Local Roundup: Newport Girls Stress Sunapee

Sunapee — The Newport High girls basketball team forced Sunapee, undefeated in NHIAA Division IV, to face its own mortality on Monday night at Sherburne Gym. Although the Lakers found their groove in the second half, leading to a 65-47 victory, it wasn’t the way head coach Tim LaTorra had drawn it up.

“They just went off,” LaTorra said. “We weren’t transitioning back on defense very well. They got some open shots, and they knocked them down. The hoop looked like the size of the ocean. They could not miss.”

Newport trailed by nine points after the first quarter, but stormed back with 17 points in the second to cut the deficit to only three at halftime.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Newport coach Ross Dole said. “They put up a really good fight.”

Freshman Alyssa Burr led the Tigers with 16 points.

LaTorra said Newport’s challenge turned into a positive for the Lakers, a chance to refocus. Sunapee (14-0) outscored the Tigers, 33-18, in the second half. Sydney Clark led the way with 19 points, 11 in the second half. Katie Frederick scored 15, and Mary Grzanna knocked down 12.

The Lakers travel up the road to Mount Royal on Wednesday. Newport (8-9 overall, 6-8 league) travels to Mascoma today.

Mount Royal 51, Pittsfield 34

Pittsfield, n.h. — Alexis Matte showed no signs of the ankle injury that held her back last week, dropping 21 points as the Knights got back to .500 before a tough stretch of games ahead of the NHIAA Division IV playoffs.

Sophie LaRose netted 12 points and Marylin LaRose and Jacinta Hogan each added six. Mount Royal stormed out of the gate with a 14-4 lead after the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Knights (7-7) host undefeated Sunapee on Wednesday.

Boys Basketball

Thetford 58, Lamoille 53

Thetford — The Panthers fought off a resurgent fourth quarter by the Lancers and hit all-important free throws late for Thetford’s third win of the season.

“They came in (to the fourth quarter) with pressure and changed up their defense and forced us to turn the ball over,” Gray said. “We just fought back and kept fighting.”

Thetford took a 42-30 lead into the fourth before Lamoille launched its counterattack, taking a lead three minutes into the quarter. The Panthers kept pace until a 3-pointer from Nick Moses pushed Thetford over the edge and late free throws from Connor Brown sealed the deal.

Dylan Thorburn led the Panthers offense with 22 points. Brown and Moses netted 10 each and Owen Deffner knocked down eight. Thetford (3-11) hosts Lyndon today.

South Royalton 84, Rochester 55

Rochester, Vt. — Nicholas Howe netted 40 points, outpacing Rochester’s Troy Walker to help the Royals improve to 13-3.

Walker finished the game with 32 points. The Rockets outscored South Royalton, 21-18, in the second quarter, but couldn’t keep up in the second half.

Forrest Pellerin had 12 points and Dalton McDougall and Stephen Paige each had nine. South Royalton hosts Rivendell on Wednesday.

Sharon 53, MVCS 18

Quechee — Mid Vermont Christian couldn’t make open shots and easy layups as the Eagles ran out of gas, playing their third game in four days.

“A lot of it was we just couldn’t hit shots tonights,” Mid Vermont head coach Mike O’Leary said. “We were missing layups and open looks. It was one of those tough shooting nights.”

Sam Knoerlein and Harvey Kelley had 18 points each for the Phoenix, who snapped a two-game skid. Cordell Benjamin knocked down eight. Josh King led Mid Vermont with six points as the Eagles fell to 2-11.

Mid Vermont travels to Cabot on Friday. Sharon (8-6) travels to Whitcomb on Wednesday.

Newport 51, Sunapee 44

Newport — The Tigers jumped out to a 11-4 lead after the first quarter and never let go.

Ethan Houde led the Tigers with 16 points, including three 3-pointers. Brandon Sondrini added 13.

Nick Ducharme had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who went 0-for-2 from the free-throw line in the game. Newport (5-10) travels to Mascoma today. Sunapee (3-10) hosts Hinsdale on Thursday.

Proctor Academy 71, KUA 61

Meriden — Proctor outscored the Wildcats, 45-28, in the second half.

Kimball Union held a seven-point lead at the half, but Proctor answered with a 19-5 run in the third quarter that the Wildcats could not withstand. KUA cut the lead to three late in the fourth quarter but were unable to close the gap. The Wildcats travel to Bridgton on Saturday.

Brattleboro 68, Woodstock 58

Woodstock — Brattleboro’s Eli Lombardi and Ian Fulton-Black combined for 45 points as the Wasps fell to 6-8.

“Ultimately, I think it was rebounding,” Woodstock head coach Joel Carey said. “We gave them a couple more second shots than we should have.”

Jack Arthur led the Wasps with 17 points. Woodstock travels to Windsor on Friday.

Pittsfield 74, Mount Royal 45

Pittsfield, n.h. — Cam Darrah lit up the Knights with 33 points, including six 3-pointers, as Mount Royal fell to 5-9.

“They came out shooting lights out,” said Mount Royal head coach Matt McMenaman. “We came our really flat, dug a hole for ourselves and never really got out of it.”

Andrew Normandin finished with a game-high 14 points. Alex Normandin had 10 and Gus LaRose added eight. The Knights travel to Nute on Friday.

Girls Hockey

Lebanon-Stevens 9, Keene 2

West Lebanon — Grace Linsday led the Raiders offensively with three goals and two assists.

Halle Drew made seven saves. Isabella Harrison had two goals, two asissts, Erin White scored twice, Sage Ballard netted one and provided one helper and Kayleigh Treitsch netted her first varsity goal. Julia Tibbits had an assist. Freshmen Ella Lindsay and Mackayla O’Meara provided two assists each and Celia Barnett had a helper.

The key, Lebanon head coach Brad Shaw said, was keeping Keene’s Sophie Street in check. She only had a goal and one assist in the game. Lebanon (5-5) travels to the University of New Hampshire to play Oyster River-Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Nordic Skiing

Lebanon, Hanover Compete At Abenaki Skate Race

Wolfboro, n.h. — The Hanover boys and the Lebanon team each placed third in a freestyle cross country race at the Abenaki Ski Center.

Glen Passow led the Marauders, finishing in sixth place. Arturo Johnson finished eighth, and Daniel Bandler was 17th. Lebanon’s Jake Willeman finished in 19th place for the Raiders’ top result.

For the girls, Hanover’s Megan Smith finished in fourth. Lebanon’s Celia Barnett finished in 13th place, leading the Raiders.

Boys team scores: Kennett 394, Moultonboro 369, Hanover 280, Lebanon 258, Kingswood 255, Souhegan 91.

Girls team scores: Kennett 385.5, Kingswood 375, Lebanon 343, Moultonboro 341, Hanover 265.5, Con Val 171, Farmington 88.

Women’s Basketball

Hamilton NAC’s Top Rookie

New London — Colby-Sawyer College freshman Lexie Hamilton has been named North Atlantic Conference women’s basketball rookie of the week for the third time this season.

Hamilton, from Sunapee, averaged 11 points, 6.5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.5 steals in a tough 1-1 week for the Chargers. Colby-Sawyer will play its final regular season home game on Wednesday against Johnson State.

Men’s Basketball

Boudreaux Co-Player of the Week

Hanover — Dartmouth College forward Evan Boudreaux was selected as the Ivy League co-player of the week with double-doubles in both games over the weekend. He shared the honor with Princeton’s Spencer Weisz, who played a big role in denying the Big Green a weekend sweep with 26 points on Friday night. This is Boudreaux’s first career player of the week award.

Boudreaux averaged 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds last week and while shooting 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the floor and 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from long distance. The Ivy League’s leading rebounder (9.4 rpg, 10.3 in Ivy games) has produced 10 double-doubles season, with six coming in the last eight contests, and his 16.5 points per game rank second in the Ancient Eight.

Dartmouth returns to action on the road this weekend, beginning with a game at defending the Ivy League champion, Yale, at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

Bean Named NAC Player and Rookie of the Week

New London — Colby-Sawyer College freshman Dana Bean has been named North Atlantic Conference men’s basketball player and rookie of the Week.

Bean, a Franklin, N.H. native who earned his third Rookie of the Week award and first Player of the Week honor, led the Chargers to a 2-0 week in conference action, as he averaged 21.5 points, nine rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, and one steal per game. The Chargers are in the thick of the postseason tournament scenario and will look to carry momentum into a busy week with games against Johnson State, University of Maine Farmington and Thomas.