RHS wins at Kates
Toolbox
By Bob Fredette Herald Staff - Published: January 9, 2009
BENNINGTON — Rutland High School senior Mark Comstock has been taking winter bus rides to Bennington for four years and until Thursday night, he's never had anything good to show for it.
It's funny how one game can change everything.
Comstock helped key a rally from a 15-1 deficit and went home happy with his Raiders teammates after a 67-54 victory over Mount Anthony in a Marble Valley League A Division opener.
Comstock and Troy Davine had 20 and 23 points, respectively, as Rutland continued a midseason hot streak with a win over the MVL's perennial A Division strongboy.
Just as it was all Mount Anthony in the opening 3:34, it was all Raiders the rest of the way as they improved to 7-3.
"I've played (against Mount Anthony) for two schools," said Comstock, formerly of Mount St. Joseph. "My whole life if I had just one team to beat, it would be them, especially down here. It's the best highlight of my life."
The victory was the first for Rutland in fabled Kates Gym against a Dan Sleeman-coached team. Sleeman was 9-0 at home against the Raiders until Thursday night, but it looked like the streak was going to be extended when MAU hit six straight shots in the early going.
"We have a lot of young kids. We came out and most of our players haven't played a lot," Comstock said. "I was really happy with how we battled back."
Comstock had 12 points and Davine 11 by halftime as Rutland surged to a 30-26 lead at the break.
"(Mount Anthony) is famous for their great starts and I didn't expect anything less. It really came down to settling and getting our composure," Wood said. "When we settled in and ran what we wanted to run, we got good looks at the basket.
"We've got a lot of young kids but I don't like to call them young any more. We' re 10 games in and they're veterans now and they played like it. I thought the guys really rallied when Kyle (Horvath) went down; that's a testament to them."
Andrew Borkowski added 12 points in a big performance off the bench. With starter Horvath missing the entire second half following an ankle injury, Ben Senecal and Brian O'Rourke slowly chipped in quality minutes. Borkowski had 10 points in the second half, including six in the third period when Rutland extended its lead to 50-38.
Mount Anthony came out playing hard both ways and once Rutland gained confidence with a 14-3 run to close the first period, the Raiders looked comfortable playing at MAU's pace. On some occasions, they countered frantic double- and triple-teams on the ball to find the open man for layups.
Davine started the Raiders counter-attack with a layup on a nice dish by Cedric White and Davine and Comstock went on to score 12 of Rutland last 14 points in the opening session.
Kyle Callahan and Dan Nichols led 4-4 Mount Anthony with 13 points apiece and Taylor Burke added 12. But once Rutland picked up its own defensive intensity, the Pats met a swarm of defense where they once had open looks inside. As the game wore on MAU relied more on the 3-ball, and then only with marginal success.
Rutland made six treys to three for MAU, getting two each from Comstock and Davine and another by Horvath.
"I don't think we got them out of their comfort zone after the first three minutes," Sleeman said. "They made some big shots and some big rebounds. They played a great game. I have to tip my hat to Comstock; at times he was unstoppable.
"Fast starts and terrible finishes has been our motto so far. That's got to be changed in practice. At this point, it's a mental thing and you've got to keep at it."
For Rutland, this is definitely a win on which to build. How often does victory come from a visit to Kates, anyway?
"It's been a long time for coach Wood and a long time for Rutland High School," Wood said. "We felt it was time to step up and beat a really good basketball team."
Contact Bob Fredette at bob.fredette@rutlandherald.com
11