Tough road swing hurts
postseason hopes
The week for the Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball ended in the same fashion that it began. With another tough loss.
The Centaurs fell to the Bacon Academy Bobcats Jan. 31, 52-40.
It completed a three-game week where all of the contests were on the road.
 “It’s an exhausting way to play basketball, both physically and mentally,” said Woodstock Academy coach Marty Hart. “The guys were together a lot and we put on quite a few miles. It showed when we had spurts where we just couldn’t string together possessions. Our legs were getting weary and that much travel was just tough on the team.”
The Jan. 31 loss was the seventh straight loss for Woodstock Academy which fell to 4-10 overall and 1-5 in ECC Div. II.
The loss means the Centaurs need to win four of their last six to meet the 40 percent requirement to qualify for the Division IV state tournament.
“We’re not looking at (eight wins); we’re looking at the next one, our fifth. That’s what the focus has to be, one game at a time. We look at it and we know we haven’t made it easy on ourselves but we know it’s still within reach,” Hart said.
The Woodstock Academy coach is still pleased with some of the positives that he has been seeing, namely the improvement of Liam Blanchflower and the leadership of the seniors.
Jan. 31 was a winnable game for the Centaurs, but the fatigue showed early and the Bobcats took advantage.
The Centaurs trailed by only five points coming out of the first quarter, but Bacon Academy (4-8, 3-2) turned up the defensive pressure a notch in the second quarter.
The Centaurs were held to just six points and trailed by double digits at the half, 30-16.
Woodstock Academy outscored Bacon, 24-22, in the second half but fell short.
Ethan Davis and Logan Talbot each scored 10 for the Centaurs.
It was just the second game back in the lineup for Talbot.
Talbot, who was averaging over 17 points a game prior to the injury, missed three games.
He returned to the lineup Jan. 30 and scored 12 points but the Centaurs still fell short north of the Massachusetts border, losing to Auburn, 57-49.
The Centaurs kept this one close throughout, trailing by only two after the first and second quarters, but the Rockets were able to pull away in the fourth.
The hosts made 10-of-13 from the free throw line in the final quarter to keep Woodstock Academy at bay.
Aidan Morin led the Centaurs with 13 points.
Prior to Talbot’s return, Woodstock Academy faced a formidable task.
It had to take on an undefeated Norwich Free Academy early in the week.
The Wildcats walked away with the 63-48 win.
The Centaurs trailed by just a point at the end of the first quarter but fell behind quickly. Morin led the Centaurs with 12 points while Nick Bedard added 10.
“Our defense has been very reliable and our rebounding has been strong. Offensively, we have spurts where we’re getting shots we want but we can’t put them in. It stacks up after a few possessions. Where we’ve shot well this season, we’ve done well. When we haven’t shot well, we haven’t done well,” Hart said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

..