NORTHFIELD – The Twinfield-Cabot boys basketball team steamrolled their way to wins over Northfield, BFA-Fairfax, and Winooski last week, running the table on their regular season the last three weeks to secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Division IV playoffs with a 17-3 record.
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Eli Russell punished Northfield with 20 points and Zepherin Hebert added 17 as the Trojans pounced early and often on their way to a 68-32 road win last Wednesday. Tej Stewart chipped in with 11 as Twinfield-Cabot raced out to a 39-13 lead at the break. Kane Knapp led the Marauders with 11 in the loss.
“Northfield is a very young team that has definitely gotten better throughout the season. I was very pleased with our team’s focus and effort on the road,” said head coach Kris Bador.
Russell kept the hot hand on Friday night, pouring in 20 more as the Trojans used a big second half to pull away from BFA-Fairfax in a 58-30 road win. Stewart was solid again with 18 points in limited action and freshman Omar Miksic-Knibb chipped in with 10. Rylan Muehl led the Bullets with seven in the loss as they wrapped up their regular season at 8-12.
“The guys did a great job executing our 3-2 extended zone to keep their leading scorer Ryan Shaheen in check. Big games from Tej, Eli, and Omar set the tone quick, allowing us to get our starters some much needed rest heading into our matchup with Winooski,” said Bador.
Bador’s squad exacted some revenge on a two-point road loss to Winooski last month with an absolute clinic, blitzing the 2022 Division III state champs at home Saturday 63-37. Miksic-Knibb continued to play well beyond his years with an 18-point performance, while leading a defensive effort that held the Spartans to 13 first half points. Stewart complimented with 16 points of his own, Russell added 12, and Hebert chipped in with 10. Jacoby Hammitt led Winooski with 14 and top scoring threat Omar Turnage was held to just eight. The Spartans (13-7) will head into the Division III playoffs as the sixth seed.
“I was a little worried the boys may be a little tired coming out of the gate, but in the locker room before the game they were quiet, focused, and looked like they were on a mission. Eli broke them down in the first quarter and set the tone for the rest of the game. Winooski is a very talented team dealing with some key injuries, but the name on the front of their jerseys didn’t make our young team play nervous at all. I’m very proud of the growth of this group, spurred by leadership from my two captains Eli and Tej. Omar isn’t a freshman anymore in his mind, Zepherin, Thomas Gouge, and Sam McLane have proven to be the correct mixture for our style of play. They truly play for the name on the front of the jersey. Our bench pushes these guys every night in practice and the boys continue to respond on game nights. If I didn’t have these kids giving that kind of effort in practice, we wouldn’t be as successful as we have been. We’re going to get back into the gym this week as we prepare for some unfinished business. It’s the second season where you win or go home. We will continue to enjoy this ride one game at a time,” said Bador.
West Rutland (18-2) and Twinfield-Cabot finished the season with same index point rating at the top of the division, but the Golden Horde earned the top seed due to strength of schedule. Danville, Williamstown, and Twin Valley round out the top five, with defending champion Grace Christian coming in at No. 7. The Trojans began their quest to get back to the Barre Auditorium for the first time in eight years with a first-round match-up against No. 15 Sharon Academy on Tuesday. If they advance, they will host the winner of Grace Christian vs Blue Mountain in a quarterfinal match-up on Friday night in Marshfield.
