Unbeaten Woodstock drops Cosmos

It took undefeated Woodstock a couple of periods to find its sea legs, but a dominating second half sailed the Wasps to a 6-0 with a 61-45 triumph over Springfield in a Division II contest at Dressel Gym Tuesday night.
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Published December 31, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Unbeaten Woodstock drops Cosmos POODY WALSH Correspondemt SPRINGFIELD — It took undefeated Woodstock a couple of periods to find its sea legs, but a dominating second half sailed the Wasps to a 6-0 with a 61-45 triumph over Springfield in a Division II contest at Dressel Gym Tuesday night. Woodstock is in the midst of an impressive start as no team came within 25 points of the Wasps until they hung on for a one-point victory over Windsor on Saturday. However, Springfield didn’t seem impressed with Woodstock’s numbers, leading 13-8 after one and trailing just 29-25 at the break. “That Rivers kids (Josh) was a presence down low and gave us some problems,” explained Woodstock coach Jeff Thomas as he tried to figure what slowed the Woodstock offense. Then there was Jeremy Gomez who had three from beyond the arc and got Woodstock’s attention. “We did a box-and-one on him for awhile, but not very well,” said Thomas. The second half was a different story as the Woodstock depth and a 15-point half from Connor Fegard propelled the Wasps to the win. “We had a really good first half,” said Springfield coach Tim MacDonnell. “But we have to be more consistent. We have to play two good halves.” Both teams could have helped themselves from the foul line when Springfield was 4-for-14 and Woodstock 16-for-31. “That’s been an Achilles Heel for us all season,” said MacDonnell of the free throw line. Springfield, 3-3, got after the Wasps quickly as they made a trio of 3-pointers in the first period to spurt out of the chute. “They started fast and we started slow,” said Thomas who again thought the play of Rivers was instrumental against his own taller players. “He was bothering us,” said Thomas. Springfield got the lead to 18-11 before Fegard finally was able to clear underneath and followed that with two-of-three free-throws. Chris Townley added a bucket as the Wasps were in hot pursuit at 18-17. “They are tall and athletic and sometimes we had a hard time matching up,” said MacDonnell. That fact was evident as the game moved along and the bench became a factor as MacDonnell felt that Woodstock might have had a depth advantage. The edge in height and the depth began to take its toll as the game moved along. Cat-like Dylan McDonough had quick five points to start the second half and Woodstock moved ahead 34-25. Springfield would later close to 37-33, but Fegard ran in five straight points and the Wasps began running away from the Cosmos. “The guys competed, but we would like to get our program like Woodstock’s,” said MacDonnell. “We gave up 61 points tonight. That’s too many.” Woodstock had nine scorers paced by Fegard’s 23. Gomez had 16 for Springfield and Rivers 10. Both teams play again Saturday with Woodstock at Mill River and Springfield at Windsor.