(December 8th, 2014) – MONTPELIER: The Locomotives had difficulty picking up steam agains the Aces of Hicksville when the Green Meadows Conference opponent came into town.
Running a constant full-court press, the Aces were able to disrupt the Montpelier offense immensely in the Locomotive loss. There were times in which the Locos couldn’t even get the ball down the court. But the press was not the full extent of the Hicksville defense’s aggressiveness. They were also shooting passing lanes hard, producing a good many steals that way as well. The Aces scored most of their points running the floor after Montpelier turnovers.
Montpelier struggled against this attacking defensive mentality from the first quarter. They seemed to recover, however, and ended the period down by just a 3 point margin at 13-10. The second and third quarters were not kind to the Locomotives, though. Putting up just 5 and 9 points in the two periods, while Hicksville was able to capitalize on the mistakes they’d forced, producing 18 and 20 points in that same span. The final stanza saw the Aces call off the press, opting to play a more conservative style of defense. Each team scored 19 points.
When it was finally over, the scoreboard read 70-43, Hicksville.
One of the few bright spots of the contest for Montpelier was Michael Blake. The sophomore standout offered 20 points to the Locomotive cause, displaying a balanced game between his 5 two-point field goals and 2 threes. Blake was also one of the few Locomotive players to break through the Hicksville press, though even he had trouble doing so. Nate McCord and Kyrin Schuman each contributed 6 points in the loss. Jared Shoup scored 4 points as well.
The Montpelier defense, when not caught in transition, was fairly solid. Hicksville was able to get some points in the paint, but the Loco perimeter defense was pretty good, allowing just a single made three.
Ball handling and passing were issues for the Locomotives, which was a bit of a surprise from such a veteran squad. Going forward, they will have to do a better job of valuing the basketball, lest they wish to fall victim to pressure defenses all season.