2021 High School Boys Basketball Playoff Preview
By BEN KAUFMANN
County Courier
Division I
No. 9 BFA-St. Albans (3-5): Playdown at No. 8 Brattleboro, Tuesday 3/16 at 5:30 PM
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down year for the Bobwhites and the last down was costly. A surprising last-second loss at Enosburg, coupled with a Brattleboro win over Mt. Anthony, means BFA will take a long road trip to play the Colonels to open the postseason. If BFA can pull off the small upset there, its reward is a quarterfinal trip to No. 1 Rice. BFA has a lot of talent and a lot of youth, so expectations will be higher next year but for now let’s just say that a first semifinal trip since 1996 is probably off the table.
There simply wasn’t enough time this season for the Bobwhites to figure out a way to fill the scoring void left with the graduations of Taylor Yates and Kam Dunsmore. BFA graduates some more key pieces this year but will return a lot of firepower next season. Given a full slate of games, BFA staying home for the first round of the next postseason is a safe bet. The late-season emergence of JV-callup Seth Richards was a pleasant surprise for BFA and a frontcourt based around Richards, Thomas Demar and Justin Brown along with a backcourt helmed by Noah Earl and Charlie Yates should be cause for alarm among the rest of the Lake League in 2021-22.
Division II
No. 4 Milton (5-1): Hosts playdown vs. No. 13 Mt. Abraham, Wednesday 3/17 at 6:00 PM
The most entertaining team in our area is in fine position to make a lot of noise in the Division II playoffs. Whether its the otherworldly scoring ability of Kyle Brown, the dunks and gaudy rebound/assist numbers of Colin Mathis, the quiet “He scored HOW MANY points?” genius of Brandon Dallas Jr., or the surprising multitude of effective role players, you don’t want to underestimate Milton. A one-point loss to Winooski is the only blemish on the Yellow Jacket’s record and we’re comfortable calling that game an aberration.
Like BFA-St. Albans this year, a last-day loss at Enosburg cost Milton in the standings last year and led to a quarterfinal trip to Fair Haven which Milton would have preferred to avoid. This year, Milton did just fine in securing the No. 4 seed – a win in the Winooski game, at best, could have pushed MHS to No. 3 and a potential semifinal at undefeated Montpelier instead of the potential semifinal at undefeated North Country it currently faces. The possibility of another quarterfinal against No. 5 Fair Haven looms, but this time it would take place in Milton. The quest for a title begins against a Mt. Abraham team Milton held off and beat by 10 a couple of weeks ago. When Milton is in sync, no one in Division II should be favored over them.
Missisquoi (4-3): Season cancelled
MVU didn’t take its decision to cancel all sports and activities lightly. While it had to be done, everyone knows just how brutal the timing was for winter athletes. It stings heavily for the seniors on MVU’s hockey teams and this boys’ basketball team, each was within reason to call itself a title contender. If there’s one consolation, it’s that Missisquoi ended its season with a buzzer-beater win over Mt. Abraham – a way few teams ever get to finish a year. Mostly though, this is just a bummer for Matt Walker’s talented, senior-heavy team. The Thunderbirds had picked up some key wins, played Division I BFA-St. Albans hard and were set for a real test of playoff readiness at Milton on Saturday until Friday’s shocking announcement.
In hindsight, coach Walker’s decision to use injured senior Matthew Curtis as much as possible once Curtis got medical clearance was a blessing. Walker knew the uncertainties around this season and made sure to get Curtis the minutes he’d earned at the end of his gritty career. We don’t know if Curtis, Gabe Unwin and Patrick Walker, along with senior classmates Sean Power, Caleb Johnston and Cole Boutah would have capped their career with a Division II title, but it was certainly in the realm of the possible.
Division III
No. 7 Enosburg (4-4): Hosts playdown vs. No. 10 Peoples Academy, Wednesday 3/17 at 6:00 PM
We may have to just start using copy/paste for our playoff previews for Chad Lovelette’s Hornet program. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “Enosburg fights above its weight class all season, takes a few hits and has a so-so record, picks up a surprising win over a Division I or II team to head into the postseason on a roll.” Different season, same formula.
Last year, Enosburg rode the wave of a win over Milton into the postseason, won a thrilling quarterfinal over Williamstown then toppled No. 1 Hazen in the semifinals before losing in the championship round. This year, Saturday’s win over BFA-St. Albans could provide a similar catapult. I can assure you Enosburg doesn’t think of itself as a No. 7 seed and has every intention to return to the championship game this year. If you want to say they can’t do it, that would be a mistake.
Owen McKinstry has a knack for late-game heroics, Devyn Gleason can score a lot of points in a hurry, and no team is going to outwork a Lovelette squad. If the Hornets can get past Peoples in the playdown round, a No. 2 Hazen team with LOTS of motivation should be waiting in the quarterfinals. However this postseason shakes out, Enosburg will graduate just two seniors so we’ll go ahead and save this preview to insert here next season.
No. 14 BFA Fairfax (2-5): Playdown at No. 3 Bellows Falls, Wednesday 3/17 at 6:00 PM
It’s a tough draw for a Fairfax team which would have really benefitted from a longer season. The kind of bad luck which leads to three out of five losses coming by fewer than nine points usually evens out in a 20-game season, but the Bullets somehow crammed all of its narrow losses and two games against Division IV powerhouse Danville into this seven-game season.
When we saw Fairfax this season, there was plenty of heart and effort, it just looked like the group was one or two pieces from being a title contender. If there’s going to be a big first-round upset in Vermont, and there usually is one somewhere, don’t be shocked if this Bullet team provides it. Bellows Falls is good, and they’ve attained the No. 3 seed despite playing a tough schedule, but BFA has a lot of experience and won’t be rattled. Keep in mind that they’re a few bounces away from being 5-2 and it’ll seem less unlikely when Owen Demar, Carl Bruso and Isaac Decker make things interesting on Wednesday night.
Division IV
No. 11 Richford (1-8): Playdown at No. 6 Twin Valley, Wednesday 3/17 at 6:00 PM
Just like the Richford girls’ program this season, the Falcons don’t have a single senior on the roster and this campaign was always about building toward next season. Richford’s young squad improved as the year went on and should be plenty excited about the seasons to come. No team in our area plays a harder relative schedule: eight of Richford’s nine games came against teams in higher divisions (including a brutal back-to-back series with Enosburg and a season finale against Division III powerhouse Hazen). For the record, Richford beat the only other Division IV team it played all season, a 60-55 triumph over Craftsbury in the season’s penultimate game.
Juniors Ben Greenwood and Jacob Clawson will be back next year along with freshman standouts Carter Blaney and Will Steinhour. The Falcons tried to lean a bit much on outside shooting this year, expect them to be more fearless in the paint next season with more experience and confidence. And for what it’s worth, a playdown game at No. 6 Twin Valley is winnable and would provide a nice springboard into next season – remember, Richford hasn’t lost to another Division IV team this year.
