http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110209/SPORTS/702099917
Published February 9, 2011 in the Rutland Herald
Carleton boosts Mill River
By Tom Haley
STAFF WRITER
NORTH CLARENDON — Mill River sophomore Jay Carleton has one sweet stroke from long distance. But he also has the other component a shooter must have: He’s unflappable. A couple of early misses and his confidence does not evaporate.
He connected on five 3-pointers, four in the second half, to help the Minutemen break open a close game go on to a 61-43 victory over Springfield in Tuesday night’s Marble Valley League boys basketball game.
“In the first half I was just tight,” Carleton said. “I knew if I kept shooting that they would go in.”
Carleton was the big outside punch and teammate Nate Halligan was the perfect complement inside. Halligan and Carleton finished with 17 points apiece, and Elliott Stewart added 11.
Alex Goyette did a nice job advancing the ball against a Springfield press that Cosmos coach Pete Peck has begun to install the last couple of weeks. He also added seven points, as did Jamie MacDonald in giving the Minutemen a big lift off the bench.
Mill River raises its record to 10-4 and gives a boost to its quest for a top-four seed in the Division II playoffs. The Minutemen entered the game No. 4 in the Division II rankings.
The Cosmos fall to 5-8.
“All you want to do this time of year is get better and be that team nobody wants to play (in the playoffs),” Peck said.
They were a team Mill River wasn’t thrilled about playing for much of the evening. The Cosmos took a 24-23 lead into halftime on a nice baseline drive by Kirk Perham. Perham led the Cosmos with 20 points.
But after that it dropped down to Ethan McAllister with nine and Mike Pianka with seven.
The Cosmos were still in the game late in the third quarter. Nick Koch dropped in a free throw to tie the game at 32 with 2:42 left.
But this is where Carleton took over. He canned one of his 3-pointers and made a nice little spin move in the lane for another hoop. Then MacDonald scored inside. Those quick seven points ballooned the lead to 39-32 at the end of the quarter.
Carleton connected on another 3 at the beginning of the fourth and the Minutemen would simply extend the lead from there.
“He doesn’t lack confidence,” Mill River coach Jason Smith said of Carleton.
“We had seven or eight stops in a row and Jay had two or three 3s in the middle of that and that broke the game open.”
Breaking it open was a something Smith appreciated, because for a long time, the Cosmos had the look of a team that was going to match hem hoop for hoop.
“We struggled offensively in the first half, but that had a lot to do with Springfield’s defense,” Smith said.
Going into the locker room trailing, Smith said most of the talk was about things his club could control.
“We talked about keeping our focus on what we could do,” Smith said.
“We just executed in the second half,” Carleton said. “We knew we had to pick it up on the defensive end.
“And on offense, we just got it into our big guys.”
And the biggest of all was the 6-foot-4 Halligan, who was able to get position for easy shots underneath.
“I don’t think there is anyone in the MVL who can guard him one-on-one,” Peck said of Halligan.
“We showed character by coming back. Did we do it for 32 minutes? No. But we are getting there.
“Mill River is the top team in the South and they have earned that. They have some big wins.”
Peck was making reference to the fact the Minutemen have road wins against Fair Haven and Mount St. Joseph.
Now, the Cosmos will try to play that full 32 minutes Peck is seeking on Friday when they host Otter Valley.
Mill River has a monstrous challenge on Friday night when the Minutemen must go into Kates Gym and tangle with Mount Anthony, one of the Division I heavyweights.
Mill River’s Alex Goyette, center, gets a step on Springfield’s Michael Muther and drives upcourt to beat the Cosmos’ zone press. The Minutemen won, 61-43.
Photo: Albert J. Marro / Staff Photo
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