Caldwell dominates in end

Watertown High School was in control as the third quarter of Monday night's Frontier League "A" Division championship game neared the midway point.

That's when, as Immaculate Heart Central's Brian Magovney said later, "It was Connor's time."

Magovney's teammate, high-scoring IHC junior Connor Caldwell, had scored 15 first-half points, but only three more in the first five minutes of the third quarter. But when the "A" Division Most Valuable Player took his game up a notch, he helped IHC rally for a 67-57 victory at Jefferson Community College.

Caldwell scored eight points in the final 21/2 minutes of the third quarter to help erase as much as a seven-point WHS lead.

The 6-foot-3 guard then contributed 11 more points in the final eight minutes, finishing with 37, as top-seeded IHC (16-1) outscored the No. 4 Cyclones (11-6) by 22-12 over the final eight minutes.

"We're used to Connor doing that," said Magovney, who added 16 points for IHC. "He can take over a game and dominate for long stretches. We all feed off him, and when he really gets going, so do we."

And while Caldwell was getting hot, the Cyclones ran into a second-half cold spell that saw them score just 11 points in the third quarter and only 12 in the fourth.

"We played really well the first half, getting everyone involved on offense and making Caldwell work hard," said WHS coach Jeff Britton, whose club was swept by IHC this season. "The second half we didn't execute what we talked about at halftime. And we gave Caldwell a couple of wide-open 3-pointers that got him going."

With his club trailing 41-36, Caldwell hit a 10-footer, then back-to-back 3-pointers when WHS defenders somehow left him alone in the corner.

A Magovney 3-pointer tied it at 45-all after three quarters, and Caldwell began the final period with a driving hoop and a free throw to give IHC the lead for good.

"After those threes, coach told me not to settle for them and take the ball to the hoop," Caldwell said. "We all picked it up pretty good the second half because they really outplayed us the first half."

Caldwell added another driving bucket, and Ryan Spicer nailed a 3-pointer to boost the IHC advantage to 53-49. Caldwell scored two more baskets, then added two foul shots in the final minute.

"Their zone confused us the first half," said IHC coach Mike Delaney. "They also beat us up the court for too many easy hoops. When we took the press off and slowed the pace down, that was more to our liking. And you know sooner or later Connor will get going."

WHS sophomore forward Dustin Pond kept his club in the game, scoring 23 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. But Britton couldn't find much help for him the second half. Josh Robinson added 13 points for WHS.

"IHC is hands down the bestteam," Britton said. "We've played well against them for long stretches, but not for an entire game."

IHC point guard Patrick Caldwell didn't score, but dished out 16 assists.

SOUTH JEFFERSON 61,

GENERAL BROWN 48

Like Caldwell, South Jefferson senior Akeebu Lettsome had a dominating game with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans added the "B" Division playoff title to their regular-season crown.

Lettsome, the "B" Division's MVP, scored 14 first-half points to spark South Jefferson (13-4) to a 29-18 halftime lead. General Brown (10-7) never got closer than nine points the second half.

"I tried to come out with a lot of energy and get my team going," Lettsome said. "We pushed the ball pretty well and got some easy baskets the first half. Then the second half we just relied on our defense."

The Lions, playing without senior point guard Dallas Thomas, who hurt his ankle in the semifinals, had no offensive consistency and were beaten to loose balls all night by the hustling Spartans.

"I told the kids we just weren't tough enough," said General Brown coach Brian Nortz. "When they got the loose balls, they took it hard to the basket and we fouled them. They outplayed us tonight in all phases."

South Jefferson made 25 of 33 free throws, including 12 of 13 by A. J. Chartrand (16 points). General Brown took only 10 foul shots and made four.

It was 15-8 for South Jeff after one period and the Spartans led 29-18 at halftime. General Brown cut a 44-29 three-quarter deficit to 10 points, but didn't get any closer.

"The last time we played (a 55-54 General Brown win last Tuesday), they outrebounded us 34-14," said South Jefferson coach Fred Piche, the division's coach of the year. "Tonight we really attacked the glass, and I thought we were very patient on offense."

Marc Piche added 11 points for the Spartans. Troy McAdam scored 18 points and Sam Massaro 17 for General Brown.

General Brown plays Watertown at 6:30 p.m. Friday at JCC, followed by the IHC-South Jefferson A/B championship game.