WINOOSKI – The Twinfield-Cabot boys basketball team have been giant killers over a four-game winning streak the last two weeks but came up a single possession short of knocking off division III powerhouse Winooski, falling to 8-3 on the season.
Oliver Mathys-Vallerio poured in a game-high 23 points to help Winooski escape with a 67-65 home win over the Trojans on Friday night. The Spartans controlled the first half, taking a 29-22 lead into the break behind Omar Turnage and his 17 points. Twinfield-Cabot sped up their offense in the second half, cutting the lead to 45-39 with eight minutes to play.
Tej Stewart (18 points) and Eli Russell (14) combined for five threes to help the Trojans take a three-point lead late in the fourth. A 26-foot banker from Mathys-Vallerio with eight seconds to play gave the Spartans back the lead for good, and Twinfield-Cabot couldn’t capitalize on opportunities at the free throw line or at the rim to pull off an upset. Eli Russell’s long-distance heave at the buzzer went in and out.
Chris Baker chipped in with eight in the win, as Winooski earned their fifth win in six tries to move up to fifth in the current Division III standings. Zepherin Hebert (12 points) had another strong game for the Trojans in the loss. The Spartans went to the line 35 times, while Twinfield-Cabot missed seven of their 14 free throw attempts.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball well enough. We did a good job of getting the shots and opportunities we wanted but just missed an uncharacteristic number of layups and free throws. The guys did a great job of fighting back to take the lead against a good team. . . We just came up a little short in the end and that’s on me. We need to execute better, and I need to coach better. It was a loud crowd, an electric atmosphere and this young team embraced the challenge with no quit. There was zero panic in these guys at halftime. They just refocused and battled back. You love to see that in a young ball club, and I love coaching this team,” said head coach Kris Bador.
Bador’s young team have taken down divisional contenders Danville, Twin Valley and Williamstown this season in navigating a gauntlet of a schedule in the rugged Mountain League. They currently sit fourth in the division IV standings, with West Rutland leading the way at 12-1. Defending Division IV champion Grace Christian loom at No. 5 and will make the trip to Marshfield in two weeks. Bador relishes another chance to make his young team battle tested but refuses to let them look past their next opponent on the schedule.
“Danville and us have probably played the toughest schedules in the division, but that’s how you get your team playoff ready. We should have won this game this week but can’t win them all and you’re just going to have some ugly ones at times throughout a long season. We’ll learn a lot from this game and get mentally ready for Blue Mountain. That is our only focus,” said Bador.
The Trojans travel to Blue Mountain Friday and will return home for a match-up against Northfield next Monday.