(PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
ON FIRE … Delta’s Tyson Bower drives to the hoop for a left handed layup. Bower had 34 points on the afternoon, including scoring the Panthers first 14 points of the third quarter in a 62-43 win. VIEW 141 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
OPEN COURT … Montpelier’s Kenneth Smeltzer breaks into the open court ahead of the Delta defense.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (December 7, 2024) – Montpelier must have thought all five Delta players on the floor were wearing #2.
That’s because the Panthers REAL #2, Tyson Bower hit triples from each side of the arc, scored on putbacks, stuck baseline jumpers and went 8/8 from the foul line on his way to a game high 34 points, as the Panthers knocked off Montpelier 62-43 for their first win of the season. Delta and Montpelier are both 1-2 on the year.
“Something I like about Tyson is that if he doesn’t make his first couple shots, he doesn’t shy away,” Panther coach Matt Brighton said.
“He knows we count on him, and he stays aggressive and wants the ball. A lot of times a high school kid when they miss their first couple of shots, they tend to go away but not Tyson and again our other four players are trying to get him the ball.”
“There isn’t a shot that kid doesn’t like, and that’s nice to have. It’s something we haven’t had in a while.”
Bower started out very average getting a bucket and a pair from the line to offset Wesley Hartsock’s score in tight and triple from the left side to help the Panthers get a 9-8 lead after a quarter.
Austin Alig and Alex York nailed back-to-back triples to start the second that extended the Panther margin to 15-8 and Delta stayed in control from that point.
CJ Fidler and Gavyn Bass kept the Locos in striking distance at 22-18 heading into the last minute of the half but that’s went Bower really got rolling.
The sophomore guard got a layup then scored off a high post feed from Walter Hallett at the buzzer to double the four point Panther lead to 26-18 at intermission.
Those back to back buckets were only the beginning of a big Delta run that had Bower’s name written all over it as he scored 14 consecutive Delta points to open the third.
Bower hit a pair from outside the arc, scored on a steal and a baseline jumper in transition, and knocked home 4-4 from the foul stripe that gave the Panthers a 40-23 lead.
Bower wasn’t quite done as he hit two more buckets on drives, and two more free throws for a 20 point quarter that put the game out of reach after the third at 51-30.
Delta shot 44 percent from the floor for the game, but thanks to Bower, went 19/38 in the last three quarters.
After being down just eight at the half, the Locos went just 2/14 in the third while committing 11 turnovers in the eight minutes.
“We preach defense every day at practice,” Brighton said of what led to the third quarter explosion. “We want to get stops. We want to get turnovers. That makes us go on easy offense. We can push the ball and get layups or wide open threes like we did tonight.”
Hartsock led the Locos with 16.
MONTPELIER (43) – Saneholtz 0; Plourde 0; Sharps 8; Fidler 9; Hartsock 16; Alvira 0; Bass 5; Smeltzer 2; Sommer 3; Riggenbach 0; Totals: 8-6-9 – 43
DELTA (62) – Martinez 6; Alig 0; Bower 34; Gibbons 4; Valentine 0; Morr 2; Lohman 0; Huffman 0; York 5; Lintermoot 0; Hallett 1; Brasher 4; Totals: 15-7-11 – 62
MONTPELIER 8 10 12 13 – 43
DELTA 9 17 25 9 – 62
Junior Varsity: Montpelier, 41-38