Blazers falter in fourth quarter

JAN. 16, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

After leading for much of the game, Blair lost its momentum in the fourth quarter and lost to Richard Montgomery, 44-41, making its record 3-7. Although the score does not show it, the Blazers played considerably better today than they had in the four previous games.

With scores of 11-10 and 26-20 after second and third quarters respectively, things were looking up the Blazers. They hit most free throws, capitalized on breakaways, and consistently pressured RM to miss passes and shoot far shots. But when the forth quarter came around, the Blazers started to get sloppy. Blair gave RM three turnovers in three minutes, which resulted four game-changing points. Then, Blair was forced into taking risky shots and began to lose its stamina, rarely taking the ball in close for more than a few seconds.

The last five seconds were undoubtedly the most eventful. First, Blair fouled RM, which gave them two free throws. Second, coach Richard Porac took sophomore co-captain Nick Warmington out of the game. Third, RM made one of the free throws putting Blair behind by three points. RM then missed the last free throw but grabed the rebound. By the time Blair ripped the ball out of that players hands there were two seconds left on the clock. They passed the ball to half court but missed the would-be tie making shot.

Holding back and being safe was the day's strategy. The screams Porac made of "Slow it down," and "Be patient," sums up the game well. For most rebounds, Blair just held the ball and slowly brought it up the court while Porac decided upon which play the team should try. Then, the plays were executed well. Porac explained that they were trying to keep points low so that they could have more control over the scoreboard and take advantage of RM's hurried plays.

Blair's defense was a whole new team; they were strong, they were organized and they got rebounds. This differed greatly from the vulnerable defense of previous games.

Blair significantly cut down on turnovers today. The highest number of turnovers came in the third quarter when RM took the ball six times, but compared to a total of 36 only two days ago this was definitely an improvement.

This approach worked well today as some call it the best game Blair's JV has had in a while. "We have been playing three and a half quarters well but loose momentum towards the end. We were much better today than we normally are and we will be playing much better in the games to come," said sophomore co-captain Tommy Dugan.

"We played good D today and hustled a lot. The main things we're going to work on is finishing the game; playing all four quarters, not just three and a half," said Porac.

Blair's next game is at home on Jan. 23 against Damascus.