Woodstock boys’ basketball gets 39-point win over Springfield

Less than three minutes into Friday’s match-up with Springfield, Woodstock led 11-0 with inside threats Caleb Webb and Brendan Schwartz combining for all 11 points.


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Woodstock Boys’ Basketball Gets 39-Point Win Over Springfield Posted date: Thursday, January 26, 2017In: Photo Galleries, Photo Slider, Sports, Top StoryNo Comments Boys’ Basketball Gets 39-Point Win Over Springfield Brandan Schwartz drives in the paint shooting for two. (Rick Russell Photo) By David Miles, Sports Correspondent (For photo from this event click here.) After scoring a mere four points in the first quarter in a loss to Burr & Burton just two nights earlier, WUHS boys’ basketball coach Joel Carey said, “We’ve got to start better.” Indeed the opening minutes of many games have been a bugaboo for the Wasps recently. This start was anything but slow. Less than three minutes into Friday’s match-up with Springfield, Woodstock led 11-0 with inside threats Caleb Webb and Brendan Schwartz combining for all 11 points. From there the Wasps continued to swarm, building a lead of almost 30 points by half time, en route to a 70-31 triumph over the visiting Cosmos. The win was the second time this month Woodstock downed its Connecticut River Valley rival, but much more emphatic than the 12-point victory at Springfield earlier in January. Caleb Webb goes up for a layup. (Rick Russell Photo) “Our goal was to put them in a hole early,” said Schwartz. “We felt like we didn’t play nearly as well as we could down there. And we’ve been horrendous in the first half in our last couple of games. We had to change that.” Aggressive defense was one of the key elements that allowed the home team to maintain control throughout the game. At one point in the first quarter Woodstock forced turnovers on six consecutive Cosmos possessions, including four steals in a row by four different players – Griffin Van Niel, Emilio Montano, Webb, and Bill Wood. Then, as if that weren’t enough, the green-and-white really put the clamps on in the second quarter, allowing only two points, on a Dakota Bushey basket, for the entire eight minutes. “We played phenomenal defense tonight,” said a pleased Carey. “And we capitalized on the opportunities our defense gave us by working the ball better too.” Schwartz also noted that Bill Wood missed the first Springfield game and that he is one of the team’s best defensive standouts. “With Bill, we really brought more ‘d’ this time,” said Schwartz. “We were able to shut them down.” Another integral factor to Woodstock’s success was that the Wasps were able to utilize their size advantage. At one point when the WUHS offense stagnated a bit late in the first quarter, Carey reminded them from the sideline to “use our height.” 6’4” Webb led all scorers with 22 points, even while sitting out the fourth quarter. The other two Wasps in double figures were 6’2” Jack Arthur with 18 and 6’3” Schwartz with 10. “They were so much shorter than us,” said Schwartz. “So we really took it to the post as often as we could. And Caleb really brought it today. That was huge.” Woodstock had a whopping advantage on the boards, outrebounding Springfield 43-24. The disparity was especially great on the offensive glass with the Wasps enjoying a 19-6 advantage. Webb’s 11 rebounds led all players while Van Niel, always a strong rebounder from his guard position, Schwartz and Oscar Montano all added six. “We emphasized utilizing our height going into the game,” said Carey. “At one point we reverted back to dribbling too much and I had to remind them of what got us our lead. “When we dribble we stand around and the defense doesn’t have to work that hard. It also means that we don’t move enough and clear things out. Our height should be our focus all season. There are really very few teams that collectively are as tall as we are. We’ve got to keep getting it into the post.” Woodstock’s next opportunity to do that will be against MSJ at home on Friday. The contest against the tough 8-2 Mounties, the 4th-ranked team in D-II, begins at 7 p.m. Free Throws: Woodstock forced 25 Cosmos turnovers, over twice as many as the 12 Wasp turnovers. … Micah Schlabach had two baskets and Harrison Nunes one as the reserves saw almost all of the playing time in the fourth quarter. … Senior guard Caleb Hunter had 15 points, almost half the Cosmos total in the game. … Webb had four assists and three steals, demonstrating his all-around court prowess. … Coach Tom Avellino’s junior varsity squad won the opener 54-28, raising its record to 6-3. Eddie Bray had 20 points and 23 rebounds to lead the young Wasps.