Ryan Stoodley is in his second year as head coach of the Bellows Falls Terriers boys' basketball and, like any good coach, he has tried to adapt his strategy to the personnel that's available.
That means when you have a team that is still trying to find a groove on offense and is still learning how to close out games, you emphasize defense - especially when your team has given up an average of 66 points in its four losses.
The Terriers entered last Friday's game against the Black River Presidents on a three-game losing streak, including two tough road losses to Woodstock (68-26 on Jan. 4) and Windsor (65-42 on Jan. 6). BF needed a strong defensive effort to get back on track, and got it with a 55-35 win over the Presidents at Holland Gymnasium.
Stoodley said his team tried something against Black River that they hadn't done so far this season - use a man-to-man defense with lots of front court pressure.
The result was that the Presidents were held to just one basket over the first 10 minutes of the game as the Terriers went on an 18-2 run to take a lead they would never relinquish.
“That was one of our best games in a long time,” said Stoodley. “They played great man-to-man defense.”
The Terriers forced turnovers, controlled the boards, and denied Black River any second chances at the basket during the run.
The downside of playing with that much intensity is getting fatigued, and Black River eventually got as close as 26-15 at the half and was as close as 47-35 midway through the fourth quarter, but Stoodley said his team did what it needed to do to win.
“I was having a flashback for a moment, because we had a big lead against Black River when we played them up there and lost (67-65 on Dec. 17),” Stoodley said. “We've got to be more patient when we get a lead.”
BF got 13 points from Cam Joy in the first half, he finished with 19 points. Anthony Mueller had the hot hand in the second half, scoring 11 points and finishing with 16 points. Black River was led by Drew Schoenberger with 18 points.
The Terriers improved to 4-4 with the win, and is also getting some help for the second half of the season. Longtime girls' basketball coach Jayne Barber has come out of retirement to assist Stoodley and coach the freshman boys' team.
A 1,000-point scorer as a player for the Terriers from 1972 to 1976, Barber won five state girls' basketball titles as coach of the Terriers from 1981 to 2009. Stoodley said that with a strong class of freshmen now, and an even more promising crop of eighth-graders behind them, Barber's knowledge and experience is a welcome addition to build up the boys' program.
Boys' basketball
• Brattleboro improved to 5-3 with a pair of wins over Division II foes.
Taylor Patno and Taylor King came off the bench to score 17 and 12 points, respectively. to lead the Colonels in a convincing 77-19 rout of Springfield at the BUHS gym on Jan. 5. King started off hot with three three-pointers in the first quarter. He finished with four threes, while Tony Martinez added a pair of three-pointers, and Ian Fulton-Black and Chayse Cunniff hit one each.
Outside shooting has been a big part of the Colonels' offense this season, but they also have a strong front line of Josh Hanson, Eli Lombardi, and Dillon Green. That trio abused the Cosmos, scoring a collective 12 points as Brattleboro led 27-8 after one quarter.
Brattleboro can play a little defense too, as they held Springfield to just three points in taking a 40-11 lead at the half. The second half was for entertainment purposes only as everyone got a chance to play and put some numbers on the scoresheet.
The Colonels improved to 5-3 with a 55-48 win at Mill River on Jan. 8.
• Twin Valley had a couple of big wins at home last week. On Jan. 6, the Wildcats clobbered Long Trail, 75-32. Justin Hicks had 22 points and eight steals, while Brett Swanson added 17 points.
Three days later, the Wildcats rolled over West Rutland, 74-36, to improve to 6-4 on the season.
• Leland & Gray is still struggling. On Jan. 6 at Arlington, the Rebels were beaten, 63-51.
Arlington made seven three-pointers, including four in the first half, to put the game out of reach early. The Eagles led 35-23 at the half, but the Rebels could only cut the lead down to seven before Arlington closed out the game with more long-distance baskets. The Rebels ended the week at 2-7.
Girls' basketball
• Bellows Falls was the latest local team to run into the buzz saw that is undefeated Mount St. Joseph, and lost 56-30 on Jan. 4.
It didn't help that the Terriers went into the game shorthanded, losing Keri Ticino to a knee injury and Emma Lawrence to illness. Hannah Kelly gamely picked up the slack, scoring 13 points for BF.
Two nights later, the Terriers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 56-26 win at Poultney to improve their record to 3-5. Abbe Cravinho led BF with 11 points, while Hannah Kelly and Murphy Hicks each added nine points and Molly Kelly scored eight points.
• Leland & Gray started the new year with a home loss to West Rutland, 40-33, on Jan. 4. Caroline Tietz led the Rebels with 11 and Hannah Buffum added 10.
Four nights later, the Rebels traveled to Proctor and lost 48-34 to fall to 3-6 on the season.
• Brattleboro had a week it would rather forget, with three tough road losses. On Jan. 5, the Colonels fell to Drury, 52-42.
Two nights later, Mill River beat the Colonels, 61-53, despite Brattleboro getting 20 points from Devin Millerick and 11 points and eight rebounds from Gabby Carpenter.
The most heartbreaking loss came last Saturday, as the Colonels dropped a 49-48 decision to Fair Haven to fall to 1-8 on the season.
The Slaters hit five three-pointers in the first half, but the Colonels were still in it, trailing 26-23 at the half. Brattleboro stayed in it, thanks to a big night from Carpenter, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Morgan Derosia had seven points and three steals, while Kelsea McAuliffe came off the bench to score six points.
• Twin Valley picked up a pair of home wins last week. Brianna Rafus had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 51-17 demolition of Long Trail on Jan. 6. Tayler Courchesne scored a team-high 11 points and Sammy Morse added 10. Teya Johnson chipped in with eight points and six steals, while Kirra Courchesne had seven points and eight rebounds.
Against Mid-Vermont Christian last Friday, Sammy Morse scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats to a 49-27 win. Kirra Courchesne had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Tayler Courchesne scored 10 points as the Wildcats evened their record at 5-5.
Nordic skiing
• The Brattleboro Nordic team had its first meet of the season last week in Woodstock.
Middlebury dominated the boys' race, placing four skiers in the top five to win the event. Brattleboro came in second, followed by Woodstock, Mount Anthony and Burr & Burton.
Woodstock was nearly as dominant in the girls' race, placing three skiers in the top five to win. Mount Anthony and Burr & Burton came in second and third, respectively, followed by Middlebury and Brattleboro.
Boys' hockey
• Brattleboro beat Taconic at Withington Rink, 6-4, on Jan. 6 for their third straight win after starting the season with six straight losses.
Milton snapped the Colonels' win streak last Saturday, as the Colonels came up short in a 4-1 road loss.