Bartlett baffled by Uxbridge defense

Indians lose despite 20 from Belnavis

By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians ran into a hot Uxbridge Spartans basketball team Tuesday night and were handed their second loss of the season 80-63 in Uxbridge.

Uxbridge is playing its final season in the old Uxbridge High School gymnasium as they prepare to move into their new digs at the new Uxbridge High School next season. This was Bartlett’s last trip to this gym and it didn’t go all that well for the green.

The Indians started fast and took an early 22-17 lead after one quarter behind the good shooting of Nick Kobel and Akeem Belnavis, who each scored 7 points.

The Spartans turned up the defense and took advantage of a very sloppy start by the Indians in the second quarter to take control of the game. They pounded the ball inside to center Corey Gomes and hit some key three pointers to outscore the Indians 22-8 in a decisive fashion taking a 40-30 lead at the half.

Bartlett tried to keep in close in the third quarter and received some good minutes from Center Andrew Meloche, who played a strong inside game for the Indians, but the Spartans were playing well on both sides of the court. Despite 7 points from Meloche, a lack of outside shooting and some tough Spartan defense helped the home team open a 62-42 lead after three quarters.

The Indians tried to come back in the fourth quarter scoring the first 8 points of the stanza as Kobel got hot, but the Spartans were on their game. They continued to play stellar defense and make shots and especially free throws, where the Spartans made 16 of 20 for the game, which would prove to be key to the outcome.

On the bright side for the Indians, Belnavis played a solid game with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and a pair of steals. Meloche almost had his most productive game of the year with 12 points and a season high 13 rebounds. Kobel was far below his season average but still chipped in 17 points.

The loss put the Indians record at 5-2 for the season.

The Bartlett Junior Varsity had one of their best games of the season winning 66-56 behind a solid performance by Anthony Higbie who had 19 points for the Indians. Neil Flanagan added 12 points and Justin Stately scored 10 for the victors.

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