The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Moffett hits milestone in dramatic VVS victory
Moffett scores 1,000th point in dramatic VVS victory
UTICA, N.Y.>> Vernon-Verona-Sherrill’s Andrew Roden had nine days to think about his potential game-winning shot that rolled in and out during the Red Devils’ last boys basketball game against Broadalbin-Perth, a twopoint loss on Dec. 29.
Saturday, the junior found redemption.
In a game in which classmate Davey Moffett scored his 1,000th career point, Roden provided the heroics from nearly the exact same spot he missed nine days ago, sinking a shot over a defender as time expired for a 5149 victory over Holland Patent in the second game of the inaugural Mohawk Valley Basketball Classic at Utica College.
“I practice that foul line jumper all day and I always envisioned having that game-winner one time,” said Roden. “That’s the second game-winner I’ve ever shot. The first one rolled in-and-out and the second one fell for me.”
The RedDevils’ second straight nail-biter wasn’t expected to play out that way against the Golden Knights, who faced a serious size disadvantage. Strong guard play from seniors Collin Litz and Jake Storsberg, who finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, kept Holland Patent in the contest throughout.
“We really were hoping to get our bench into this game and
we really didn’t accomplish that,” said VVS coach Andy Cossette. “Give a lot of credit to Holland Patent. They shot the ball a lot better than we thought they would. Made it a tough game on us. We ended up going to our man-to-man defense that we’ve only played one other time the whole season. It made a difference.” Moffett finished with a game-high 17 points for VVS, including his 1,000th which came on a putback late in the first quarter.
“Coming in I was a little bit nervous,” he said. “I was just glad I got it.
“Just a lot of hard work in the offseason and I’m just glad it could pay off.”
Jake Engler added 12 points in the winning effort. Both teams came out clicking offensively to start the game. Storsberg made a pair of deep 3-pointers and Litz added another to stake Holland Patent to an 11-6 edge early. Moffett put VVS in front for the first time with a 3-pointer near the midway point in the period and broke a 16-16 tie with his milestone putback basket with 1:17 to play in the opening quarter. Na- than Palmer answered a Litz shot from behind the arc with one of his own, giving the Red Devils a 2119 advantage going into the second quarter.
Their offensewould stall out there, however. Holland Patent kept VVS off the scoreboard in the period and Turner Reinold scored five of his nine points to help the Golden Knights take a 26-21 advantage into halftime.
“We talked about spacing and continue to work the ball and not get frustrated,” said Cossette. “Kinda got into them a little bit, got themcharged up to try to come out and win this third quarter.”
VVS would do just that, but not before falling a little further behind. A technical foul on Roden early in the third quarter led to three points for Holland Patent on a DJ Harter free throw and a basket by Litz, extending the lead to 2921. Roden snapped a nearly 10-minute scoring drought for the Red Devils with his first basket and capped a 7-0 run with another score inside, closing the gap to 31-30. Connor VanDreason put VVS back in front with a 3-pointer but Reinold’s basket late in the period tied the score at 35-35 going into the fourth.
Nick Palmer’s 3-point play early in the final quarter gave Holland Patent it’s final lead of the game at 38-37. Baskets on consecutive possessions by Moffett and Engler gave VVS a three-point cushion that it would keep for much of the quarter. Engler scored to push the lead to 47-42with 2:31 to play but Storsberg answered with a 3-pointer and after a quick steal, Litz scored on a tip-in to even the score at 47-47 with 1:21 to play. Roden converted inside on VVS’ next trip down the court before the teams traded empty possessions, giving Holland Patent a chance to tie with 16.7 seconds to play. Litz came through with an acrobatic layup, getting around Moffett and double-clutching before putting the ball in. The Red Devils then took a timeout with four seconds to play, setting up Roden’s heroics.
“The top guy in the zone was going up to Palmer so I was going to set a screen for him,” said Roden. “But then the kid sagged down on me and the ball just came right to me. As soon as I got it I just chucked it up and hoped for the best.”
Added Cossette, “Unbelievable shot, the guy hanging all over himand it went in.
“We’ll take the win. We’re happy with the win.”