ORLEANS – The Hazen Union boys basketball team improved to 7-3 last week with a couple of big Capital League wins over Lake Region and Harwood, moving them up to the No. 3 spot in the current Division III standings.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Lincoln Hill poured in a career-high 26 points to power the Wildcats to a 67-37 road win over Lake Region last Tuesday. The junior guard caught fire from long range, draining six three-pointers to help give Hazen a 33-15 lead heading into the break. Jameson Lamarre complimented with 14 points for Hazen, Morgan Michaud added seven points and seven rebounds and Sully Laflam dished out seven assists. Keagan Tartaglio led the Rangers with 18 points and Landon Richards chipped in with nine in the loss.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Lamarre took over on Thursday night, dropping 22 points to lead Hazen to an impressive 59-37 home win over Harwood. He added six assists and Michaud did the dirty work inside with eight points and 10 boards to give the visitors a 32-13 halftime lead. Hill connected on two more threes to score 14 points and Laflam added 11 points and seven boards in the win. Steele Nelson led the Highlanders with 13 points as they fell to 6-3 on the season.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Head coach Aaron Hill and his experienced squad have struggled on the boards at times this season as well as finding a consistent three-point shooter. The Wildcats crash the boards collectively against bigger teams and Hill emerging as a reliable deep threat has the potential to open up the offense for Hazen in the second half of the season.
“I think we are starting to grow into the team we want to be by season’s end and I like the direction we are headed in. I like the versatility of this group, which allows us to play different styles. I also love how unselfish they all are,” said Hill.
The Wildcats will wrap up their three-game series with Peoples Academy (PA) later this week on Hill’s fourth consecutive year honoring past greats who paved the way on Hardwick Academy (HA) Night. His team will once again don the Purple and Gold uniforms of the Terriers in what has become an annual tradition.
“We encourage everyone to come to the game and wear purple and gold. The alumni association will also be there giving out purple and gold pom poms to fans. We have added HA championship and runner-up team plaques to our gym hallway this year so people can see the team pictures and scores from HA’s most successful teams,” said Hill.
Hazen was scheduled to travel to a much-improved Lyndon Institute team on Tuesday before matching up against PA for a third time this season at the Cat Den on Thursday night. All home games can live streamed on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us).
