Burr & Burton rolls past Cosmos

VPA Division 1 Burr & Burton Academy took advantage of its height and depth to roll past an under-manned Springfield squad 78-28 Saturday afternoon.

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2017-01-30 / Sports Burr & Burton rolls past Cosmos «» View full-size Springfield's Chris Hopkins attempts to penetrate the Burr & Burton defense. — TIM TAYLOR http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprBB-Hopkins.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprBB-GJ.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/Dance.JPG By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — VPA Division 1 Burr & Burton Academy took advantage of its height and depth to roll past an under-manned Springfield squad 78-28 Saturday afternoon. Springfield held its own during the first few minutes of the contest after falling behind 4-0. The Cosmos tied it up on a pair of Noah Zierfus free throws and a Dakota Bushey layup, which he had taken the distance after grabbing a rebound. After that, the Bulldog defense stepped up its game and transitioned well off of turnovers during a 17-2 run, Bushey's second bucket of the game being the only Springfield points. The Cosmos' Caleb Hunter would pop a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 21-9. “We let the pressure get to us,” said Springfield coach Michael Ruppel. “I think Burr & Burton's a big and athletic team, and if you set the ball up where they really get out in transition they get a lot of easy baskets, which they converted to their credit.” Meanwhile, the host team's offense continued to sputter and BBA would increase its advantage to 36-9 before Springfield could get baskets from Zierfus and Bushey, and the Bulldogs went into the half with a 42-13 cushion. “I think we were getting good looks,” Ruppel said. “I thought Caleb Hunter had a couple looks that he usually hits, GJ [Scherington] had a couple that were in his range, and they just didn't really fall for us. When you're a team that relies on your defense and some outside shooting and they don't go then that makes it real tough.” The Cosmos opened the second half with an impressive defensive display, holding BBA without a point until midway through the third quarter. “I think we had six stops in a row to start the third quarter and against a team like that, that's something we should feel good about. And then I thought we weren't as crisp the rest of the way. We missed some assignments, but I was happy early in the third. I thought we showed that we can play with a good Division I team.” Springfield failed to get its offense on track as well and wouldn't get on the scoreboard until a Chris Hopkins layup at 3:16. Hopkins would add another bucket before the period expired with BBA up 58-17. Hopkins, Damian Warner, Scherington and Greg Otis would combine to go 7-for-8 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and Scherington and Hopkins would add a basket apiece. BBA's height advantage (six players who are 6-foot-2 or taller) was clearly a factor, but Ruppel dismissed the mismatch in depth. “I think our guys were tired, but we're not going to use that as an excuse,” Ruppel said. “We're not going to have 13 guys tomorrow, we're going to have eight guys tomorrow, so we've got to get through that. We've got to fight through some of the fatigue that we're dealing with.” The Bulldogs have a 15-man roster and suited up 12 while Springfield has nine, eight in uniform. Senior guard Alex Naccarato has been sidelined by Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Hopkins led the Cosmos with eight points, Bushey had six and Zierfus four. Burr & Burton got 17 from Carter Vickers, 13 from Jake Nicholson, and 10 apiece from Eric Fenton and Camden Bunker. Springfield (0-11) will host Fall Mountain Tuesday. Note: The Cosmos' home game on Feb. 17 will be dedicated to Naccarato.