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Woolcock and Hughesville reserves provide key spark in tournament win

By Chris Masse 5 min read

HUGHESVILLE–Ethan Woolcock knows he can play a lot better offensively. So do his coaches.

But on a night he struggled offensively, Woolcock still made a big impact. So did his fellow reserves Cam Fetterman, Landen King and Jeff Fenstermacher. Together the energy and hustle that group provided gave Hughesville a big lift on a night Sullivan County made it work hard for everything.

Nick Trevouledes scored 10 straight points between the third and fourth quarters and the reserves helped Hughesville pull away Wednesday at the Bill Babcock Christmas Tournament and defeat Sullivan, 44-29. The Spartans (6-1) won their third straight game and reached Thursday’s championship against Jersey Shore.

“Ethan is one of our best offensive players. He can score with both hands and he contributes a lot of different ways. I’m really proud of that fact,” Hughesville coach Nick Tagliaferri said. “Last year, and even over the summer, if he wasn’t scoring we’d kind of lose him and this year he’s starting to learn that if I’m not scoring I can still, defend and rebound. He responded.”

“I’m not putting up the numbers I know I can and that’s something I have to work on, but I know when I’m having my C game on offense I can do the little things to make sure I’m still helping my team,” Woolcock said after scoring four points, grabbing six rebounds and adding a steal. “If we’re in a lull offensively one of the ways besides scoring that we can make an impact is doing those little things and playing good defense, things that don’t show up in the boxscore. That’s something that Hughesville over the years has taken pride in.”

Hughesville built a championship tradition upon defense, depth and effort and the reserves provided all those qualities against Sullivan. The Griffins (1-3) were still within nine points late in the third quarter when King found Woolcock inside and sparked a game-breaking 9-0 run. A Woolcock offensive board set up a Trevouledes 3-pointer and King’s steal created another opportunity as a Trevouledes outside shot made it 33-19.

Those offensive rebounds, those steals, those deflections, they might not jump out on the film, but those are the plays which often make the difference between winning and losing. Woolcock, Fetterman, King and Fenstermacher consistently producing them explains a lot about why Hughesville already has exceeded last year’s win total.

“All credit to Sullivan. They really good at giving us a battle and making us play their game,” Woolcock said. “But our bench has been doing a great job doing the little things.”

“Jeffrey Fenstermacher is a game changer. He makes so many run-extending or run-starting plays on both ends of the floor,” Tagliaferri said. “Cam is like a solid starter off the bench and Jeff and Landen change games. Jeffrey had a big hand in our stronger runs in the second half.”

Sullivan is as young as its been in a decade and had not played a game in two weeks. Still, the Griffins weathered an early storm after falling behind 8-0 and pulled within 11-10 entering the second quarter. The Griffins had three close-range shots to take the lead but none fell. Still they kept working, were down 22-15 at halftime and still had upset visions until Trevouledes caught fire, made four straight shots and scored 10 of his 12 points in quick fashion.

The effort was there and so was the defense. There were good building blocks for Sullivan to build a foundation and show that it can remain a contender in District 4 Class A. Ben Carpenter scored nine points and Trey Higley (7), Riley King (6) and Landon Baldwin (5) all pulled down at least five rebounds.

Hughesville never really was able to get into an offensive rhythm but Luke Kaiser scored 12 points and his two early 3-pointers put Hughesville ahead to stay. Carter Cowburn added nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Dylan Bieber produced five rebounds and four assists and Josh Heiney made a steal in the backcourt before finishing a layup which put Hughesville ahead 24-17.

“Any one of us can have double digits and a double-double even. If one of our guys is off we pick him up and we take their spot. It’s how we work,” Woolcock said. “It gives us more confidence because we know we have a deep squad and if someone has to go against a tough matchup one of us can come in and keep it up just as well. There’s no drop off.”

In addition to scoring 12 points, Trevouledes pulled down five rebounds. His 10-point flurry to all but seal the win came in less than three minutes. After Sullivan pulled within 17-15 five minutes into the second quarter, Hughesville put on the clamps and scored the half’s final five points. King kept a possession alive with a hustling save of a loose ball out of bounds and Cowburn scored inside to give the Spartans some momentum entering halftime.

Jersey Shore and Hughesville played for the championship two years ago with the Spartans winning an exciting contest. They are familiar foes, frequently playing over the summer. Every time the games were won late, twice in overtime.

“They always give us a good fight. It’s fun to play Jersey Shore,” Woolcock said. “I’m excited.”

SULLIVAN (29)

Trey Higley 2 2-5 6, Riley King 2 1-2 5, Landon Baldwin 1 0-0 2, Connor Smithkors 2 0-2 4, Bryon Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0, Ben Carpenter 3 2-2 9, Maddox Bahr 1 0-0 3, Derrick Finnegan 0 0-0 0, Enrico Capriotti 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 5-11 29.

HUGHESVILLE (44)

Carter Cowburn 2 5-8 9, Dylan Bieber 0 0-0 0, Nick Trevouledes 5 0-0 12, Josh Heiney 2 1-2 5, Luke Kaiser 5 0-0 12, Ethan Woolcock 2 0-0 4, Cam Fetterman 0 0-0 0, Landen King 0 0-0 0, Jeff Fenstermacher 1 0-0 2, Brady Snyder 0 0-0 0, Mason Thomas 0 0-2 0, Chase Michael 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-10 44.

Sullivan 10 5 4 10ä29

Hughesville 11 11 13 9ä44

3-pointers: Sullivan 2 (Carpenter, Bahr); Hughesville 4 (Trevouledes 2, Kaiser 2).

Records: Hughesville 6-1. Sullivan 1-3.

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