MARSHFIELD – The Twinfield-Cabot boys basketball team delivered knockout blows to Richford and BFA-Fairfax last week on their home court, keeping them atop of the rugged Division IV standings at 8-1.
Senior point guard Eli Russell powered the Trojans to an 81-43 win over Richford with a game-high 26 points last Tuesday. Russell added four assists and three steals as the home team raced out to a 41-17 halftime lead and never looked back. Fellow senior Tej Stewart punished the Falcons with 11 points, 11 boards and eight assists in the win. Sam Mclane added eight points and six assists and Sam Churchill chipped in with seven points and six rebounds for the Trojans. Liam Farnsworth and Colton Kittell led Richford with 8 points apiece as they fell to 5-3 on the season.
“Richford was coming off a big win against Danville, so it was important for us to come out with more energy than them, and the guys did a great job of doing that. We’re fighting through some injuries right now but guys like Ben Monaco and Azeem Stewart have been tremendous coming off the bench for us,” said head coach Kris Bador.
“Sam McLane is playing the game with such a high IQ right now, and all of the things he is doing for this team don’t necessariy show up in the stat sheet. Losing to Danville a couple of weeks ago humbled this group. That program is always going to be well prepared under Jason Brigham and credit to them, they outplayed us. You’d rather lose that game early in the season, so coaches and players can use it as a teaching moment and hopefully get better from it,”
Russell and Stewart teamed up again to lead the Trojans to an 85-59 lopsided victory over BFA-Fairfax Thursday night. Russell poured in a season-high 31 points and added five assists as Twinfield-Cabot erased an early eight-point deficit to take a 48-30 lead into the break. Stewart complemented that with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Thomas Gouge added 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Zepherin Hebert chipped in with 11 points in the win. Kai Von Sitas led the Bullets with 18 points as they fell to 4-5. The Trojans held on to the No. 2 spot in the current Division IV standings behind an undefeated West Rutland (9-0) team that has yet to be tested.
“There are some really good teams in our division. We need to continue to put the work in as a team and as coaches to get better as we move towards March. The Mountain League is competitive and filled with teams that will make you battle tested for the state tournament. This is an unselfish team that is a blessing to coach. We are built on the defensive end, and our objective is to wear you down in the second half. When we couple that with good ball movement it’s fun to watch,” said Bador.
Twinfield-Cabot welcomed Northfield to town on Tuesday and hope to carry momentum on the road against an improved Oxbow team on Thursday.
