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Sweet revenge

Bristol overcomes Windham, 58-47

By Brian Yauger 3 min read

ORWELL -- The Bristol boys basketball team had one blemish on its league record during the regular season, a three-point overtime loss to Windham in February.

For the last month, the Panthers have been eagerly awaiting another shot, and they made the most of the opportunity Monday night, earning a 58-47 victory over the Bombers in a Division IV district semifinal.

"We lost to them a couple weeks ago, and we did not play very well that night," Bristol coach Craig Giesy said. "That game has been eating at every one of those guys for the last two weeks. They were excited when we saw we were going to have a chance to play Windham and get redemption."

That redemption wasn't an easy earn however, as the Bombers did everything they could to hold down the Bristol offense, leaving the Panthers with a 12-11 lead after the first quarter. Bristol had more offensive success in the second quarter, but the Bombers were still close behind.

Once Matt Church got settled in the second half, the Panthers were able to pull away slightly, outscoring Windham 30-23 after halftime. Church finding his rhythm led to a lot more success at the rim, which was the primary issue in the first half.

"We finished shots around the rim, that was the biggest difference" Giesy said. "First half I think we missed the rim more than we hit it in shots around the rim. Matt Church settled in and made a lot of shots, we played with better balance, better poise around the rim and it carried us offensively in that fourth quarter when we needed them to."

Church finished the game with 17 points. Nick Church scored 14 points and Seth Mooney paced the Panthers with 11.

For the Bombers it was Tyler Wiley and Bert Jones leading the way with 13 points each.

Windham (11-11) returns multiple key players next season including Jones who's a sophomore. After the game, coach Marty Hill told his players about how they've grown over the season and in how different a position they would be in had that growth not happened.

"If we would have had the same team that we had in early January, we would have gotten beat by 40, because they're a tough team," Windham coach Marty Hill said. "They were the better team tonight as far as shooting ... We were a little desperate trying to chase them."

The Panthers play the winner of tonight's match between third-seed John F. Kennedy and second-seed Andrews Osborne. Regardless of the outcome, the Panthers will have a rematch from last season's tournament.

Bristol (19-5) took down both teams last year en route to its regional appearance, defeating Kennedy in the second round and Andrews Osborne in the district semifinals. Giesy did scouting on both teams earlier in the season and mentioned how both bring a "worldly" game.

"We watched Kennedy and Andrews play when they were at Kennedy probably a month ago," Giesy said. "Both teams are talented, they're big and it's like an international game. Andrews is mostly international and Kennedy has a kid from the Republic of Georgia. So they both have a little international flair to them.

"We're excited for whoever wins tomorrow and we're excited to be in a district final again and have an opportunity to head to Canton, which is the ultimate goal."

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