HYDE PARK — Malcolm Ernst and Grayden Conger displayed nerves of steel during the final seconds to help Lamoille spoil a wild comeback attempt by U-32 during Wednesday’s 49-45 boys basketball victory.
Azariah Hungerford (13 points) and Jackson Hoag (11 points) led the way for the hosts, while Malcolm Ernst wound up with 10 points for coach Hosea Crittenden’s squad.
U-32 missed a handful of high-percentage looks in the paint during the first half and also committed a slew of costly turnovers, resulting in a 12-point halftime deficit. But the Raiders outscored the Lancers 17-7 in the third quarter and both teams swapped leads down the stretch before Lamoille prevailed at the end.
“We played good defense in the second half,” Raiders coach John Medose said. “We got a sense of urgency and we went for it. We got it to two points at the end of the third and I’m happy with the way the kids played in the second half. But we just couldn’t get it going in the first half. We weren’t fighting through screens and we weren’t playing with much spirit. We were missing shots and we were missing them badly: off-balance, too quick. We need to think about, ‘If we have a good look, let’s get a better one’ type of philosophy.”
Sawyer Mislak paced U-32 with 10 points. Caelan Zeilenga (nine points) and Michael Mallett (eight points) also rose to the occasion for a Raiders squad that has made a habit of keeping things close until the final minute.
“We missed a lot of shots at the rim in the first half and we haven’t been able to put four quarters together,” Medose said. “Even against Mount Anthony, we couldn’t put all four quarters together. Against Lyndon, we had two good quarters in the first half and didn’t play well at the end. On the ride home on the bus, we talked about how to string together four quarters of basketball. So that was tough. But to pull something positive out of it, we came back to tie it and we were up by one. We put ourselves in a position to win it at the end.”
Baskets by Conger and James Wallace gave Lamoille an early boost and then a steal and layup by Hoag prompted U-32 to call a timeout while trailing 6-0. Luke Page put the Raiders on the scoreboard and then Mislak made a pair of foul shots before nailing a 3-pointer. Hungerford used his low-post moves to score at the other end and then Ernst stretched the lead to 10-7 heading into the final three minutes of the first quarter. A strong move to the basket by Page and a mid-range jumper by Hoag led to a 12-9 Lamoille advantage after the opening eight minutes.
A long 3-pointer by Lamoille’s Colby Hall and a bucket by Page kicked off the second-quarter scoring and then Hungerford scored after a timeout. Isaac Schroeder punished the Raiders with a long-range shot that gave the Lancers a 20-11 cushion. Tobias Brown hit back-to-back shots for U-32 before Ernst scored a few seconds later for a 22-16 lead. Mislak picked up his third foul entering the final two minutes of the half and Hungerford dealt another blow to the visitors’ comeback hopes by connecting on a 3-pointer attempt. Hoag extended the lead to 28-16, giving the Lancers tons of momentum heading into the break.
Wallace scored in the paint during the first possession of the second half and then Zeilenga hit a 3-pointer for his first basket of the evening. Ernst responded almost immediately with a bucket for the hosts and then U-32’s Ed Sayers went 2 of 2 from the free-throw line. Zeilenga, Michael Mallett and Aiden Boyd scored in a span of 90 seconds, slicing the gap to 32-27 heading into the final three minutes of the third quarter. Mallett added a foul shot and a fast-break layup to make it a 32-30 game with a minute left on the clock. A fadeaway 3-pointer by Schroeder ended U-32’s run, but Mallett countered with a foul shot and then Zeilenga made two free throws to leave Lamoille with a 35-33 lead at the end of the quarter.
Conger scored a few seconds into the final quarter before Mislak answered with a 3-pointer. Mallett gave the Raiders their first lead of the evening, but it was short-lived because Ernst and Hungerford both made fadeaway jumpers. A Sayers putback was followed by a jump shot by Hoag and then Hungerford followed up his own miss and cashed in on the second-chance opportunity for a 45-40 lead with 4:26 remaining. After Hungerford fouled out, Mislak scored to make it a 45-42 contest with 2:35 left to play and then the Lancers caught a break when the Raiders were whistled for a traveling violation.
Boyd tied the game at 45-45, but Conger hit a fadeaway jumper with nine seconds remaining. U-32 failed to capitalize on a late attempt to tie the game and was forced to foul after the ensuing inbounds pass. Ernst went 2 of 2 from the foul line with 0.7 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“Our kids scrapped and we have talent in the gym,” Medose said. “We just have to link four quarters together. I don’t know if it’s focus in practice or focus in games, but we’re struggling with that. When we finally string four quarters together, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
U-32 (3-3) will travel to play Montpelier at 7 p.m. Friday. Lamoille (3-3) will host Spaulding the same night.
“The game was officiated really well and they let us play,” Medose said. “It was physical and Hosea does a great job of getting them ready to play: They were gritty. We were bummed after fighting back and losing a close one like this. It really stings. But at least we’re getting battle-tested. We get to play these teams again and hopefully we can build on this moving forward. And we have Montpelier on Friday night, so that won’t be easy.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
Harwood 66, North Country 64
NEWPORT — Clutch scoring in overtime by Tucker Buffum propelled the Highlanders to Wednesday’s overtime victory over a Falcons squad that’s advanced to the Barre Aud the past four years.
Harwood led 25-24 entering halftime and carried a 42-34 advantage into the fourth quarter, but North Country rallied to even things up at the end of regulation.
“We had a chance to win in regular time but were not able to hit the shot,” Harwood coach Jay Bellows said. “In overtime it was a really good back-and-forth game between the two teams.”
The Falcons threatened to complete the impressive comeback when Haiden Chilafoux (25 points) made two key buckets in overtime, while teammates Brayden Pepin (18 points) and Watson Lafoon hit 3-pointers. Tobey Bellows made a 3 at the other end to keep Harwood in the hunt and Buffum also made a long-range shot before scoring the game-winning basket with a coast-to-coast effort.
“Everybody came together and showed composure at the end of the game,” coach Bellows said. “I thought we did a really good job of dictating play, especially in overtime. North Country hit a 3, and then Tucker answered with a 3. And they hit another 3, but we hit another one to get it back to even. With about 14 seconds left Tobey was double-teamed, but he stayed calm and got the ball to Tucker. And Tucker went basically the full length of the floor and scored. And then North Country missed a shot at the end. So I was really proud of how we played under control and it wasn’t hectic or chaotic.”
Buffum finished with 25 points and was supported by 16-point efforts from both Bellows and Steele Nelson. Bellows added 10 assists and seven boards, while Nelson grabbed 10 rebounds. Buffum (eight rebounds), Josh McHugh (eight rebounds) and Teighen Fils-Aime (six rebounds) were also weapons on the glass in the winning effort.
North Country (5-2) has finished runner-up in Division II during two of the past three years and will host Enosburg at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Harwood (5-2) will travel to play Lyndon the same evening.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a breakthrough win,” coach Bellows said. “I was talking to one of our other coaches and was saying how, as I look at us and our potential, this is a game that I’d like to say we should win. We started this game really sloppy with a ton of turnovers. I was happy we were able to keep it close. The first half was about us making silly mistakes, so it was huge for us to bring it back. This always is one of the toughest places to play and they’re such a well-coached team. And they’re always at the Aud, so it’s a great accomplishment to come up here and get a win. For us, it’s about getting better every game. And I know we have the ability to fulfil our potential.”
Danville 61, Twinfield-Cabot 44
MARSHFIELD — The Bears outscored the Trojans and Huskies 24-0 in the second quarter to set the tone for Wednesday’s victory over their crosstown rivals.
“In the second quarter we just disappeared,” Twinfield-Cabot coach Kris Bador said. “They turned up the tempo and turned up the defense. They scored on a lot of fast breaks and they also hit a couple 3’s.”
Andrew Joncas made six 3-pointers for the Bears and finished with 25 points. His team was in front 18-17 after the first quarter and led 56-33 entering the final eight minutes. Brayden Cushing and Meles Gouge scored 10 points apiece in the loss, while teammates Tej Stewart (eight points) and Sam McLane were also solid offensively.
“The gym was full tonight,” Bador said. “The kids know each other really well and some of them play baseball together and it was a great atmosphere. We stepped up in the second half, but you can’t take a quarter off against a good team like that. Eli and Sam Russell were both out due to flu symptoms, and Tej Stewart had a pulled hamstring and only played two minutes of the second half. So it’s been a difficult week. But Zephren Hebert, Jola Otten, Sam McLane, Dominic Hale and Meles Gouge really stepped up in the second half. Jola got his first varsity start tonight and he did a really good job and played point guard for us.”
Twinfield-Cabot (2-4) will travel to play Blue Mountain at 7 p.m. Friday. Danville (5-2) will travel to play Oxbow the same day.
Montpelier 64, Lyndon 42
LYNDON — A half-dozen Solons made considerable contributions to a well-rounded stat sheet while fueling their team’s fourth victory in a row Wednesday.
“We were able to change the game defensively: the way we were pressuring the ball and turning them over,” MHS coach Nick Foster said. “And it gave a lot of people different opportunities in transition.”
Carson Cody scored 21 points for MHS, which led 18-6 after the opening eight minutes. A 37-20 halftime lead turned into a 55-34 advantage after three quarters. Hayden Lilly (10 points) also reached double figures for the Solons, while teammate Carter Bruzzese finished with nine points, four assists and three steals.
“It was a perfect game for Hayden, being a transition game,” coach Foster said. “There were a lot of quick possessions for Lyndon and we were able to throw it ahead to him and he was able to score with an advantage. He’s really strong at getting to the rim and finishing.”
Montpelier also featured strong performances by Clayton Foster (six assists, five points, three steals), Atif Milak (14 rebounds, five points) and Kleo Bridge (eight points, three rebounds).
“We know Atif is going to rebound, but we can still do a better job helping him on the glass,” coach Foster said. “Our guards are defending really well and moving the ball offensively. And three or four of them can score 20 points in a game, but to see them with multiple steals and assists on a nightly basis is huge for us.”
The Vikings’ top scorers were Ethan Lussier (13 points) and Wyatt Mason (eight points). Lyndon entered the contest with two impressive victories under its belt after earning a 58-47 win over Spaulding and defeating U-32, 74-65.
“Especially when you haven’t seen them before and you’ve seen them put up a good result or two, we just needed to remain focused – and especially on the defensive end,” coach Foster said. “If we’re playing good defense, we should be able to put a game like that away.”
Montpelier (4-3) will host U-32 at 7 p.m. Friday. Lyndon (2-4) will host Harwood at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Stowe 51, Northfield 33
NORTHFIELD — Ben Sherman (23 points) stepped up Wednesday while guiding the Raiders to their first victory of the season.
Kane Knapp (21 points) and Zeke Aronson (eight points) paced the Marauders, who faced a 22-4 deficit after the first quarter and were behind 31 -22 entering halftime.
“We had a hard time handling their pressure early, but once we settled down we started getting some good looks,” Northfield coach Bill Gant said. “We talked at halftime about taking care of the ball and hitting the open player in the middle of their press. But we continued to turn the ball over — and that’s what plagued us all night. We will get better at handling the pressure as the season goes on.”
Stowe (1-3) will host Winooski at 6 p.m. Friday. Northfield (0-7) will travel to play Williamstown at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Hazen 48, Lake Region 44
ORLEANS — The Wildcats clawed back from a double-digit halftime deficit and snapped the Rangers’ three-game winning streak Wednesday.
Xavier Hill followed up his recent triple-double performance by powering Hazen with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Brendan Moodie (11 points, four assists, four steals) and Ryan Morrison (10 points, seven rebounds) were also sharp for the Wildcats, who were behind 33-21 entering the break.
“I am proud of our second-half effort tonight,” Hazen coach Aaron Hill said. “We had four players out with illness or injury. A few sick kids were playing and Ryan just got clearance to play this afternoon after being out with a separated shoulder for three weeks. It was a huge gut check for us to come back from being down 12 at the half. We battled through adversity and beat a good Lake Region team.”
Hazen (5-0) will travel to play Thetford at 7 p.m. Friday. Lake Region (5-2) will travel to play Missisquoi at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
BFA Fairfax 56, Williamstown 50
FAIRFAX — Sylas Meunier and Ryan Sheehan scored 16 points to guide the Bullets past the Blue Devils on Wednesday.
Williamstown’s top contributors were Evan Bailey (16 points, six rebounds, four assists), Colby Laggner (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Nick Mascitti (10 points, seven rebounds). The Division IV Blue Devils were behind 30-25 heading into halftime before tying things up at 48-48. A late run by D-III BFA wound up being the difference in the game.
“This was a battle of top-three teams in their respective divisions and it lived up to the hype,” Williamstown coach Adam Wheatley said.
BFA-Fairfax (6-1) will travel to play Richford at 7 p.m. Friday. Williamstown (4-3) will host Northfield at 5 p.m. Saturday.
