The Joel Barlow high boys varsity basketball team made up for several missed opportunities earlier in the game to earn a hard-fought 57-51 victory when they visited New Milford last week.
The Falcons and the Green Wave both struggled to find the basket on Tuesday, Jan. 2. The visitors, however, hit some key shots down the stretch to force double overtime and notch their first win of the season.
“Both teams were turning the ball over,” said Barlow head coach Pat Yerina. “We missed a lot of shots. I don’t think they made a lot of shots.”
Despite some difficulties, the Falcons fared better than the competition in the first quarter. Although New Milford’s Ryder Gee put his team up early at 2-0, the Falcons responded with 11 unanswered points, including seven by Grayson Vanderburg to close out the quarter in seemingly good shape.
New Milford closed the gap in the next frame with a nine-point run, while Vanderburg and Jack Lippoth each hit three pointers to help keep the Falcons in the lead. Gee later hit two free throws in the last minute and a half to bring the Green Wave to within six (23-17) at halftime.
When play resumed, the Falcons sank less than 16% of their shots for the third quarter. Lippoth’s field goal, another three-pointer by Vanderburg and two Joey Bonanno free throws put them up 30-21 with 2:47 left, but the Green Wave then reeled off eight straight points and trailed by just three (32-29) after three frames.
John Balzi’s free throw midway through the fourth quarter cut the gap to one (37-36) and with Gee’s steal and subsequent layup, New Milford had its first lead since early in the night. Field goals by Will Gregor and Lippoth regained the lead for Barlow, but with 1:20 left Kelvin Mendoza sank a three-pointer to tie it at 41-41. Both sides got off shots in the time remaining but failed to break the stalemate.
Two free throws by Gee early in the first four-minute overtime put the Green Wave back on top. It widened the gap to 47-42 with 36 seconds left but Vanderburg hit a key three-pointer to get Barlow within striking distance.
Still down by two , the Falcons were forced to foul with 8.4 seconds left to stop the clock. Esposito missed two free throws and the Falcons had enough time for Lippoth to sink a final show down low to tie it at 48-48 as time expired.
Ben Noome’s field goal, plus Vanderburg’s steal and layup, put the Falcons on top for good in the second overtime. They also hit five of six free throws in the last minute to preserve the lead.
Vanderburg led Barlow with 29 points, including five three-pointers, and was a perfect six-for-six from the line. Lippoth scored 11 including one three-pointer.
“Our two guards, Jack and Grayson, were stalwarts the whole game,” said Yerina. He also praised the play of Gregor (six points) and Noome (seven).
Barlow, now 1-6 overall, has a rematch with New Milford at home on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. after facing Kolbe Cathedral this eventing, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. in Bridgeport. The Falcons then play Bethel at home on Saturday, Jan 13 at 2 p.m. and away on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.
