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Rockets rebound for OT victory
By ERIC FORTUNE
ORWELL
The Windham High boys basketball team could not have written a better beginning for Monday’s Division IV tournament game against Maplewood.
Although the story in the middle was filled with peaks and valleys, the ending was very much a downer for the Bombers, losing 77-76 in overtime after failing to hold numerous double-digit leads.
“It hurts,” Windham coach Marty Hill said. “I told the kids it hurts no matter how you lose. We had the game. We really played well in the first quarter and then the second quarter, we quit moving.
“Then the third quarter we came back and moved better and then it snowballed in the fourth quarter,” Hill said. “Before you know it, it’s getting away from you.”
In overtime the Rockets made just two field goals compared to the Bombers’ five, but they were 9-of-13 at the free-throw line.
Maplewood’s Ethan Obradovich finished with 23 points including six in the extra sessions.
“I was very nervous,” Obradovich said. “I was trying to not listen to the crowd. I was happy when I made them to tie the game up. I just wanted to get back on defense and not give up anything on our end.”
From the opening tip, the Bombers appeared poised to set the tempo, attacking the paint with Parker Rickey scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points for an early 22-12 advantage.
“When we were down, we said we have to get stops and just convert on the other end or chip away little by little,” Obradovich said. “Don’t panic.”
That was the key for the Rockets as Obradovich and Kevin Jones scored 11 of the Rockets’ next 21 points to cut the lead to 35-33 at halftime.
“I think we just defended them [better],” Maplewood coach Nathan Kish said of the turnaround. “They are a very good offensive team. When they get to the paint, they will beat you all night long.
“When we went on our runs, we limited the amount of times they got in the paint which stopped them also from kicking it out and then dumping it back inside for easy shots,” Kish said.
Rickey then struggled to find his way into the paint.
“He was huge in the beginning because we got the ball inside,” Hill said. “Then in the second quarter, he fell in love with the three-point shot and we weren’t making any.
“We told them that we got the huge lead because we were throwing it inside with back cuts and curls,” Hill said. “We quit doing those things in the second quarter. Sometimes when you get out of your rhythm, it’s hard to get back into it.”
In the fourth quarter, the Bombers led by nine, but unraveled.