Bradford, Vt.
The Olympians (6-3) relied heavily on 3-pointers, finishing just 8-of-34 from downtown in a 70-44 loss to Thetford Academy.
“We’ve got a lot of 3-point shooters,” Oxbow coach Steve Carson said. “In the first quarter they were going in and after that, not so much.”
Oxbow’s Bryce Ilsley led all scorers with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Three of Ilsley’s long balls came in the first quarter, which Oxbow won, 16-13.
Thetford’s Alex Emerson, who netted 17 points, hit two of his three 3-pointers to open the second quarter, giving the Panthers (8-2) a lead they would never relinquish.
The Olympians, who got nine points from Matt Emerson, trailed by nine at halftime and by 19 after three quarters.
Carson pointed to the toughness of Capital League play, which began this week, as the source of his team’s recent troubles. League opponents Montpelier, Randolph and Thetford have each handed the Olympians a loss.
Oxbow will host Williamstown (7-2) next Friday. The Blue Devils are a non-league opponent, but a Division III perennial powerhouse known for losing only on rare occasions.
Carson mentioned several things that his squad needs to address in the interim.
“It’s more consistency on defense,” he said. “The little things; helping the helper, boxing out, just being smart. … We’re tying to press full court, but now we’re playing the Capital Division teams that have five good players on the court. They’re sending somebody long that can score the ball where we were getting away with taking chances before we got to the Capital (League).”
TA used the balanced scoring of Emerson, Eli Dunnet (14), Owen Deffner (12), Jake Colby (nine) and Carter Blain (nine) to upend their local rivals.
The result was on par with Thetford coach Jason Gray’s game plan. “(We want) to make sure that we’re all participating, all passing the ball,” Gray said.
“There isn’t one person that’s actually taking over, so it’s really hard to guard.”
The Panthers, who will host Randolph on Wednesday, played relentless defense against the Olympians.
“My goal for these guys is to dictate our offense from our defense,” Gray said. “If we can get up into people, make them stay to one shot or turnovers or whatever, than we can go to the offensive end. The boys have bought in to it the last couple of years, and I think this year we even bought into it a little harder.”
Carson was complimentary of the Panthers’ effort on Friday.
“Thetford is really good at closing things down,” he said. “There were no lanes to drive. They get in the gaps defensively. (Owen) Deffner is the glue on that team. He directs traffic on defense and there were very, very few opportunities we had to get to the rim.”
Notes: Oxbow came into Friday’s contest putting up an average 69 points per game while giving up 57. The Panthers came in averaging of 56 points for and 45 against. … Ilsley drew an offensive charge for Oxbow and Ryen Wolf did the same for Thetford. … The Panthers were 5-of-8 from the free throw line and 3-of-7 from downtown. Oxbow went 0-for-2 from the foul line. … Eight different players scored for each team … Harwood, Lamoille, U-32 and Lyndon round out the Capital League. … The Olympians and Panthers will meet again on Feb. 13 at Thetford’s Vaughn Gymnasium.