MARSHFIELD – The Twinfield-Cabot boys’ basketball team handled Craftsbury Academy (CA) last week before falling to Richford in another nailbiter, giving them four losses by a total of nine points this season.
Eli Russell and Sam Churchill led a second half charge to power the Trojans to a 62-41 home win over CA last Wednesday. With their super sophomore Tej Stewart still out with injury, Russell’s 12 points and Churchill’s 10-point, 14-rebound night helped jump start a sleepy first half that saw Twinfield-Cabot down 26-25 at the break.
Meles Gouge balanced out the offense with eight points and five assists, Brayden Cushing added nine points and eight rebounds, and Sam McLane chipped in with nine more points in the win.
Dylan Washer led the Chargers with 12 points in the loss.
“We have had huge minutes from guys like Sam Churchill, Sam McLane, Jola Otten, Zepherin Hebert, and Eli Russell the past couple of weeks. They are getting better with every game and I have to pinch myself sometimes, because they are only sophomores. Our program also wants to send out congratulations to Coach Hill on his 400-win, amazing,” said head coach Kris Bador.
Jerrick Jacobs scored a game-high 14 points, including the eventual game-winner to help Richford clip the Trojans on the road Friday night 40-38.
Twinfield-Cabot took an 18-10 lead into the break behind a 10 point, five-assist, and five-rebound night from Gouge and held a 27-25 edge after three quarters with 10 points and six rebounds from Cushing.
The Rockets caught fire early in the final period behind 11 points from Carter Blaney, securing a seven-point lead with five minutes to play.
A layup from Hebert and a pull up three from Sam Russell evened the score at 40-40 with a minute to play, before Jacobs converted late to steal the win.
Churchill and Dominick Hale combined for 17 rebounds in the loss.
Richford’s third straight win vaults them up to fifth in the current Division III standings, improving to 6-2 on the season.
It was the third loss of the season for Bador’s young squad in one possession games, but the first-year coach loves the grit of his team and believes they will be a force to be reckoned with once they get fully healthy.
“This team doesn’t back down from anyone, especially the names on the front of their opponent’s jersey, and I just love these guys. It always hurts to lose those close games, but the leadership from our upperclassmen is developing the trust and respect within our team, and it shows with the growth of our entire roster in a positive way. We are definitely battle tested and I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll be back to full strength very soon. We’re back to work this week and we’ll need Trojan Nation rocking this Friday when the defending Division III champs come to town!” said Bador.
Twinfield-Cabot was scheduled to travel to Northfield on Monday and will stay on the road to battle a tough Williamstown team on Wednesday. They wrap up a busy week by hosting a 5-3 Winooski squad on Friday night.
