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Mountaineers bring tough season to a close with home losses

Mountaineers bring tough season to a close with home losses
Russell Sears, a senior from Sharon, dished a last-second assist into the paint to Austin Bayer. Sears led the Mountaineers in scoring with 10 points during the 88-41 loss to Shepaug. 
Photo by Hunter O. Lyle

FALLS VILLAGE — To finish off their season, the Housatonic Valley Regional High School boys basketball team played their last two games at home.

The Mountaineers faced off on Thursday, Feb. 17, against Shepaug Valley High School, losing 88-41.

After a srimmage vs. The Gilbert School Feb. 22, the team dropped its final game against visiting Wamogo, 60-44, to finish at 1-18.

The  Mountaineers have had a difficult season, with the team’s lone win on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in a 62-57 overtime game at Gilbert.

“It was nice to have the pressure off,” said head coach Kurt Johnson, who took over as head coach of the Mountaineers this season. “The boys were as happy as they could be. It felt like we reached a milestone.”

On Feb. 17, the Spartans set the tone early with iron-clad defense. After scoring on the first possession of the game, the Spartans enforced a stifling full-court-press which resulted in Housatonic turnovers on four out of the first five drives.

Despite struggling to make it past half court on multiple possessions, the Mountaineers had their largest scoring quarter in the second, where they notched 15 points before the half. The Spartans maintained a lead by way of fast break layups and fluid ball movement to open shooters. Going into the break, Housatonic was down 51-24.

“We knew [Shepaug’s full-court-press] was going to come. We weren’t surprised by that one,” said Johnson. “When we did what we were supposed to do we got fast break points out of it, but that was few and far between. There were too many times where a guy wasn’t in the right place or a pass was made in the right place.”

In the second half, Shepaug’s shooters turned up the heat and pushed the deficit. The volume shooting, matched with the constant pass-plucking full-court-press, gave the Spartans a 69-33 lead with two-and-a-half minutes left in the third.

When the final buzzer rang, the Mountaineers had been defeated, 88-41.

“[We need to] get back together as a team, control things offensively, get comfortable,” said Johnson on what his team needed to do to finish out the season on a positive note. “Simple stuff really.”

Note: The HVRHS girls basketball team began post-season play at home Tuesday, March 1. If victorious, they will play again at home Friday, March 4.

Hunter O. Lyle

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