Quebec City conquers Vermont
Kebekwa record 88-87 victory to snap Vermont's seven-game winning streak
|
|
Vermont's Aaron Cook flies past Quebec's Floyd Bayiha for a bucket in the second half of the Frost Heaves' 88-87 loss on Friday. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus |
Toolbox
By Anna Grearson Times Argus Staff - Published: December 23, 2006
BARRE To match the icy weather outside, the Vermont Frost Heaves' cold shooting and poor showing on the glass enabled the Quebec City Kebekwa to earn a 88-87 victory in Friday's ABA basketball game.
"They didn't kill us in transition, they killed us on the glass," Vermont coach Will Voigt said.
The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for Vermont and marked the first-ever home loss for the first-year franchise. The Quebec win ties the series at two the first loss came back in the Heaves' first game of the season, a 108-100 overtime loss at Quebec.
The Kebs, to their credit, are not the same team that the Frost Heaves faced in the previous three games.
"They've signed an ABA All-Star (Manix Auriantal) and added another big guy," Voigt explained. "We didn't play with the same energy we've played with before, they owned us on the glass, and when we had to have a rebound, we couldn't get one."
"With those two guys, it seems like they are playing with more confidence," Vermont's Antonio Burks said.
The lead yo-yoed for much of the first quarter, hovering around one and never increasing to more than four. Vermont gave Quebec plenty of opportunity to increase the gap at the free-throw line. Fortunately for the Heaves, the Kebs shot just three-of-eight from the line, and three of those shots could have broken an 18-all tie with 1:34 remaining in the quarter.
The second quarter featured the Frost Heaves team central Vermonters have been accustomed to showcasing aggressive rebounding on both ends of the court and capitalizing on the 3-D rule that allows teams to score an additional point during the possession immediately following a back-court turnover.
The Heaves closed the gap halfway through the second quarter as Burks sank his second consecutive three-pointer to give Vermont a 32-29 advantage. Burks added four more points, including a putback that capped a tremendous offensive rebounding performance by the Heaves' front court.
"In spurts we were aggressive aggressive with our defense, aggressive with our offense but not for the whole game," Voigt said.
After securing an eight-point lead at the half (45-38), the Frost Heaves gave up six straight Kebekwa points before Aaron Cook connected on all three free throws after being fouled by Auriantal behind the arc to make it a 48-42 game.
The Kebs came all the way back to tie it up at 50 off an Aaron Williams 3-D three-pointer with 9:28 left. The lead changed twice more, thanks to Tyronne Levett and Melvin Creddle, who put Vermont up 54-53 and 56-55, respectively.
Cordell Jeanty connected with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter to put the Kebs up for good.
Quebec went on a 13-0 run to open the fourth, but the momentum briefly swung in Vermont's direction. Vermont forced a Quebec turnover, Levett sank a three-pointer, and the Kebs committed a 24-second shot-clock violation with 7:50 left in the game.
The crowd, which remained big even as the Kebs opened their largest margin of 13, was electrified as both teams battled through defensive stands, and Vermont came within two, 86-84, with 2:34 left.
"The Barre crowd has been tremendous," Voigt said. "It's really the only thing that kept us in the game. They really outplayed us in the majority of it, and thankfully we were able to feed off (the crowd's) energy."
With the score 87-84, Issa Konare snagged a defensive rebound that was nearly a goal-tend with 34.3 seconds to go. Once the ball crossed half court, Voigt called a time out with 10 seconds on the shot clock. The Heaves wanted desperately for Levett to take the tying three.
Levett came up short, and Kevin Mickens fouled Jeanty, who hit the back end of his two shots to make it 88-84 with 10.3 seconds left.
Tyrone Barley then hit a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go for the 88-87 final.
"We couldn't get stops, and if you don't get stops, you can't win," Voigt said. "We could not get rebounds and get out and run. When we get into the half-court game, we're not very good, and that's clearly what was going on."
Burks echoed Voigt's sentiment, also noting the low-scoring affair for Vermont is not something the Frost Heaves are used to.
"That's our offense getting stops and pushing the ball
and a lot of that didn't happen because we weren't getting the stops. They were getting a lot of second shots, which worked to their advantage. It slowed the game down. We're used to scoring 100-plus, and (tonight) was in the 80s, so that's the kind of game style they wanted."
Burks was red-hot in the first half, scoring all 20 of his points before the break, but he was unable to remain a force in the second half.
"Pretty much I let the team down," Burks said. "I didn't play much in the second half, and probably didn't have many shot attempts."
Auriantal burned the Heaves for 17 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Quebec.
"He's a real aggressive guard he gets them going with his energy," Burks said.
Jeanty paced the 8-3 Kebs with 26 points and Williams added 20.
Levett led Vermont with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Cook and Mickens added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Frost Heaves are now 13-3 and will be back in action next Saturday night in Barre against Cape Cod.
71