Tullar and Durham lead Tide to 74-54 victory over Solons
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Spaulding laid claim to local boys basketball bragging rights on Saturday, earning a 74-54 victory over Montpelier with relative ease. |
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By TOM HERZIG Correspondent - Published: December 28, 2008
Spaulding laid claim to local boys basketball bragging rights on Saturday, earning a 74-54 victory over Montpelier with relative ease.
Sparked by senior point guard James Durham, the Tide broke down the Solons attempt at pressure defense and went where they wanted to go when they wanted to go there. That resulted in a 25-point second quarter on 10-for-14 shooting – mostly from lay-ins at the rim.
Meanwhile, Montpelier was clanging 3-point attempts and watching some close-in shots roll around the rim and out. Spaulding led 40-25 at the half. That lead quickly swelled to 51-31 following an early third-quarter burst that included a pair of spin moves by Evan Tullar in addition to a lunchpail 3-point play and two more inside hoops by Ethan Matz.
Durham wound up with 15 points after scoring 11 in the first half. Tullar went 7-for-9 from the floor – including two 3-pointers – and led all scorers with 16. The Solons struggled through a 19-for-59 shooting performance and turned the ball over 23 times. Spaulding's turnovers (19 total) mounted when the game got ragged early in the fourth quarter, but they weren't as costly.
"We stayed in a frantic state when the game got more physical and we could have protected the lead better, but overall I'm pleased with our play," Tide coach Mike Mislak said. "Durham did a great job getting the ball up the floor and getting guys open looks. I think this was a case of where their strength and up-tempo style – pressing, shooting 3-pointers – played into our hands. We controlled the paint and the boards."
Spaulding handled Montpelier's press by attacking it, but in the opening five minutes the Tide only managed two baskets – both by Taylor English – along with free throws from Durham and Matt Ballard. Minutes later, two takes to the rim by Durham and a dish from English to Tullar gave Spaulding some daylight before Solon Kyle Martin sliced the lead to 15-9 with a baseline drive to end the first quarter.
Montpelier stayed cold in the second half, going 3-for-12 from the field in the third quarter. Matz hauled in six rebounds in the third, while Ethan Blouin, Matt Ballard and Bryan Hickey pulled down three boards apiece in the fourth quarter. Matz and English added to Spaulding's firepower with nine points apiece.
Sam Brigham (12 points), Evan Parker (11 points) and Martin (10 points) paced the Solons, while teammate Sean Dowling grabbed eight rebounds.
"We came in thinking this was a game we could win, but we didn't come to play," Solon coach Joe Salerno said. "They were the aggressor. They rattled us and we played intimidated in the first half and didn't set the tempo. The effort was there, but the poor shooting hurt."
Montpelier falls to 3-3 and will travel to play Vergennes on Tuesday. Spaulding improves to 3-4 and will host Essex that same day.
"Essex has a lot of size," Mislak. "They're a big, physical Metro team."
Spaulding 74, Montpelier 54
MONTPELIER (54)
Brigham 3 2 0-2 12, Gribbin 0 0-0 0, Parker 1 2 3-4 11, Dowling 1 1-3 3, Gaboriault 0 1 2-2 5, Smith 2 0-3 4, Martin 4 2-4 10, Williams 0 1 0-0 3, King 0 0-0 0, Curran 1 0-0 2, Michaud 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 6 10-18 54.
SPAULDING (74)
Durham 5 5-7 15, Matz 4 1-1 9, Ballard 3 2-2 8, Blouin 1 1-2 3, Tullar 5 2 0-0 16, English 2 1 2-2 9, Hickey 1 3-4 5, Hart 0 0-0 0, Lawson 2 1-2 5, Dutil 1 2-4 4. Totals 24 3 17-24 74.
Montpelier 9 16 11 18 – 54
Spaulding 15 25 18 16 – 74
Three-pointers M – Brigham (2), Parker (2), Gaboriault, Williams; S – Tullar (2), English. Fouled out: None.