Calvert, Chapman Lead Wahconah Past Mount Anthony
BENNINGTON, Vt. – Up by seven points in the fourth quarter and playing in a state that has not yet added the shot clock to its rule book, Wahconah boys basketball coach Dustin Belcher said he was not tempted to put in the four corners offense.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Belcher said after Monday’s 65-45 win over Mount Anthony. “I don’t even know if any of my guys would know what that even was.”
It turned out that North Carolina legend Dean Smith’s clock-chewing tactic was not needed.
Jesse Chapman hit both ends of a one-and-one with 3 minutes, 55 seconds left to play to put Wahconah up, 50-41, and spark a 17-4 run to end the game as Wahconah improved to 4-0 with one game left in the calendar year, Thursday at Drury.
Chapman finished the night with 19 points, and Brody Calvert scored a game-high 25 for short-handed Wahconah.
For Calvert, the 25 points was right at his average on the young season. Chapman scored 12 points over his average coming into the game as he helped pick up some of the slack left by the absence of Patrick Mclaughlin.
“[Chapman] has had a great year being our sixth man,” Belcher said. “He needed to step up and start tonight, and he embraced that. I’m proud of him, and it was a great night for him.”
Until the midway point of the fourth quarter, Wahconah had control of the game but could not find a way to put away the Patriots.
The visitors took the lead for good late in the first quarter. Ben Noyes (five points, six rebounds) scored in the post to break a 12-12 tie and start a 13-0 run that went into the second quarter.
Calvert scored seven in the run, including a 3-pointer, and Chapman capped the scoring spurt by driving the baseline for a hoop to make it 25-12 two minutes into the second.
Mount Anthony battled back to make it a six-point game at half-time.
Wahconah came out of the locker room with a 9-3 run that included a triple by Braedyn Melle (seven points) to push its lead back to double digits. But Mount Anthony again rallied back, getting 3s from Josh Worthington to end the third and start the fourth that made it a three-point game at 41-38.
Chapman snapped a 10-1 Patriots run with a drive to the basket to make it 43-38, and Lucas Pickard hit a 3 off a feed from Calvert one possession later to give Wahconah an eight-point cushion. Calvert then stretched the lead to 48-38 before Austin Grogan (team-high 11 points) hit a 3-pointer with 4:10 left to get Mount Anthony within seven.
That was as close as things got.
After Chapman hit his two free throws, Luke DiCicco hit one of his two 3-pointers to again make it a double-digit lead, and Mount Anthony never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Belcher was glad to see his team pick up a road win in a hostile environment.
“Definitely some different things up here that you’ve got to acclimate to,” he said. “[The lack of a shot clock] was one thing that, I think, helped us toward the end be a little more patient.
“This is a tough place to play. Their team competes, plays hard on every possession. I’m proud of my guys for being able to step up and get it done.”