Chargers Bounce Back from Heartbreaker for First Win

by Ken Brown

SHARON – The Craftsbury Academy (CA) boys’ basketball team bounced back from a double-overtime loss to Sharon earlier in the week with a dominant win over Trinity Baptist to head into the holidays with their first win of the season.

Parker Bogardus hit a three pointer at the end of regulation to give Sharon Academy new life and Caleb Benjamin’s game-high 30 points powered them to a 64-54 home win over the Chargers last Monday night. Dylan Washer’s 23 points had CA in control of the game, holding a seven point lead with two minutes remaining, but a late run by the Phoenix was capped off by an improbable buzzer beater by Bogardus. Benjamin took control in the extra periods with eight points to seal the comeback. Chris Haefs had a strong game for the Chargers, scoring 13 in the loss.

“We got a little frantic and discombobulated down the stretch and if I had it to do over again, I think I would have fouled them in that last possession,” said head coach Sean Ryan. “The guys played well, and it is a tough loss to swallow, but it’s not a situation we’ve been in this year and we’ll learn from it. We have to get better at eliminating the turnovers and fouls down the stretch when you’re trying to put a team away,” added Ryan.

Washer continued to power the Charger offense on Tuesday, pouring in 22 points in a 64-27 home win over Trinity Baptist. Sterling Blodgett added a season-high 14 points for CA and Grayson McNaughten chipped in with 11 in the win. James Garrant (12 points) and John Garrant (11) led Trinity Baptist in the loss.

“Trinity is a young team and we had a size advantage, but hats to them for hustling the entire game. We got some of our younger guys some valuable varsity experience, including Ryan Prince, who we pulled up from our eighth grade roster. Dylan had another solid game for us offensively in limited time and Grayson was outstanding on the glass for us in his varsity debut. We head into the break now 1-2 and will continue to work on improving some things as we look ahead to Richford in January,” said Ryan.

The Chargers will get plenty of practice during the holiday break before a road league match-up with Richford on January 3 and a home date with Mid-Vermont Christian on January 5.