MARSHFIELD – The Twinfield-Cabot boys basketball team returned home from a grueling six game road stretch over the holiday break to pummel Blue Mountain last week, improving to 6-1.
Senior Tej Stewart poured in 27 points to lead the Trojans to a dominant 76-30 win over Blue Mountain last Thursday in their home opener. Fellow senior Eli Russell buried a pair of threes on his way to a 14-point night as Twinfield-Cabot took a 39-12 lead into the break and never looked back. Zepherin Hebert added 10 points and freshman Azeem Stewart chipped in with nine in the win. Brody Scott led the Bucks with 10 points as they fell to 0-5.
“It was great to finally play in front of Trojan Nation,” said head coach Kris Bador. “We’re continuing to work on a few wrinkles on both ends of the court and will get ready for a busy week against some tough ball clubs,”
For a second straight season Bador’s talented squad passed several tests over the Holiday Break, including an impressive win over divisional powerhouse Williamstown in the 3rd Annual Winter Solstice at the Barre Auditorium on January 2. Stewart and Russell scored 13 points apiece and Hebert and Sam McLane complimented with nine apiece to help down the Blue Devils 76-63. The Trojans drained seven field goals from long range and converted 15 free throws on the night to answer any runs from a Williamstown team that was a Division IV semifinalist last winter. Nick Mascitti paced the Blue Devils with 18 and Alex Clark added 14 in the loss. The Trojans followed that up the very next night with a hard-fought 56-46 road win over Division III Enosburg. Russell led the way with 13 points and Sam Churchill and Thomas Gouge provided the muscle inside against a physical Hornet team with nine points apiece.
The bounce-back wins were much needed for the Trojans after losing another heartbreaker to crosstown rival Danville 52-48 to end the year. Sebastian Eldred punished Twinfield-Cabot with 21 points, 13 boards and Alijah Andrews added 18 tough points in the paint. The defending Division IV champs have handed Twinfield-Cabot losses in five of their last six meetings, including knockout blows to their playoff runs the past two seasons. Bador’s Trojans are currently ranked second in the divisional standings behind undefeated West Rutland and will look to continue to build momentum for a highly anticipated rematch against the Bears on their home court at the end of the month.
“We survived a tough stretch of games on the road to start the season with a pair of back-to-backs and to be sitting at 6-1, we’ll take it. We were back in the lab all week to get ready for a tough Richford team that showed how talented they can be by knocking off Danville last week,” said Bador.
Twinfield-Cabot welcomed Richford to town on Tuesday and will stay at home for a Mountain League clash against Division III BFA-Fairfax on Thursday night. The Trojans will wrap up a four game homestand next Tuesday against Northfield.
