By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
CHESTER, Vt. — With three narrow defeats in its first five games, the Windsor Yellow Jackets seem destined to end up on the winning side sooner rather than later.
Green Mountain made it clear that Windsor’s first win wasn’t about to come at their expense, leading from start-to-finish during a 59-38 victory on Friday night.
The hosts were hot from behind the arc to open the game, receiving two threes from Carson Laughlin and another from Caleb Merrow while jumping out to a 9-2 advantage. Tanner Swisher capped the first quarter with another triple for Green Mountain, giving the hosts a 16-7 edge after eight minutes.
Green Mountain’s hot hand from the outside disappeared during the second quarter, but another gritty effort on the defensive end allowed the boys from Chester to extend their lead. The Yellow Jackets were held to single digits again as Green Mountain entered the half with a 26-16 lead.
The hosts found the hot hand again following the break, scoring more than half their points during the third quarter from beyond the arc. Caleb Merrow connected on two threes and Evan Kirdzik added another to help Green Mountain gain a 43-27 edge entering the final frame.
Green Mountain’s lead ballooned to 24 points midway through the fourth quarter as they cruised to their fourth victory of the season.
Caleb Merrow drained four of Green Mountain’s nine threes and led the team with 17 points. Caleb Laughlin was next for Green Mountain with 16 points and Tanner Swisher added 12. Tanner Crane led a balanced attack for Windsor with 10 points.
Green Mountain (4-3) heads to West Rutland on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Windsor (0-6) is seeking its first win of the season with games against Springfield and Burr & Burton this week.
