HARDWICK – Lyndon Institute used a big second half from their star senior, beating the Hazen Union boys basketball team for a second consecutive season last week before the Wildcats regrouped against Spaulding to improve to 9-2.

photo by Vanessa Fournier
Ethan Lussier poured in 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to lead the Vikings to an impressive 60-49 road win over Hazen last Wednesday. Lussier erased a 26-23 halftime deficit with 12 third-quarter points and Lyndon Institute never looked back. Mateo Gomez nailed a trio of three-pointers on his way to a 10-point performance and Wyatt Mason chipped with eight in the win.
Brendan Moodie paced the Wildcats with 15 points, sophomore Jameson Lamarre continued his fine play with 14, Sully Laflam added 10, and Ethan Gann chipped in with seven points and six boards in the loss.
Lussier bit the Cats last season with a half court bomb at the buzzer, and Hazen head coach Aaron Hill is impressed with the senior guard, as well as what former Hazen Union student and current Viking head coach Blake Fletcher is building in Lyndonville.

photo by Vanessa Fournier
“Blake has taken over what Eli Appleton started last season and is really building a tough program over there. He’s doing a great job with that team, and I knew he’d do well. Lussier got us last year too, and he’s just a tough match-up for anyone in the league. They ran their motion offense well, forced us into a zone, and we got beat by one of the best players in the state. We were still in pretty good shape after the third quarter, but we just struggled to slow him down,” said Hill.
Jameson Lamarre continued his ascent on Friday night, dropping a career-high 24 against Spaulding to power the Wildcats to a 62-51 road win. Brendan Moodie (18 points) connected from long range four times and dished out eight assists and Laflam added 16 points and eight rebounds as the Cats took a 35-24 lead into the break and made it stick.
Alex Cepada led the Crimson Tide with 20 in the loss as they fell to 5-6.
Lamarre’s breakout season has earned him the nickname “Pistol” from his teammates, and his unique playstyle reminds Hill of a former great Wildcat scorer. “Jameson had a great game and if he keeps putting in the work, he has the potential to be an explosive scorer for us the next two years. He has a lot of flare to his game that is very unique. He’s capable of hitting threes as well as controlling his body really well around the basket. His game reminds me of Dimitri Vasiliadis a little bit, who was a really good scorer for this program. It was great to get a good win on the road against a much-improved Spaulding team. I like where our team is at right now. There are a lot of experienced teams at the top of our division, but overall, I think the playoffs are going to be wide open this season and I’ll take my chances with our group of kids.”
Hazen is ranked third in the current Division III standings. They’ll look to keep their momentum going this week when they welcome Lamoille to the Cat Den on Wednesday before traveling to Peoples Academy on Friday night.