensive end as they traded baskets for most of the period. Rivendell created a cushion during the final couple of minutes as they took a 24-18 edge into the second quarter.

Bellows Falls reclaimed the lead midway through the second quarter after a challenging stepback 3 from Dearborn. The Terriers and the Raptors went back-and-forth the rest of the period as they entered the break tied at 42. Dearborn led the Terriers with 21 first-half points and O’Donnell paced the Raptors with 19.

Just 14 seconds into the second half, Dearborn embraced his inner James Harden yet again by making another stepback 3. Bellows Falls held a 47-44 lead at the 5:18 mark before the hosts reeled-off an 11-2 run. Following the Raptors run, Blake Bertrand responded with five key points for the Terriers as they entered the final frame trailing by only one score, at 57-54.

Rivendell put together a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter following two threes by Liam Welch and another by O’Donnell. Despite the strong start by the Raptors, the Terriers would battle back with an 11-2 run, which cut the lead to 68-67 with 1:57 remaining. Unfortunately for the Terriers, the one-point difference was as close as they would come in the final two minutes, as the Raptors came away with a 7-point win.

Jaxon Clark followed Dearborn in the scoring column with 14 points, Cole Moore was next with 8 and Blake Bertrand added 7. Following O’Donnell for Rivendell was Patterson with 16 points and Welch with 9.

Bellows Falls (5-7) hosts Windsor (6-6) in a key SVL-B matchup on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m.

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