Vergennes earns 67-64 victory
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Montpelier senior Nate Smith dribbles the ball along the baseline during Saturday's game against Vergennes in Montpelier. The Commodores won 67-64. PHOTO BY TIM CALABRO |
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By ANNA GREARSON STAFF Writer - Published: December 6, 2009
MONTPELIER – The Montpelier boys basketball team opened the 2009-2010 season the same way it ended the 2008-2009 season: with Saturday's loss to Vergennes.
The Solons dropped a close 67-64 decision to the Commodores, who ousted Montpelier from the Division II tournament in the semifinals last winter. But Solon coach Dave Nelson, who made his return to the Montpelier sideline Saturday night, does not want to draw any connections.
"Some of those players are gone, and it was different then," he said. "It's just different. I don't get too bogged down in that. It's not where we begin, it's where we end. And I think this team's going to be pretty successful. They work hard at it, and I'm proud of how hard they play. We just needed to knock down a few more shots tonight. I thought we had some real good moments and some rough moments – very typical of an opener."
Down 12 early in the second quarter, Montpelier pulled within five at the half, 37-32, and carried that momentum over into the third frame. The Solons opened with a 15-9 run to take its first lead of the game since 3:40 of the first quarter as Nate Smith gave Montpelier a 47-46 advantage with 2:04 left in the third.
Vergennes' Jackson Alexander gave the Commodores the lead right back 1:03 later, but Montpelier's Sam Brigham connected on the back end of two free throws to tie the game at 48 headed into the final eight minutes.
The lead changed hands five times and the game was tied once in the fourth quarter. Connor Merrill hit a 3-pointer to give the Commodores a 61-58 lead. Montpelier got within one twice more in the quarter, but timely buckets by Jake Bushee, missed free throws by Montpelier with 25 seconds left and a pair of one-and-one free throws by Merrill with 15 seconds left sealed the 67-64 final.
"Vergennes knocked down some shots when they had to and some free throws at the end," Nelson, who returned to the Solon program after two-year head coach Joe Salerno left to become an assistant with the Vermont Frost Heaves, said. "I thought our kids did pretty well, and I think that's one of the better teams we see on our schedule. And we get at least one more crack at them."
Montpelier scored the first points of the game and took a pair of four-point leads early, but Vergennes went on a 17-8 run to close out the first quarter up 25-17. Fifteen of those points came off 3s by Logan Williams, who wound up with six 3s and a game-high 26 points.
Six points by Merrill in about 30 seconds boosted Vergennes early in the second quarter, but jumpers by Brigham, who scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half, and a strong inside presence by Montpelier's front court allowed the Solons to chip away at the lead.
The Vergennes bench did not register a single point while Montpelier's produced eight points – arguably eight of the bigger points of the game, in fact.
"Chris Richardson came in off the bench and just did an unbelievable job on one of the better players in the state," Nelson said of the senior forward. "He was fantastic. Lights out. Certainly Arlo Patterson had his moments; all of our guys had their moments. The guys that came off the bench really contributed. Matt Dowling knocked down a big hoop for us. We're still trying to sort out roles for guys, so I thought everybody who played did a pretty nice job. We just ended up on the short end of the stick, and that's a pretty good ball club."
Brigham's 21 points was a team-high. Sean Dowling added 12 points and six rebounds and Smith finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Corey Michaud added nine points for the Solons. Aidan King grabbed eight rebounds.
Montpelier starts at 0-1 and hosts Middlebury on Thursday.
"We play an exciting brand of basketball, they get up and down the court," Nelson said. "I think one of the differences in the game was that these guys (Vergennes) had an opener to work some of their bugs out. I'm not making any excuses, but it's tough on opening night. Even when you have seniors, there's some butterflies."
Vergennes, led by Williams' 26 points, improves to 2-0. Merrill finished with 18 points and Bushee with 12.
Vergennes 67, Montpelier 64
VERGENNES (67)
VanDeWeert 0 2-2 2, Dugan 0 0-0 0, Brooks 0 0-0 0, Alexander 4 0-1 8, Williams 2 6 4-4 26, Curler 0 0-0 0, Merrill 3 3 4-5 18, Bushee 6 0-3 12, Stapleford 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9 9-13 67.
MONTPELIER (64)
Paterson 0 1 0-0 3, McKinstry 0 0-0 0, Brigham 10 1-3 21, Williams 0 0-0 0, Smith 4 2-2 10, M. Dowling 1 0-0 2, S. Dowling 6 0-1 12, King 1 2-4 4, Richardson 1 1-3 3, Michaud 2 1 2-3 9. Totals 24 2 8-16 64.
Vergennes 25 12 11 19 – 67
Montpelier 17 15 16 16 – 64
Three-pointers: V – Williams 6, Merrill 3. M – Paterson, Michaud. Fouled out: None.
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