Boys Basketball Roundup March 10: MVU Wins at Last Second, Hornets Fall in OT, Falcons Top Bobwhites
STAFF REPORTS
Check back on this roundup Thursday morning for photo galleries from MVU vs. Mt. Abraham and BFA-St. Albans vs. North Country. Be sure to pick up the County Courier for a look at the past week in local sports!
Mt. Abraham: 45 @ Missisquoi: 47
Late-game heroics from Gabe Unwin and Patrick Walker, who sunk the game-winning shot with four seconds remaining, led Missisquoi back into the win column with a 47-45 triumph over Mt. Abraham on Wednesday.
Walker hit a three with a minute left to give MVU (4-3) a 44-43 lead and Unwin hit a free-throw soon after to extend that lead and turn a Mt. Abe (3-5) jumper at the other end into an equalizer instead of a go-ahead basket. Unwin (19) and Walker (18) combined for 37 points on the night, but it was a pair of unsung heroes who received credit for the victory from Missisquoi coach Matt Walker. Coach Walker sung the praises of Mason Noble and Cole Boutah following the narrow win. Noble was instrumental in keeping things calm on the floor as the game got tense late and Boutah assisted Walker’s late three and picked up the steal which led to Unwin’s vital free-throw.
Missisquoi, which trailed 28-22 at halftime but roared back to a 36-33 lead entering the fourth, was in big need of a win after consecutive losses to North Country and BFA-St. Albans. With some results still left unreported and one more game in the regular season, Missisquoi currently sits in the No. 9 spot in Division II. A win Saturday at Milton could shoot the Thunderbirds up enough to earn a home playoff game in the first round.
Sean Power added four points for MVU and Caleb Johnston, Matthew Curtis and Hayzen Luneau scored two points apiece. Henry Cogswell led the Eagles with 10 points.
Enosburg: 51 @ Vergennes: 59 (OT)
Enosburg battled to force overtime at Vergennes but was heavily outscored in the extra period and suffered a 59-51 loss to the Commodores.
Devyn Gleason’s 14 points paced Enosburg (3-4), which led Vergennes (2-4) 17-16 at halftime but trailed by six entering the final quarter. An 8/10 performance as a team from the foul line in the final quarter helped Enosburg crawl back and force the extra frame, but the Hornets mustered just five points to Vergennes’ 13 in overtime.
Shea Howrigan added nine points for the Hornets, including a late 3 to force overtime. Nathaniel Robtoy, Owen McKinstry and Ethan Hogaboom added seven points apiece, Daniel Antillon scored four and Gavin Combs finished with three. Enosburg concludes the regular season Saturday against Division I BFA-St. Albans before awaiting its placement in the Division III postseason tournament. Playoff pairings will be announced on Monday.
North Country: 42 @ BFA-St. Albans: 30
Points were hard to come by in St. Albans on Wednesday night but North Country managed to put enough on the board to escape with a 42-30 win over BFA-St. Albans and remain undefeated.
The Bobwhites (4-4) managed just 10 points in the second half, which was never going to be enough against a tough Falcon (7-0) team. Threes in the first half from Thomas Demar, Justin Brown and Case Ballard had BFA still alive and down just 26-20 at halftime. But even though the hosts held North Country to just 16 points in the second half, there simply wasn’t enough offense to pull the Falcons from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Ballard led the Bobwhites with nine points and Demar finished with six. Sophomore Seth Richards, who made his varsity debut in BFA’s last game, scored five points to give him 11 through his first two games at the top level. Brown and Collin Jolley each finished with three points and Noah Earl added two. Charlie Yates and Peter Jolley rounded out the BFA scoring with a point apiece.
Wednesday’s 30 points accounts for BFA’s lowest total of the season and they’ve topped 45 points just once through eight games. They’ll look to produce a strong offensive game at Enosburg in Saturday’s regular-season finale before playoff pairings are announced on Monday.
Milton: 65 @ Middlebury: 32
Milton bounced back from its only loss of the season with a commanding, 65-32 win at Middlebury on Wednesday.
Milton (5-1) exploded in the middle quarters against the Tigers (4-4), outscoring the hosts 32-9 in the second and third. The Yellow Jackets led 47-19 entering the fourth. Kyle Brown scored 15 points to go with four rebounds and four steals. Colin Mathis tallied 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals and Dan Moshovetis added 11 points. Adam Bilodeau chipped in six points, eight rebounds and four assists and Braeden Caragher added six points and a pair of rebounds. Brandon Dallas Jr. had four points and four rebounds, Zack Legget-Torre also scored four points and Mike McNeil finished with three points and two rebounds. Kayden Burke and Skylar Muldoon added two points apiece and Manolis Anemikos rounded out the Milton scoring with a point. Caden Button chipped in two assists and two steals and Hunter McClellan notched a steal.
Milton will look to end the season on a high note when it hosts Missisquoi on Saturday morning. The Thunderbirds will enter the contest on a high from Wednesday’s last-second win over Mt. Abraham and in major need of a win to have any hope of hosting a first-round playoff game. Milton, currently ranked sixth in Division II, could sneak into the top four with a win and some help. Regardless of playoff positioning, the Yellow Jackets will want to finish the season strong and build on the momentum gained Wednesday after a 62-61 loss to Winooski last week blemished its record.
