EAST MONTPELIER — Caelan Zeilenga is a second-generation U-32 boys basketball standout who’s gained enough first-hand experience to know that his shots will eventually start falling.
The senior guard shook off a few early misses from the foul line and went to work from beyond the arc Wednesday, draining five 3-pointers to fuel his team’s 70-54 victory over Middlebury. Zeilenga finished with 32 points, recording one of the highest-scoring individual efforts in program history to rival some of the great performances by the Raiders when his father Jack was a standout for the team in the mid-1990s.
“Caelan gets us going,” U-32 coach John Medose said. “He came out of the gate in the third quarter with two 3’s and he gets points for us in a flash. And aside from getting 32 points, he’s been stellar on defense in every game we’ve played. He moves his feet and plays intense defense – and that sets the tone for the rest of our players. That gets them on board and it helps get the energy going, because we were a little flat tonight. It felt like we were the better team, but Middlebury played hard and tough and they scrapped away.”
Zeilenga also nabbed five steals, while teammate Miachel Mallett finished with 14 points and four rebounds. Luke Page was another key difference-maker for the Raiders, tallying 13 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and three assists. Sawyer Mislak (four points, three steals, three assists) and AIden Boyd (six steals) helped round out a balanced effort by the hosts.
“Sawyer has quick hands and he’s a gamer with his on-ball defense,” Medose said. “He shows up to play.”
The Raiders didn’t have their best game from the foul line, going 11 of 22. But it was a mute point down the stretch after Zeilenga’s hot hand allowed U-32 to play with a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half.
“We left 11 points on the board there and we missed a lot of shots at the rim in the first quarter,” Medose said. “We’re going to finishing school at practice.”
Middlebury’s top scorers were Noah Doherty-Konczal (10 points), Tassilo Luksch (nine points) and Cooke Rhiney (nine points).
“(Rhiney) has size and he had seven points in the first quarter,” Medose said. “We weren’t doing a very good job fronting and we talked about that at halftime. Coming up against a team with some good post players, we hadn’t seen that much and we needed to have more help side on the back side.”
Mallett slashed through the lane for a layup and added a foul shot before a high-percentage basket by Page prompted the Tigers to call a timeout while trailing 5-0 with 4:56 left in the first quarter. Rhiney finally scored for Middlebury after the short break and then both teams coughed up the ball offensively. Zeilenga made a 3-pointer from the right side on an inbounds play, but Rhiney countered with an old-fashioned three-point play to make it an 8-5 game with 2:29 on the clock. Page used strong low-post positioning and a soft touch to score again and the Tigers answered right back with a slick backdoor play to set up Luksch. Two U-32 foul shots were offset by a Rhiney putback, leaving U-32 with a 12-9 lead after the opening eight minutes.
A rebound and second-chance basket by Kyle Stearns sliced the gap to a single point early in the second quarter. A Mallett 3-pointer in transition ended U-32’s scoring drought with 5:23 on the clock. Zeilenga followed with a steal, a fast-break layup and a 3-pointer, extending the lead to 20-11. Page and Rhiney scored at opposite ends of the court after a timeout and then Page poured in four unanswered points in a 20-second span, giving the Raiders a 26-13 advantage. The Tigers squandered a wide-open layup opportunity and then watched Zeilenga score six straight points as U-32 continued to open the floodgates. A bucket by Doherty-Konczal was negated by foul shots from Zeilenga and Page. The Tigers closed out the half with a free throw and trailed 34-20 entering the break. Despite the sizeable halftime lead, the Raiders weren’t taking anything for granted in the second half.
“We didn’t feel too comfortable, especially when they came out with pressure with a 1-2-2 and we wanted to keep that buffer,” Medose said. “We had a rough year last year and we only had five wins, so these kids are thirsty and hungry and they want to make a statement.”
Zeilenga made back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening 25 seconds of the third quarter, stretching the lead to 40-20. Doherty-Konczal and Boyd traded baskets before Colton Odell added another basket for the Tigers. A corner 3-pointer by Zeilenga kept his team in complete control, even though the Tigers responded with a 3-pointer midway through the quarter. Zeilenga picked off a Middlebury pass and heaved the ball up the court to set up Mallett for a fast-break layup, forcing the Tigers to keep scratching their heads defensively. A last-second foul shot by Middlebury closed out the third quarter with U-32 leading 53-38.
Another long-range bomb by Zeilenga and a 3-pointer by Andrew Mckinstry gave the Raiders a 21-point lead at the beginning of the final quarter. Odell and Camden Whitlock both scored for the Tigers to trim the deficit to 59-43. Whitlock added another basket after Mallett scored to keep things interesting with U-32 in front 61-46. Field goals by Mallett and Page combined with a Zeilenga foul shot made it 66-48. After a Page block, Mislak recorded two quick steals and cashed in with fast-break layups for a 68-48 lead. The Tigers limited the damage in the final seconds but the final outcome was never in doubt as U-32 closed out its second straight victory.
Track and field standout Ed Sayers returned from a scary injury to make a late-game appearance for the Raiders, sending a wave of good vibrations through the crowd.
“Ed Sayers just got cleared to play and he’s back and we’re so psyched to have him,” Medose said. “The crowd was fired up to have him back and he’s going to help us take things to the next level. We’re going to ease him in and he’s just a great kid and he’s got super positive energy in the gym and he gets along with everybody.”
Middlebury (0-3) will host Mill River at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. U-32 (2-1) will travel to play Lyndon on Dec. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
“I’m really happy with where we are,” Medose said. “The energy is good in the gym and the kids are coming to practice and they’re playing hard every day. People were bummed that we couldn’t play Spaulding on Monday, but right now the kids are excited and the people in the community are excited.”
Montpelier 86,
Lamoille 38
HYDE PARK — A Solons squad averaging 80 points per game finally picked up its first victory of the season Wednesday while executing lockdown defensive play against the Lancers.
“We’ve been happy with the way we’re scoring,” MHS coach NIck Foster said. “We knew we needed to get better on defense and with our rebounding. And we did that tonight. We really made a commitment to the defense and to rebounding and we were much better there – and it turned into some offense for us.”
Carter Bruzzese and Carson Cpdy scored 18 points apiece in the winning effort. Montpelier’s balanced attack also featured a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double by 6-foot-5 forward Atif Milak.
“Atif has been incredible,” coach Foster said. “His transformation athletically over the last three or four years has been great. He’s a late bloomer on the basketball side and he started a little bit later than the rest of this group. But his commitment to basketball and his body and becoming the best athlete he can be totally changes our team.”
Kleo Bridge (10 points), Clayton Foster (eight points) and Hayden Lilley (eight points) also delivered strong showing for the three-time defending Division II champs. Malcolm Ernst (10 points) led the way for Lamoille, which trailed 19-12 after the first quarter. A 46-24 Solons lead entering halftime ballooned to 70-33 before the start of the final quarter.
Montpelier (1-3) will host Harwood at 7 p.m. Friday. Lamoille (1-2) will travel to play Peoples Academy the same evening. The Solons will have a quick turnaround before facing Spaulding at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Barre Aud.
“Harwood will be a big challenge – and so will Spaulding,” coach Foster said. “It’s going to be difficult playing two Capital teams and Central Vermont rivals in back-to-back days – and they’re both good teams. We know the (Tobey) Bellows kid will be really, really tough for Harwood. But playing back-to-back days is probably good for us right now. After starting 0-3, I think our kids are ready to go out and play – rather than practicing at this point.”
Harwood 50,
Missisquoi 46
SWANTON — The Highlanders exploded for 24 points in the second quarter and then stayed one step ahead during a defensive chess match after the break to outlast the Thunderbirds on Wednesday.
Harwood’s top contributors were Tobey Bellows (18 points, eight rebounds), Bayden Martens (12 points) and Tucker Buffum (seven points, eight rebounds).
“Teighen Fils-Aime, Josh McHugh, Tucker and Tobey did a great job on the boards and Tobey had a bunch of assists,” Harwood coach Jay Bellows said.
Reid Myers (15 points), Tobey (18 points, eight rebounds) and Tabor Rich (eight points) paced MVU, which fell behind 10-9 in the opening quarter. The Highlanders entered halftime in front 34-24 and led 42-38 after three quarters. “Tobey had a couple 3’s in the second quarter,” coach Bellows said. “They doubled him a lot and they were running guys at him left and right. But he beat their press on his own sometimes, which was really helpful.”
Martens and Buffum also hit clutch 3-pointers in the second quarter to give their team a double-digit lead. The Thunderbirds made every attempt to pull even down the stretch by slowing things down, but Harwood did just enough to escape with a victory.
“Things were flowing in the second quarter and then we came out unbelievably cold in the third and could not buy a basket,” coach Bellows said. “And it felt that way throughout the fourth quarter. Missisquoi ran an ice play and was not giving us a lot of chances to score and they held the ball a lot and ran a top-line screen play and were really patient. So we didn’t get many chances to get out and run. Missisquoi did a really good job with ball control tonight. We have a lot of work to do defensively and I’m looking forward to getting back at in in practice.”
Harwood (2-1) will travel to play Montpelier at 7 p.m. Friday. Missisquoi (1-3) will travel to play Lake Region the same day.
Oxbow 62, Twinfield 60
MARSHFIELD — The Olympians held the Trojans and Huskies to their lowest offensive output of the season while picking up their first victory of the season Wednesday.
Tej Stewart (28 points) and Eli Russell (14 points) led the way for the hosts, but Oxbow made some clutch shots in the fourth quarter to prevail.
“Collectively, we’ve got to do a better job with communication and on defense,” Twinfield-Cabot coach Kris Bador said. “We’re trying to win games in late February and early March, and this was one of those games where we’re going to look back and be happy that we were a part of it. I give credit where credit is due and Oxbow beat us. Sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get beat. And we got beat. Oxbow did a phenomenal job down the stretch and they hit some shots. But there’s no quit in us.”
Oxbow (1-4) will host Thetford at 7 p.m. Friday. Twinfield-Cabot (2-2) will travel to play Vergennes on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m.
Lyndon 58, Spaulding 47
BARRE — Julian Thrailkill (22 points) and Ethan Lussier (14 points) propelled the Vikings past the Crimson Tide during Wednesday’s early-season Capital Division clash.
Luke Davis (14 points) and Liam Tremblay (11 points) paced the Tide, who kept things close before allowing Lyndon to score 25 points in the final quarter. Lyndon (1-2) will host North Country at 6 p.m. Friday. Spaulding (0-4) will face Montpelier at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Barre Aud.
BOYS HOCKEY
Harwood 8, U-32 3
WATERBURY — A pair of key insurance goals during the final 15 minutes Wednesday gave the Highlanders satisfying bragging rights over the Raiders.
“I was very impressed with how the boys finished the game off tonight,” Harwood coach Matt Migonis said. “We didn’t play our best the first period and for parts of the second period. But when we needed to close out the game in the third, we were able to do it.”
The Highlanders tallied four goals in the opening period to build a 4-2 lead. Owen Jones opened the scoring on assists by Owen Farr and Griffin Nelson before Nelson doubled the lead on a feed from Milo Lavit. A goal by Lavit on a Josh Dietz extended the lead to 3-0 with 5:07 left in the period before U-32’s Owen Jones scored on assists by Max Scribner and Andrew Ognibene with 2:47 on the clock. The Highlanders scored 24 seconds later, with Luke Lacroix and Jones assisting Eli Herrington. U-32’s Colton Warren closed out the first-period scoring with 45 seconds left.
A wild start to the second period included a goal by Dietz on a Lavit assist with 14:31 on the clock. Farr set up Nelson 63 seconds later before Warren countered with a goal for U-32 a minute afterwards Harwood wrapped up the victory when Lacroix and Jones each tallied one goal and one assist in the final period. Herrington notched assists on both goals.
Highlanders goalie Alex McCabe made 23 saves, while U-32’s Angus Kurts stopped 19 shots. U-32 (0-3-1) will host Woodstock at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. Harwood (2-1) will travel to play Mount Mansfield the same day at 7:15 p.m.
Lyndon 5, Spaulding 4
BARRE — Alex Giroux tucked away the game-winning goal with 1:25 left in the final period during Wednesday’s back-and-forth battle.
The Crimson Tide pulled ahead seven seconds into the first period when Cam Thayer assisted Cam Burke after the opening faceoff. The Vikings equalized when Alex Giroux assisted Ben West. Evan Peloquin set up Burke for another goal before Lyndon’s Logan Cross tied things up at 2-2 on assists by Alex Giroux and Jason Richmann. Jonathan Giroux scored on a Griffin Goodhue assist to kick off the second-period scoring for a 3-2 Lyndon lead. Spaulding’s Garret Cameron knotted things up at 3-3 on a Carel Paquin assist. Logan Cross assisted Alex Giroux to make it 4-3 before Ashton Dill netted an equalizing goal for the Tide, setting the stage for Alex Giroux’s late-game heroics.
Spaulding (0-2-1) will travel to play Essex at 5 p.m. Saturday. Lyndon (3-0-1) will visit Missisquoi the same day for an 8 p.m. game.
Stowe-Peoples 6,
Missisquoi 5
HIGHGATE – The Raiders and Wolves kept their unbeaten record intact by the skin of their teeth after recording the game-winner in overtime Wednesday to deny the Thunderbirds.
Stowe-Peoples was hot out of the gate and enjoyed a 3-0 lead after the first period. But MVU was not about to go down quietly, responding with four second-period goals to knot things up at 4-4. “I was very impressed with MVU’s forechecking,” Stowe-PA coach Jon Grace said. “They came out with all cylinders firing in the second. They would not be denied and it was a perfect storm. We weren’t ready for it. We were lackadaisical and that ultimately is on me. Our defensive zone coverage needs to be better. We are running around too much. This was a good gut check for us.”
Sam Stutz buried his first career goal for a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, with Alex Bucklin and Cooper Shove notching assists. Max King doubled the lead two minutes later on feeds from Aaron Lepikko and Brandon Allen. Another assist by Allen set up Ashton Tibbits for a 3-0 advantage to close out the opening period.
The Raiders and Wolves extended their lead to 4-0 when Noah Brown set up Cooper Shove with 13:16 left in the second period. That proved to be a wake-up call for the Thunderbirds, who clamed down defensively and sprung to life on offense to pull even.
Maddux Gagne assisted MVU teammate AJ Dennett with 9:54 left in the middle period and then Maddux Gagne scored a minute later on assists by Dennett and Nick Bessette. A goal 78 seconds afterwards by Gagne closed the gap to 4-3, with Dennett and Carter White tallying assists. Missisquoi’s Beau Reynolds scored clutch goal with five seconds left in the middle period, thanks to a Ryan Laroche assist. towe-Peoples regained the lead when Tibbits assisted Shove with 12:51 left in the third period. Laroche connected to Dennett for another game-tying goal with 38 seconds left in regulation, resulting in overtime. Shove had the final word with 1:30 left in the extra period, beating MVU goalie Ethan Stefaniak (38 saves) on an unassisted effort.
“Cooper Shove put the team on his back late in the game,” Grace said. “When things get rough for our team, he just bears down and works harder. His actions speak for him. He is a perfect example of leadership and earned respect. His game-winning goal in overtime was an absolute cannon from the boards on the blue line. I haven’t seen a shot like that in high school hockey for quite some time. He must have done his summer homework and been shooting pucks in his driveway or in the basement all summer. Practicing deliberately pays off.”
Stowe-Peoples netminder Liam Newhouse turned aside 39 shots. The Raiders and Wolves (4-0-1) will host Milton at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Missisuoi (0-3) will host Lyndon the same day at 8 p.m.
“We will continue to work on the things that will get us where we need to be in March,” Grace said. “All things considered, I feel fortunate to take home the win tonight. We stole one from MVU.”
