MARSHFIELD – Star seniors Eli Russell and Tej Stewart reached career milestones on the same night last week as they led their Twinfield-Cabot boys basketball team through a gauntlet of Oxbow, Williamstown and Richford in the final week of the regular season to clinch the top seed in the upcoming Division IV state tournament.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Russell buried five threes on his way to a 21-point night Monday as the Trojans earned a hard-fought victory over Oxbow at home 64-57. Azeem Stewart complemented with 15 points and fellow sophomore Omar Miksic-Knibb added 12 points and four steals in the win. Twinfield-Cabot took a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter and withstood a late charge from the Olympians, who finished up the regular season at 12-8. Jayden Huntoon led all scorers with 20.
Russell and Stewart achieved the rare feat of both reaching 1,000 career points on the same night on Thursday as the Trojans thumped Williamstown at home 82-61. Russell reached the milestone early in the first quarter with his sixth point of the night. Stewart was 15 away heading into Thursday and swished a free throw in the fourth quarter to join his back-court mate. Play was stopped each time, and both players were honored with game balls and banners with head coach Kris Bador and family members. Russell finished the night with 25 points and Stewart finished with 16. Nick Mascitti led the Blue Devils with 20 but it wasn’t enough to prevent a season series sweep as they fell to 14-6.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
“I want to give a huge shout-out to our communities for packing the house on Monday and Thursday. They helped us set the tone in those games against two really good teams and the support they gave Eli and Tej on their historic night was special. I expected nothing less from the best fans in the division and they got to watch two great young men who have been crucial in building this program into what it is today, reach career milestones,” said Bador.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
There was no let down on Saturday as the Trojans raced past Richford 55-35 on the road to cap off the regular season with their 16th straight win. Tej Stewart led the way with 16 points, fellow senior Zepherin Hebert added 14. Miksic-Knibb (nine points), Thomas Gouge (eight) and Sam McLane (eight) rounded out a balanced scoring attack for Twinfield-Cabot. Liam Farnsworth led the Falcons with 11 as they finished up the regular season at 12-8. The Trojans clinched their first No. 1 seed under Bador since he took over the program in 2023. His veteran club has posted an impressive 38-5 record the past two seasons and will be aiming to get back to the Barre Auditorium later this week for a second straight year. A game-winner in the closing seconds from Danville’s Kohl Guinard denied the Trojans from reaching the Final last March. The Bears went on to claim the Division IV state title.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
“It was an amazing week! We are getting healthy and the boys went out and got three big wins to lock up the top seed. The race back to the Aud is on and our coaching staff will be scouting and putting together game plans for two potential home games this week. You can throw out the records; everyone is back to 0-0. The body of work these young men have put in is just incredible. It’s a long season with a lot of ups and downs but everyone stepped up their game throughout the year with a next man up mentality. We look forward to Trojan Nation coming out to pack the gym again and this place should be rocking this week!” said Bador.
Twinfield-Cabot (19-1) welcomed in the winner of the play-in game between Long Trail and Sharon Academy on Tuesday night. If they advance, they will host the winner of Richford and Arlington on Friday night with a trip to Barre on the line.
