HARDWICK – The Hazen Union boys basketball team fired a shot across the bow of Division III last week with a pair of impressive wins against Division II powerhouse Lamoille and two-time defending champion Thetford Academy on the road.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Jameson Lamarre’s buzzer-beating three-pointer completed a fourth quarter comeback, sending the Cat Den into a frenzy last Tuesday night as the Wildcats stunned the Lancers 54-52.
Hazen looked dead in the water in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter against a suffocating Lamoille defense, but consecutive three-pointers by Lincoln Hill and Lamarre, coupled with some troubles at the foul line by Lamoille, set the stage for an all-time ending. Down one with just under five seconds to play, Hill took the inbounds and handed off to Lamarre, who dribbled to his left across the top of the key. When Lamarre’s leaner from beyond the arc touched nothing but net as time expired, the packed house erupted and the visitors were left staring into space in disbelief.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Lamarre finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Hill added 14 points, Morgan Michaud nine and Sully Laflam chipped in with seven.
Ryan Clark paced the Lancers with 12 points and Jackson Hoag finished with 10 as they saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end. Lamoille (12-2) held on to their No. 2 spot in the current Division II standings behind undefeated Hartford.
There was no letdown for the Wildcats on Thursday night as they exercised some demons against division rival Thetford with an impressive 66-43 road win. Lamarre (23 points) and Hill (21) led the charge once again, sparking a 16-7 run to start the second half to carry a 46-36 lead into the fourth quarter. Lamarre added 10 rebounds and six assists to his impressive stat line and Hill continued as Hazen’s deep threat with five more threes. Michaud did the dirty work in the paint with eight points and 10 boards.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
The Wildcats enjoyed their best free-throw shooting performance of the season, converting on 17 of 22 attempts.
Conner Sloop led the Panthers with 14 points and Mitchell Parkman added nine as they fell to 8-5. Thetford has beaten the Wildcats in the last two Division III state title games.
“This was a big week and a huge confidence boost for the kids,” said head coach Aaron Hill. “Lamoille is such an athletic team at the guard position, and they can beat you up inside as well. Thetford is a very physical team too, but we did a great job of applying pressure on the ball in the second half. Our effort was great on their guards, and it disrupted their entry passes into the post. It was huge to get both of those wins and it really sets a positive mindset to keep working at finishing off the regular season strong,”
Hazen (11-3) was back home on Tuesday for a match-up with Montpelier before traveling to Newport to take on North Country on Thursday. They’ll welcome a Randolph team to the Cat Den next Tuesday that sits just ahead of the Wildcats in the top spot of the current Division III standings. All home games can be live-streamed on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us).
