Windham beats Saints to take ECC Small Division lead
Willimantic — Once trailing by double figures, St. Bernard first got a free throw from John Vogt, then a 3-pointer from Sam Vogt and a pair of baskets inside from Graham Fagerquist, the Saints exerting every effort to crawl back within three points of first place.
Then, with the ball and an opportunity to tie with just over two minutes remaining, a St. Bernard 3-point attempt clanged off the rim.
"It just wasn't our night," St. Bernard senior John Vogt said. "We turned it over. I turned it over. It just wasn't our night."
In a high school boys' basketball game between the two teams tied atop the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division when the night began, each with one loss, Windham went on a 10-3 closing run to hold off St. Bernard 72-62 and take over sole possession of first place.
Freshman Sam Vogt had 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and John Vogt 17 for the Saints (8-7 overall, 5-2 in the Small). Graham Fagerquist added 12. Devon Roberts led Windham with 22 points and Brody Labbe had 20, including four 3-pointers all in the first half when the Whippets took a 37-29 lead.
Windham led 15-13 after one quarter before St. Bernard took its only lead of the night on back-to-back 3-pointers by Connor Svab and Sam Vogt, who made it 19-15. Windham capitalized on a St. Bernard turnover and reclaimed the lead at 23-21 on a basket by Roberts and Labbe struck for two of his 3-pointers as the Whippets gave themselves some breathing room.
St. Bernard came out the locker room at halftime with six and a half minutes still on the clock.
"We knew what we had to do," St. Bernard coach Mark Jones said, "We had to come out and play better (in the second half). I wanted them to talk amongst themselves. ... We competed, but Windham's a very good team.
"They just made their shots. We cut it down to three and they just made baskets. You've got to give them credit."
St. Bernard got the deficit back to three to start the third quarter with a 3-pointer by Sam Vogt and a basket by John Vogt, a 6-foot-3 post player. Windham came back with a 3-pointer by Andrew Gonzalez and a basket by Roberts at the front end of the fast break.
That swung the momentum back to Windham, which led 53-46 after three quarters and 59-49 when Jones called a timeout with 5:58 to play.
That prompted a 10-3 St. Bernard run, beginning and ending with putbacks by Fagerquist, who is also 6-foot-3. Following a Windham timeout, Fagerquist blocked a shot, too, on the Whippets next possession, giving St. Bernard the ball with the opportunity to tie.
Seconds later, Windham's Gonzalez was fouled and went to the line for a one-and-one, converting both ends. Cornelius Pinckney added a tip-in and the Whippets made four of six from the free throw line to make it 70-59 before Sam Vogt scored St. Bernard's final points on a 3-pointer.
"They're quick," John Vogt said of Windham. "Dev Roberts, he's really quick and in the first half, Labbe made every shot he took."
"One thing about my team, we're not going to quit," said Jones of the Saints' workmanlike comeback. "We're not going to give up."
St. Bernard defeated Windham in the teams' first matchup of the season, 62-49 on Jan. 26. The Saints, however, lost a Small Division game against Griswold, 56-51. Windham is 10-6 overall, 6-1 in the Small.
v.fulkerson@theday.com
Twitter: @vickieattheday
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