Cosmos hold off Hartford in home opener

Springfield Unified basketball put together a third-quarter rally, then held off a Hartford surge to win its home opener Wednesday, 36-30. “They played very well,” Springfield coach Margaret Gultekin said of the team.

www.eagletimes.com    

2017-03-30 / Sports Cosmos hold off Hartford in home opener «» View full-size Springfield's Cameron Colon (33) shoots over Hartford's Bianca Severance. — TIM TAYLOR http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprUB-Colon.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprUB-Corliss_0.jpg SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Unified basketball put together a third-quarter rally, then held off a Hartford surge to win its home opener Wednesday, 36-30. “They played very well,” Springfield coach Margaret Gultekin said of the team. The Cosmos rebounded from an early 6-2 deficit to grab an 18-10 halftime lead, but the Hurricanes came back to lead briefly midway through the third period. Cameron Colon found space inside late in the first quarter and drove the lane for a game-tying basket with 1:23 on the clock. He would follow that with a short jumper to beat the buzzer and give the Cosmos an 8-6 edge heading into the second period. Hartford would tie the game up on a Michael Dolan basket in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter, but Colon found a hole in the middle and drove the lane for three consecutive baskets and a 14-8 lead. Field goals by Cobb (no first name given) and Lance Robinson gave the Cosmos an 18-10 lead at the half. Derek Davis hit hist first two shots of the second half to pull Hartford with 18-14. Then, after Dalton Lemay went coast to coast with a rebound, Davis hit another shot, tying the contest at 18 apiece with 4:55 left in the third. Davis and the Cosmos' Falicia Maly traded buckets, not once, but twice, and the score was 22 all with 2:15 remaining in the period. As the quarter slipped under two minutes, Robinson and Davis traded baskets. With the game tied at 24, Colon scored with 1:11 on the third-quarter clock. That put Springfield on top to stay, 26-24. The Cosmos' Hall (no first name given) would score with 42 seconds left and in the fourth, Colon hit back-to-back baskets and Robinson added another. The 10-point run gave Springfield a 34-24 advantage with time becoming a factor. Robinson would tack on the final Springfield basket at 1:41, keeping it a 10-point game with his team on top 36-26. Gultekin noted that with the school doing testing in the mornings the Cosmos have had time to get in some additional practice the past several days. Colon and the Hurricanes' Davis shared scoring honors with 14 points apiece. Robinson added eight, Maly six, Hall four and Cobb two. Springfield (1-1) is back on the road Monday at Brattleboro for a 4:15 p.m. game.