NEWPORT – Jameson Lamarre continued his breakout junior campaign, leading the Hazen Union boys basketball team (12-3) to a road thumping of North Country last week, taking over the top seed in the current Division III standings.
Lamarre torched the Falcons for 22 points last Thursday in a 61-33 runaway Capital League win. The junior guard added nine rebounds and four assists to his impressive stat sheet, igniting a 19-5 run to end the first half, giving Hazen a 31- 13 lead at the break. North Country played the Wildcats even through the first eight minutes of the second half but Hazen ended the game on a 17-7 run behind 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists from senior Morgan Michaud. Lamarre leads the Wildcats in scoring this season with just under 20 points per game and his rise as a leader this winter was something head coach Aaron Hill and his coaching staff saw coming.
“For those of us who watched James throughout his young career, and especially in the off-season, this has not been a surprise. He has worked very hard on developing his game and is now growing into the player we all hoped he would become,” said Hill.
Senior Sully Laflam and junior Lincoln Hill chipped in with six points apiece and freshman Noah Foster knocked down a couple of big threes on his way to an impressive eight-point night. Scott Kingsley and Jackson Kilborn led North Country with eight points apiece as they fell to 3-13 on the season. Foster has been the leader of Adam Gann’s junior varsity team all season long and looked comfortable in the backcourt on a big stage for the Hill’s Wildcats.
“Noah has shown consistent development throughout the season and with the unfortunate injury to Jeter Demers, took advantage of the opportunity to really step up for us tonight. His excellent passing, along with his strong three-point shooting, makes him an important piece to our team as we head into the stretch run,” said Hill.
With seven consecutive wins and nine out of their last 10, Hazen leapfrogged Randolph for the No. 1 spot in the current Division III rankings. The Galloping Ghosts handled the Wildcats with a double-digit win last month in Randolph and made the trip to Hardwick earlier this week for a marquee match-up that could determine the top seed in the upcoming state tournament. Winooski (13-3) and Woodstock (12-3) round out the top four.
Hazen welcomed Randolph to the Cat Den Tuesday night. Lake Region comes to town on Thursday, Montpelier on Saturday afternoon and Hazen finishes off a four-game homestand with Spaulding next Monday on Senior Night. All home games can be live streamed on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us).
