Balanced Raiders outlast Yellow Jackets
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U-32 junior Carter Austin-Bradley gets knocked off balance as he pulls down a rebound in front of Windsor's Nathaniel Furma during the third quarter of the Raiders' 45-35 victory on Saturday. PHOTO BY JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR |
Toolbox
By RORY McEATHRON Correspondent - Published: December 13, 2009
EAST MONTPELIER – It took a titanic fall for U-32's Carter Austin-Bradley to finally get angry on Saturday.
After that, the Windsor boys basketball team didn't stand a chance.
Austin-Bradley erupted for 17 points and eight rebounds despite taking a scary tumble in the third quarter, helping the Raiders roll to a 45-35 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Sam McArdle contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds for U-32, while teammate Ryan Shea chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.
The game started off slowly for both teams, with Windsor's Gavin Callahan (13 points) giving his team an early lead with a long 3-pointer. Three possessions later, teammate Chris Zept hit a jump shot from the baseline to help Windsor finish the first quarter with a 10-6 lead.
"We played great defense in the first half," Windsor coach Harry Ladue said. "We were rebounding well and making U-32 really work to get open shots. I was really happy with the way the guys were hustling and being patient on offense.
At the beginning of the second quarter Ryan Shea stole the ball from Callahan and found Austin-Bradley streaking toward the basket. Shea's bounce pass found Austin-Bradley in mid-stride, allowing the athletic junior to lay the ball off the glass for two points. After McArdle nailed a pair of foul shots, Callahan rolled off a pick and drained another long 3-pointer to tie the score at 13."They really gave us trouble in the first half," U-32 coach Dan Gandin said. "We're a team that likes to run the floor and control the tempo. Instead, Windsor controlled the speed of the game for the first half – they're well-coached and they forced us out of our comfort zone. They changed their defense around and made us really work for baskets."
After McArdle and Callahan traded baskets and foul shots, Austin-Bradley hit Shea streaking toward the basket. Shea caught the pass, dribbled once and jumped into the air. The three-sport standout effortlessly floated the ball over the last Windsor defender and sank the short jumper with five seconds left in the first half.
One minute into the second half, Windsor junior Jacob Page corralled a rebound and rushed up the left sideline. After a quick pass to teammate Winnie Townsen, Page pivoted toward the top of the key and waited. The ball quickly swung back around to him, and without hesitation he buried a long 3-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 22-21 edge.
"We really hung tough today," Ladue said. "Unfortunately, the U-32 team was a little too quick. We had trouble with their size as well – their guards must have had as many rebounds as their big guys. We had opportunities but just had trouble finishing when we got close."
Austin-Bradley went up for an offensive rebound halfway through the third quarter and, at the apex of his jump, he caught an errant elbow squarely in the chest and slammed to the ground. After a brief pause, he slowly got up and ended up remaining in the game.
"We were finally able to open up the floor a little," U-32 coach Dan Gandin said. "They switched to a box-and-one zone defense on Ryan (Shea), and that widened things out. Once we adjusted our offense we were able to find the open players. Sam played really well tonight, both on offense and defense. He was on the glass all game."
After Yellow Jacket Austin Soule nailed a baseline jumper, Austin-Bradley drained back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the U-32 lead to 38-28. On the Raiders' next possession, senior John Helme grabbed a loose ball and laid it in. Windsor's Callahan responded with two foul shots and another field goal, but it wasn't enough.
"They played prepared and tried to confuse our offense," Gandin said. "They played hard and never gave up. Once we started to pick-and-roll, Windsor had problems. We had to make some adjustments and so did they. It was a well-played game by both sides."
U-32 improves to 3-0 and travels to play South Burlington on Friday at 7 p.m. Windsor falls to 1-3 and will host Woodstock on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
U-32 45, Windsor 35
WINDSOR (35)
Wierzbick 0 0-0 0, Cushing 0 0-0 0, Soule 1 3-8 5, Townsen 0 1 0-0 3, Brown 0 0-0 0, Callahan 2 2 3-6 13, Zepf 1 0-0 2, Dana 3 3-6 9, Page 0 1 0-3 3, Furma 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 4 9-23 35.
U-32 (45)
J. Shea 2 0-0 4, Austin-Bradley 4 2 3-4 17, Cote 0 0-0 0, R. Shea 3 2-4 8, McArdle 3 4-5 10, Noble 0 0-0 0, Fitzgerald 1 0-0 2, Pellegrini 0 0-0 0, Helme 1 2-2 4. Totals 14 2 11-15 45.
Windsor 10 8 7 10 – 35
U-32 6 12 12 15 – 45
Three-pointers: W – Callahan 2, Page, Townsen. U – Austin-Bradley 2. Fouled out: None.
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