Green Mountain Tipoff
December 27, 2008 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Vermont Frost Heaves News Release
BARRE - Two of the Vermont Frost Heaves who played in Saturday's opening round of the Green Mountain Tip-Off arrived in the Green Mountain Sate just this week. It proved to be of little consequence, however, as the team shook off a sloppy first half and earned a berth into today's championship game at the Barre Auditorium with a 96-85 win over the Quebec City Kebekwa. "Somebody throws you a curve ball, you just have to deal with it," Vermont guard Joe Nixon said. "We had guys playing a lot in the game who showed up yesterday. Teams that can handle that better are usually better on the court. It's a challenge, but it's something you have to deal with." Vermont, making its first appearance since winning its second straight title and moving to the Premier Basketball League, shot just 30 percent from the floor in the first quarter but still managed a 21-18 lead. "It was sloppy like we thought it was going to be," Vermont coach Will Voigt said. "We're still trying to feel out what guys do in a game setting - who likes to play in certain sets that we have." Quebec City's Charles Fortier hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 27 with 8:49 left in the first half, and teammate Jean-Phillippe Morin hit one of his own five minutes later to give the Kebs a lead they would hold through halftime. Ten lead changes, including five ties, resulted in a one-point Vermont advantage going into the final 12 minutes of play. Quebec struggled at the foul line while Nixon and Joe Williams boosted Vermont out of more than a few single-digit deficits, and a hard-fought lay up by Williams at the buzzer gave the Frost Heaves a lead they would not relinquish. "Obviously we rode Joe Williams offensively for a while, he really delivered for us," Voigt said. "I thought Joe Nixon, "Lucky," I thought he was really the difference. He really came out with intensity and hit a 3 in transition. Defensively he was really into it, he was loud on the court, and I thought he really set the tone for the group, and they were trying to build off of that." "It's just a lot of fun, especially playing on a team like this," Nixon said. "It's a lot different overseas where you're one of the only Americans. Here, you go in for three or four minutes at a time and you don't have to save anything, or score 20 points a game. All you have to do is go in there and play as hard as you can. "The main thing is to hustle because you've got guys on the bench who can come off and do it again." Vermont went up by as many as 11 with 4:35 left to play on a made free throw by Greg Stevenson and again at 3:14 with a part of free throws by Regis Koundja. A lay up by Brian Monahan and a putback by Greg Plummer accounted for Vermont's final points and a 3-pointer by Quebec's Fortier sealed the 96-86 final. "We were ragged offensively," Voigt said, "and defensively we were not too bad. Guys were able to show us some of the stuff they can do." Both teams shot under 45 percent from the floor for the game, though Vermont was much better at the line, converting 83 percent of its free throws to just 61 percent for Quebec City. Quebec was led by Fortier's 15 points, and teammate Larry House added 13 points and nine rebounds. Vermont was paced by Plummer's 16 points, Joe Williams' 14, Nixon's 13 and Stevenson's 10. "There's no such thing as going off on your own as far as basketball goes; everything is a team concept - offense, defense - everything," Nixon said of his team. All but two Frost Heaves scored in Saturday's game, and all who were available checked into the game. Richard Millsap was the game's lone injury with a sprained thumb. Quebec had played several pre-season games prior to Saturday's tournament opener while Vermont was making its first appearance. "That's just part of pro basketball," Nixon said. "It's something that's different from the college game. You have players change around a lot, but it's part of dealing with it." In the second game, Manchester took a 52-40 lead at the half and led by nearly 20 points at the end of the third quarter. Montreal closed the gap to single digits late in the fourth quarter, but a lengthy injury delay that resulted in Millrat Ife Anosike being taken to the hospital with a neck injury with 3:31 left to play took away the momentum. Al Stewart sealed the win on the foul line with under a second to play and Manchester earned a 105-98 win. Vermont will face Manchester in tomorrow's championship game at 4:05 p.m. while Montreal will take on Quebec City in the third-place game at 1:05 p.m.
Good seats are still available and the ticket window will open at 12:00 p.m. It should be quite a game between Manchester and Vermont. See you at the Aud!
Premier Basketball League Stories from December 27, 2008
- Millrats Shoot Past Montreal Sasquatch - Saint John Riptide
- Green Mountain Tipoff - Vermont Frost Heaves
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