GM boys repel Rebels in a blistering first-quarter

By Evan Chadwick
© 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Scoring 27 points in the first quarter, including five three-pointers, the Green Mountain boys basketball squad continued their recent hot streak, winning their third straight on Monday night with a 65-41 victory over the Leland & Gray Rebels at home in Chester.

Everett Mosher got the offense off to a hot start, hitting back-to-back 3s that had the hosts in front 6-0 early.

After Leland & Gray narrowed the lead to 3 at 6-3, Branden Rose added his own trey to extend the lead back to 6 at 9-3 just 3 minutes into the contest. The Rebels would hang in through the first six minutes of the game, keeping the game within 9 points after a layup narrowed the gap to 16-7.

However, from there, the Chieftains would close the quarter on an 11-4 run, fueled by a 3-point play by Everett Mosher, and several offensive rebounds by Everett’s brother, Eben, that gave the Chieftains extra possession that they soon cashed in, the final shot being another 3 by Kagan Hance.

The second quarter saw the nets cool down a bit, as the shots falling early for the Chieftains would produce inconsistent results in the second eight minutes. Luckily for Coach Brian Rapanotti’s squad, the Chieftain defense continued to pay dividends.

Rose brought one to the house after picking off a pass and Caleb Morrow hit another 3 off a steal that extended the Chieftain lead to 21 going into the break at 36-19. Leland & Gray would show some life in the third, narrowing the Chieftain lead to 15 at 43-28. The Rebels used their considerable size in attacking the paint to generate some second-chance opportunities that had the visitors hopeful of a comeback.

Those dreams were short-lived, as the Chieftains again had an answer, rattling off 6 straight points that spanned the end of the third and the start of the fourth.

Elias Stowell Aleman capped the mini-run with a hard drive that effectively closed the contest out and allowed the Chieftains to cruise the rest of the contest grabbing their eighth win of the season.

The Chieftains now stand at 8-4 and are climbing the Division Three standings, as they currently sit at 7th. The Chieftains will take one day off before they travel to Bellows Falls on Wednesday to face off with the 7-3 Terriers, who sit just ahead of the Chieftains in the Division 3 standings. The Chester Telegraph will have a story tomorrow about that game.