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It was an abnormally short week for the Woodstock Academy prep basketball teams.
The Centaurs Gold and Blue teams had only one game on the schedule each after some weekend action was postponed.
That opened the door for a little shore leave and, possibly, a little wandering of the minds Feb. 14 in games with Redemption Christian Academy at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
“Coach (Tony Bergeron) has given us the next couple of days off (last Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and I think people are looking forward to that a little too much. We had to keep our focus and come away with the win,” said Woodstock Academy center Tre Mitchell.
The Centaurs Gold team, ranked No. 2 in the country by the 2ndtoNone prep basketball poll, held off a late charge by the Lions and posted a 96-80 win to raise its mark to 32-1.
It’s the second number that Mitchell remembers most.
“It hurts,” Mitchell said with a shake of his head. “That one loss hurts man. I still think about that every day. It was a game we struggled with and it was, obviously, away (at Brewster Academy) and we had a lot of adversity to deal with there. The refs, the crowd, it was tough,” Mitchell said.
The Centaurs were locked in a close battle with Redemption Christian early in the game until T.J. Weeks got hot.
A Mitchell basket, another by Tre Williams, and a 3-pointer by Noah Fernandes put the Centaurs up, 28-16, and set the stage for the Weeks’ assault.
The guard hit four 3-pointers in the matter of a minute and a half and finished with seven treys in the first half when he scored 25 of his 28 points.
“Oh man,” Mitchell said with a laugh. “I love playing with that kid. He is always positive. Something will happen and he will come over and make sure everyone is good and upbeat and ready to keep going.”
The Weeks’ production led the Centaurs to a 58-35 lead at the half.
Mitchell took over in the second half.
He scored 17 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and pulled down the majority of his 17 rebounds.
“I didn’t think I was close to that. I was just doing what I was supposed to and help my team win,” Mitchell said.
The Centaurs needed all of Mitchell’s points.
The Lions roared back and cut it to 12, 84-72, with 3:21 left after a quartet of free throws were made by Redemption Christian’s Eden Holt who finished with 30 points.
The Centaurs scored eight of the next 12 points to guarantee the victory.
The game that Mitchell had showed why he is in so much demand by Division I schools.
Mitchell has an offer from the top-ranked team in the country in the NCAA, Tennessee, as well as UConn, Notre Dame, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Xavier and a host of others.
Syracuse University joined the fray by offering to the 6-foot-9 center Feb. 12.
“There are a bunch of schools that just started to come in the past two weeks. I’m just looking forward to getting more and weighing out my options,” Mitchell said.
There is also the chance that Mitchell could still re-classify and not choose a college, waiting for the Class of 2020 and playing a post-grad season.
“It’s a possibility,” Mitchell said. “We just have to talk about it at the end of the season and kind of see where things are at.”
Blue prevails
The Centaurs Blue prep basketball team also posted a victory, their eighth in a row, Feb. 14, 97-68, over Redemption Christian. The win raised the Centaurs record to 24-7.
“I think we’re rolling and everybody is finally (on the same page). We had a few bumps in the road, but I think everyone has found their groove,” said Woodstock Academy swing player Ty Mosley.
Kevin Evdandra hit a 3-pointer just 32 seconds into the game for the Lions (12-12). The Centaurs scored the next 28 points.
“We were rolling,” Mosley said. “(Coach Nick DeFeo) told us to put our foot on the gas and don’t let up. We did that very well. We love listening to our coach, love to make him happy, we try.”
Jeff Planutis (23 points) had eight points in that run while Mosley had six of his 14, those coming on a three-point play and a 3-pointer, to give the Centaurs the 28-3 lead.
Woodstock Academy did not take its foot off the pedal in the first half.
It led 58-32 at the break.
But the Centaurs did give Redemption Christian a little hope in the second half when the Lions went on a 16-0 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Michael Matais, to cut the lead to 18, 72-5.
It was as close as Redemption Christian would get the rest of the way.
“I like the way things have gone this season,” Mosley said. “We’ve had a lot of close games that we should have finished. Other than that, I think we’ve done well and have been playing well.”
The Centaurs have just two home games left. They played Rise Academy on Monday (the game ended too late for this edition) and have Capital Prep Harbor on Feb. 27.
They also have three games on the road at Commonwealth Academy, the Knox School and Upper Room Christian before finishing at the beginning of March with the Power 5 Conference tournament.
It’s the most games that most of the players on the Blue team have ever played in a season.
“It hasn’t been tough for me. I like playing. If my body hurts, I don’t try to think about it. I can play through pain because my adrenaline is pumping and I don ‘t even think about it,” Mosley said.
Like Mitchell, Mosley was just looking forward to a couple of days off after the win. “I think we need the weekend off,” Mosley said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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