Bellows Falls too much for Springfield

Composure is one of those areas of the game that coaches hope their players have when things get tight. Some do, some don't.
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http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20121218/SPORTS02/712189809

Published December 18, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Bellows Falls too much for Springfield By POODY WALSH Correspondent SPRINGFIELD — Composure is one of those areas of the game that coaches hope their players have when things get tight. Some do, some don’t. Springfield had it and Bellows Falls didn’t in a fourth quarter that saw the Cosmos outscore the Terriers 22-6 en route to a 48-35 Marble Valley League win at Dressel Gym Monday night. “Our lack of composure took us right out of the game,” said Evan Chadwick, a disappointed Bellows Fall coach. “If it takes a new starting five to regain our composure than that’s what we will do.” Both teams were coming off opening-season losses and in the Springfield loss to Windsor, the Cosmos scored just 34 points. And there was not a whole lot of hope that they would score more than that after tailing 29-26 after three quarters Monday. On top of that, the Cosmos dressed just nine players after four were taken off the team for academic reasons. So when the Cosmos simply erupted in the fourth quarter, even Springfield coach Pete Peck was a little surprised. “That was an eye-opener for us,” said Peck. “The kids found out what can happen when they work hard at their game.” While the Cosmos got nice balance between offense and defense, the defense was perhaps the key. “Hey, we held them to 13 points in the second half,” said Peck. “That’s pretty good defense. This was a nice win, Bellows Falls being a rival and all.” Springfield got two quick baskets to start the fourth quarter as Jordan Crowley and Mike Muther connected and Springfield was ahead 30-29, in front for the first time since scoring the first basket of the game. They kept on rolling and went on a 16-4 run in the first four minutes and were never threatened. Chadwick called three timeouts in trying to calm things down, but nothing worked as Springfield went to a time-killing offense and the Terriers defense just couldn’t seem to catch up. “We have some real mental issues and I hope they are correctable,” Chadwicksaid. “We just have to play with more discipline.” Meanwhile, Peck was not smiling broadly, but had that look of satisfaction. “Hey, we were tough to watch for three quarters,” he said. “Then we went out there, kept our composure, and got the win.” Bellows Falls, which scored 71 points in an opening-season three-point lossat Poultney, didn’t put up huge offensive numbers early, but had enough offense to lead 13-10,22-16 and 29-26 before disintegrating. Perhaps the most important part of the game came with Springfield up 34-33 with 6:01 to play. It was at this point that the Cosmos got eight quick points, paced by five from Devin Brady, including a 3, and a 3 from Mike Muther, and suddenly it was a 42-33 game with just 4:01 to play. Peck hopes the momentum carries over to Thursday when the Cosmos go to Otter Valley. Bellows Falls is off until Monday when Fall Mountain comes to town. Muther ended up with 15 while Brady added 11 for Springfield. For Bellows Falls, Kendrick Mills had 10 and Willie Moore had eight.