BARRE – Behind outstanding senior play, the Hazen Union boys basketball team conquered third seeded Thetford Academy and top seeded Randolph over the weekend to reclaim the Division III crown.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Sully Laflam, Morgan Michaud and Ethan Gann ended their stellar high school careers at Hazen in style on Saturday night, leading the charge in a 66-49 epic takedown of No. 1 Randolph in front of a raucous crowd at the Barre Auditorium. Laflam poured in a season-high 22 points, including 18 in the second half to help turn a two-point deficit at half into a runaway down the stretch. Michaud (16 points, eight rebounds and four steals) and Gann (seven rebounds) did anything and everything necessary to combat the distinct size advantage the Ghosts had with pure effort and grit.
“Randolph is a big and physical team. They had handled us twice this season, and it was trending that way again through the first 1 ½ quarters. Our seniors played so much bigger than what they are physically and with so much heart and toughness. Some of our former players messaged me after the game referencing Hazen DNA in a win like that, and I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” said head coach Aaron Hill.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Randolph’s physicality was on full display in the first 14 minutes of the game, twice having the ball with a chance to increase their lead to double digits. With the Wildcats struggling from the field and the free throw line (3-12) in the first half, senior grit kept them afloat, but Lincoln Hill’s (16 points and three steals) sharpshooting turned the game on its head. The talented junior challenged Randolph’s towering center Eli Messier to beat the first half buzzer, giving him 6 straight points in the final two minutes to cut the lead to 28-26. Hill picked right up where he left off in the third quarter, scoring five straight points for Hazen, sending a sea of red into a frenzy with Hazen’s first lead of the game.
“We were struggling to score in any form, and the game was teetering there for us in the final minutes of the first half. Fortunately, we got some stops and did a good job executing our half-court trap to create some opportunities. Lincoln’s scoring was huge at exactly the right time. Instead of going into the locker room at the half a dejected basketball team, we were upbeat and optimistic. He then continued it into the second half and really set the tone the rest of the way for Sully and Morgan to carry it on,” said Hill.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
The Wildcats blitzed the top-seeded Ghosts 40-21 in the second half to end a three-year run of state runner-up finishes. The last two have come to Thetford Academy, a demon the Wildcats were forced to face once again two nights earlier at the Aud. Michaud’s career-high 26 points and junior Jameson Lamarre’s 22 led the way to an emphatic 69-52 semifinal win over the Panthers. Hill (15 points) added three more triples for the Wildcats as they survived six long-balls and 24 points from Thetford’s Braxton Adams. Coach Hill’s Wildcats navigated a brutal Capital League schedule before taking down a Peoples Academy team in the quarterfinals that had won five straight, solving two-time defending champion Thetford before finishing off a top-seeded Randolph team that was looking to end a 30-year state title drought. Saturday was the seventh state championship for Hill at Hazen Union and quietly (somehow) No. 450 in his legendary coaching career. Legendary descriptors are usually applied as you age out but Hill is on the right side of 50 still in his 27th year on the sidelines. He was much more interested in talking about his seniors and his team getting the opportunity to cut down the nets after a grueling season.
“This year’s team was all about mental toughness and resolve. They cleared so many obstacles that can get in the way of team’s focus whether it be rivalries like Peoples four times in one season, or three straight losses in the Finals or overcoming a nemesis like Thetford. I’m just so proud and happy for those kids. Our seniors get the ending that they deserved and earned, and they’ll be missed for sure. We also have such a talented group coming back led by Jameson and Lincoln. They really took their games to a whole other level this season and they’ll be surrounded by a great returning group led by Jeter Demers, Kobe Smith and Noah Foster who now take the baton from our seniors to carry on that unselfish foundation that those seniors established here,” said Hill.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Another magical championship run by Hill’s program will also be remembered in 2026 by the word “family.” Alongside his brother and longtime assistant coach Travis Hill (1996 champion as a player), Hill has now witnessed his son Carter and Travis’ sons Xavier and Lincoln capture state titles as Hazen Union Wildcats. He also had his daughter and former Lady Cat great Letty Hill on the bench this season for the first time during a championship run. Junior varsity coach Adam Gann and Hazen alum Kevin Doyon were also key contributors on the coaching staff, along with Evans Bouchard. The former Craftsbury Academy head coach was given the game ball by Hill after the game, celebrating his first state title after 37 years in the profession.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
“The family dynamic in our program is a pretty special thing to me. Travis and the whole staff put in a ton of hours throughout the year, and I just feel really fortunate to get to go through it with them. We push each other and getting to enjoy a championship together at the end with the players just makes it that much more sweeter,” said Hill.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
