Woodstock wears down Springfield for 61-45 win

Springfield displayed its promising potential early on Tuesday night. As the game wore on, Woodstock showed consistency is the key.
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Woodstock wears down Springfield for 61-45 win By Jason Orfao | Dec 31, 2014 Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 0 Photo by: Jason Orfao Woodstock's Chris Townley blocks a shot from Springfield's Justin Gomez in the fourth quarter of the Cosmos' 61-45 defeat at Dressel Gym. Townley finished with four blocks, while Gomez tallied a team-high 16 points. SPRINGFIELD — Springfield displayed its promising potential early on Tuesday night. As the game wore on, Woodstock showed consistency is the key. The Cosmos hung tough with the undefeated Wasps, but Woodstock steadily pulled away in the second half for a 61-45 victory in a VPA Division II boys basketball tilt at Dressel Gymnasium. Justin Gomez paced Springfield (3-3) with 16 points, while Josh Rivers added 10 points and seven rebounds. Ed Shambo delivered a solid all-around game with six points, along with a game-high eight boards and five assists. The Cosmos started strong and led 13-8 after the first quarter. Shambo put an exclamation mark on the frame with a quick crossover, followed by a pump fake to send a Woodstock defender flying and finished it by drilling a 3-pointer. However, the Wasps (6-0) regrouped in the second frame and outscored the Cosmos 21-12 in the stanza. A late trey from Dylan McDonough supplied Woodstock with a 29-25 edge at halftime. The Wasps rolled the momentum into the second half. “They’re a good team,” said Springfield head coach Tim MacDonnell. “We want to be like Woodstock. Consistently, year in and year out, they’re a tough team to beat. We maintained it for a half. That third quarter, they really came at us and we struggled to hit shots and execute.” Woodstock scored the first five points of the second half, but Springfield trimmed the gap to 37-33 following Shambo’s second 3-pointer of the game off an assist from Gomez. However, Woodstock standout senior Connor Fegard tallied a quick five points before a putback from Nehemiah Wood gave the Wasps a 44-33 cushion late in the third quarter and Woodstock maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. Fegard finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He also paced Woodstock with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Hunter McDonough added 10 points for the Wasps, while Kurt Ryder chipped in nine points. Chris Townley blocked four shots. “Connor Fegard is a real tough player and they have pieces that complement him real well,” said MacDonnell. “We were trying to limit his touches while managing the other players and it’s a struggle.” Woodstock head coach Jeff Thomas was impressed with the Springfield effort and was happy to leave with the unbeaten record intact. “That’s a good team. Rivers is tough down low. I knew that from last year. He’s probably the best post player in our league. He’s quite talented,” explained Thomas. “When you get (Gomez) shooting like he does, that’s a good team. They didn’t miss many 3s early.” Neither team shot well from the free-throw line, although it was more costly for the Cosmos while trying to stay within striking distance. Springfield started 1 of 10 from the stripe and finished 4 of 14. “It continues to be an Achilles’ heel, but we’ll keep working at it and keep shooting them in practice,” said MacDonnell. “Hopefully, they’ll start to drop.” Despite the loss, there were plenty of signs for encouragement for the Cosmos, who outrebounded the Wasps by a 32-25 margin. “We did a pretty nice job on the glass, which was a point of emphasis. We needed to make sure we were getting rebounds and boxing out,” said MacDonnell. “We had a really good first half. We have to build on that. “We can play really good basketball, but it has to be for an entire game, not just a stretch,” he added. “We’ll watch the tape and see what we can improve on and we’ll start preparing for Windsor.” Springfield will travel to Windsor on Saturday. The tip is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Box Score WOODSTOCK (61) Dylan McDonough 2-6 0-0 6, Nehemiah Wood 1-2 1-3 3, Kurt Ryder 2-6 5-7 9, Chris Townley 2-5 0-0 4, Connor Fegard 8-15 5-13 23, Hunter McDonough 3-5 4-6 10, Curran MacDonald 0-2 0-0 0, Alex Crompton 1-2 0-0 3, Mason Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Powers 1-1 0-0 2, Teo Simpson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 20-44 16-31 61. SPRINGFIELD (45) Tanner Shumski 0-0 0-0 0, Ed Shambo 2-6 0-2 6, Michael Messer 1-1 0-0 2, Matt Graham 3-9 0-0 8, Josh Rivers 5-8 0-4 10, Justin Gomez 6-14 1-4 16, Michael Kollman 0-1 0-0 0, Conor Foulois 0-0 0-0 0, Ty Albert 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Thomas 0-0 1-2 1, Chris Ficklin 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 17-40 4-14 45. Woodstock 8 21 17 15—61 Springfield 13 12 10 10—45 3-point goals — Woodstock 5-8 (Fegard 2-2, D. McDounough 2-3, Crompton 1-1, Ryder 0-1, MacDonald 0-1), Springfield 7-20 (Gomez 3-6, Shambo 2-5, Graham 2-8, Ficklin 0-1). Rebounds — Woodstocck 25 (Fegard 7), Springfield 32 (Shambo 8). Assists — Woodstock 15 (Fegard 3, H. McDonough 3), Springfield 12 (Shambo 5). Records — Woodstock 6-0, Springfield 3-3.