Harwood’s Tobey Bellows sinks his 1,000th point at home
February 17, 2024 | By James Biggam · Times Argus | Photos by Gordon Miller
Harwood Boys Basketball standout Tobey Bellows took care of a hard-earned individual milestone in the first half of the Highlanders’ Feb. 9 home game against North Country before doing some heavy lifting for his team down the stretch.
The Waterbury senior was honored for his electric scoring in the second quarter when he became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 points. But he refused to get caught up in the moment and quickly refocused on the task at hand guiding his team to a 57-46 victory.
“It was huge for him because he just got it out of the way and then he was able to settle in,” Harwood Coach Jay Bellows said. “He was able to control the pace and keep things super steady. And we all feel good when the ball is in his hands.”
Bellows buried a 3-pointer on his first shot of the second quarter to reach the 1,000-point mark. He joins an exclusive club of Highlanders to accomplish the feat, following in the path of 1995 grad Travis Taylor, 1996 graduate Craig Breen, 2004 graduate Andrew Harris and 2006 grad Ben Parker.
Coach Bellows (also dad to Tobey) put the milestone in context noting some of the extraordinary circumstances the team has played through over the past few years including the pandemic and a fire sprinkler break in the fall of 2022 that flooded and destroyed Harwood’s gym. Teams last season didn’t play on their rebuilt home court until the playoffs.
“We are incredibly proud of Tobey,” coach Bellows said. “He truly loves basketball … To hit 1,000 points in this COVID era is truly a feat. We had only eight games his freshman year because of it, and his sophomore year playing in masks certainly had an effect. On top of all of that, we had no home court at all last year. So, each point he earned in the entirety of his junior year was away, climbing off a bus for every game.
“I actually think his stat line this year is so underrated. He gets double-teamed, face-guarded and game-planned against for every single game. And he still is averaging around 20 points a game, while passing the double-digit mark in assists and rebounds often as well.
“He has gotten mentally stronger, and now has great poise and court awareness while not getting rattled at all. He’s earned every bit of this, overcoming adversity, overly critical coaching from his dad, a global pandemic, and a flooded gym. He has made our community proud.”
The win over North Country was the Highlanders’ (15-5) 13th victory this season. Bellows wound up with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds for Harwood, which was up 11-7 after the first quarter and led 25-22 entering halftime. The Falcons trailed 37-36 after three quarters and were poised to pull ahead down the stretch, but Bellows made a clutch 3-pointer and went 4 of 4 from the foul line during the final eight minutes. Teammate Brayden Martens made two long-range shots in the fourth quarter and added a free throw to help put the finishing touches on the victory.
Highlanders with strong performances that night were Josh McHugh (10 points, 11 rebounds), Steele Nelson (eight points), Teighen Fils-Aime (seven points, six rebounds) and Tucker Buffum (six rebounds). North Country was led by Haidin Chilifoux (15 points), Brayden Pepin (13 points) and Hayden Boivin (nine points).
Waterbury Roundabout contributed to this report.