By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — In possession of an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter, it appeared as though the Springfield Cosmos were going to cruise to victory on Monday afternoon at Dressel Gymnasium.
However, the Windsor Yellow Jackets managed to claw their way back to make it a one score game with just under a minute to play.
Despite a valiant effort from Windsor, Springfield senior Cameron Williams came through in the clutch to help the Cosmos secure a 51-44 victory.
The first quarter was a microcosm of Monday afternoon’s clash as Springfield raced out to a 15-5 lead before Windsor reduced the deficit to five by the end of the period.
The Windsor County foes continued to go back-and-forth to open the second quarter until Springfield scored the final seven points of the period to enter the half with a 30-18 advantage.
While employing a full-court press, Springfield’s lead ballooned to 18 just over three minutes into the third quarter. After calling a timeout, Windsor proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to reduce the deficit to single digits entering the final frame.
Windsor continued to hang around as Springfield failed to find the bottom of the net for more than eight minutes. The scoreless streak finally came to a close when Oliver Kelley connected on a corner three to give the Cosmos a 44-33 edge with 4:31 remaining in the game.
Down but not out, the Yellow Jackets went on an 11-3 run and cut Springfield’s lead to 47-44 after a basket by Billy Blake with 47 seconds remaining. Undeterred by the situation, Cameron Williams pushed the ball up the floor and found Kelley for an open layup. Williams also made three free throws in the final minute to help the Cosmos hold off their rivals to the north.
Oliver Kelley was the top scorer for Springfield with 16 points, Bradley Gallant was next with 13, and Jameer Cosby followed with 10. Billy Blake paced Windsor with 18 points and Tanner Crane added nine.
Springfield evened its record at 2-2 with the victory, though they have a tough contest at Hartford on Thursday at 7 p.m. Windsor (0-5) will look to notch its first victory of the season when they head to Green Mountain for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday.
