
On Friday, January 24, the South Windsor Bobcats hosted the Terriers of Rocky Hill High School for a Friday night battle. Both teams entered the contest desperately needing a win with the Bobcats sitting at 1-9 and the Terriers at 2-6.
With the jump ball thrown in the air, the game was underway. The Terriers started the game with the ball and quickly hit a three to take the early lead, but the ‘Cats pushed the pedal to the metal and went on a huge run early in the first quarter to take a double digit lead and forcing the Terriers into two very quick timeouts.
The ‘Cats trio of guards including: junior Brayden Edwards and seniors Shane Donston and Ethan Burke were all nightmare fuel early on for the Rocky Hill offense. The trio combined for several steals and stops on defense to keep the Terriers from getting off good shots for much of the first quarter.
When the Terriers offense was able to get past the Bobcats perimeter defense, they were met with junior Ryder Haynes and seniors Brian Daley and Tyler Pottinger. The trio of bigs combined for nearly 20 blocks to eliminate the inside scoring for Rocky Hill.
The fast start was different from most of the recent South Windsor performances, but it was a good sign of a turn in the team coming out of the gate. “We had great energy from the start, exactly what we needed,” Daley told The Prowl.
When the horn sounded to send the game to halftime, the ‘Cats lead 37-18. For a team in a seven game skid, the large lead was a refreshing change of pace, but head coach Donovin Ford-Hayes didn’t allow his players to lose focus of the second half ahead.
As they did in the first half, the Bobcats came out of halftime aggressive and kept the pedal all the way down. Sophomore Kevin Wind came off the bench and hit two big threes to help extend the lead for South Windsor, while junior Daltin Harrison had a pair of steals after coming off the bench.
Rocky Hill finally got their offense going and hit a string of baskets to bring their deficit to just 11, but the Bobcats defense once again flustered the Terriers offense and turned the tide back in the ‘Cats favor, where it remained for the rest of the contest.
The cherry on top of the Bobcats victory came later in the second half when Pottinger found himself alone in front of the hoop and took flight for a highlight worthy slam dunk that sent the gym into a frenzy.
Edwards finished the game as the leading scorer, setting a new season high of 18 points while shooting over 50%. “It felt good to play like ourselves and come together as a group,” Edwards said.
To pair with his ferociousness on defense, Haynes had knocked down a pair of threes and multiple tough finishes at the rim that saw Haynes achieve his first career triple-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 blocks. “It was a great team win. We needed this at home and I’m so proud of our bench players for playing so well like Daltin [Harrison] and Jaden [Bridgeforth],” Haynes stated.
“Tonight’s game felt good because we played together as a team and we were able to see a good outcome,” Senior Captain Shane Donston said.
Following the game, The Prowl spoke to coach Ford-Hayes. “Tonight was a great step forward for our team. After facing some tough losses, the guys responded with resilience, focus, and a true commitment to playing together,” Ford-Hayes said.
The first-year head coach was proud of what the team focused on in the game, saying “We emphasized ball movement, defensive intensity, and staying locked in for four quarters, and it showed. This was a total team effort, and I’m proud of the way we executed. Now, we build on this momentum and keep improving.”
When all was said and done, the Bobcats won by a score of 61-41 to improve to 2-9 and on the season. With a chance to make the playoffs still alive, the ‘Cats have to enter a win-now mode in their final nine games.
The Bobcats will be back in action on Monday at home against rival Tolland at 6:45, looking to build off of the big win over Rocky Hill.
Cara Quinn • Jan 25, 2025 at 8:06 am
Another great article, Eli.