GREEN KNIGHTS USE BIG SECOND HALF TO UPEND BOBWHITES
By LANDON POTVIN
SOUTH BURLINGTON – Less than a week difference, the No. 6 BFA-St. Albans Bobwhites faced off against the No. 3 Rice Green Knights in the quarterfinals of the Div. I playoffs for their third matchup this year. The BFA fans traveled well on Friday night and made a difference in the first half, but the young Rice team pulled away with a shooting barrage in the second half to come away with a 58-39 victory.
The beginning of the game was sloppy for both teams, but by the six-minute mark, both teams got back on the right track. BFA’s Seth Richards thoroughly dominated the paint with six points in the first quarter, and with three and a half minutes to play, Adam Bilodeau scored six straight points for the Green Knights to make it a 9-8 BFA lead after one.
The home team felt the pressure of the visiting crowd; the 5th/6th-grade mini metro team led “flopper,” “defense,” and “BFA” chants in South Burlington. The crowd and the stifling defense gave BFA the advantage they needed in the first 16 minutes.
“We had their offense frustrated early,” said BFA head coach Tristan Menard.
The exciting Rice offense seemed like most of their shots came near the rim while being hounded by BFA players. They made only one of three in the first half, while BFA battled back with two late threes by Thomas Demar (11 points) and Conner Leach (six points), bringing them to within two points heading into the half, 25-23.
However, Rice got comfortable on their home floor in the second half and flipped the switch from deep.
Sharif Sharif came out firing on all cylinders. BFA held the guard to 3-of-11 from the field with eight points in the first two quarters. He only missed one shot for the rest of the game, and it was the first one he took in the third quarter. He saw one go at the rim, then nailed three 3s to make it a 42-31 with a minute to play in the third.
“The game got away from us when they started hitting shots,” said Menard. “They stretched the floor and hit a lot of 3s. It’s tough if you help off of Sharif, and even Bilodeau, Bessette, and Blanchard, they got shooters so they can space the floor well, and it makes it difficult to help off of.”
The Bobwhites finished their first season in the Metro 11-11 and overcame many obstacles in their journey to the new era of the Bobwhites program.
“Thr growth from these guys was such a joy to see,” said Menard. “The record does not reflect the growth in maturity for these boys. Coach Earl said it gets lost in the season where we are so focused on basketball that the guys mature, grow up, learn and stay together. Never for a moment, until the very end, were the kids hanging their heads and even the kids that don’t play much were very supportive.”
One of the best things that came out of the season for BFA was their new motto, “all in” and what the five letters mean for a group of young men.
“We started saying “all in” in our huddles,” said Menard. “I really felt like that guys started being all in, so that is my favorite part.”
Richards led the Bobwhites in scoring 12 points, all from the paint. He also grabbed four rebounds and had three steals. Charlie Yates cleaned up the glass with ten rebounds. Noah Earl had an all-around game with four points, two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and three blocks.
At the end of every season, most teams lose seniors. The Bobwhites graduate Thomas Demar, Charlie Yates, Justin Brown, Damon Tipton, Conner Leach, Dakota Wry, Brayden Baker and Tanner Smith from this season’s team.
“The common stigma is that high school is the best years of your life,” said Menard. “My message to them was the best is ahead of them; they’ll be great. For sure, a challenging moment, but the best is yet to come for the seniors.”
