Local Roundup: TSA Boys Hold Off South Royalton

South Royalton — The host South Royalton High boys basketball team nearly pulled off an upset of unbeaten Sharon Academy, falling 41-39 to the visiting Phoenix on Friday night.

The Royals led for most of the game, building a 22-16 lead at halftime and a 30-20 edge at one point in the third quarter. Sharon finally found its mark as the game wore on, closing on a 21-9 run to steal the victory and remain unbeaten at 9-0.

Fisher Kelley hit a pair of 3-pointers to spark the late Sharon rally and finished with 14 points. Sam Knoerlein added 12, and Austin Gaudette had 10 points.

“Our game plan was very, very simple,” South Royalton coach Pete Howe said “We were deliberate on offense and we tried to shut down Knoerlein. We stayed with our plan, and we made it 30 minutes. But a good team like Sharon is going to impose its will, and that’s what they did late.”

Troy Walker had 18 points to pace SoRo (1-5). Connor Lambert added 10 points.

“I’m really proud of my boys; they really came together as a unit tonight. For us, it’s a major victory even though we lost on the scoreboard. We’re going to get there,” Howe added.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday. Sharon hosts Craftsbury, and South Royalton hosts Mid Vermont Christian.

Rivendell 45Blue Mountain 31

Wells River, Vt. — Noah Martel helped the Raptors (4-6) get past the Bucks’ slowdown tactics to keep up Rivendell’s recent run of good form.

Martel scored eight of his 14 points in the second half as the Raptors picked up the pace after a flat first half. A 17-8 second quarter helped the visitors erase a first-quarter deficit, but it wasn’t until the second half that Rivendell found its game.

“We knew they would stall the basketball, and that’s what they tried to do, keep the score down,” Rivendell coach Jeff Huntington said. “The second half, we had a little more energy. We were able to get better on defense, and that got us some easy transition baskets.”

Owen Pelletier led Rivendell with 15 points. Clay Fennimore had 15 points and Davis Parker finished with 14 for BMU.

Rivendell, which has won four of its last five after an 0-5 start, hosts Whitcomb-Rochester on Tuesday.

Lebanon 58Hollis Brookline 43

Lebanon — The Raiders (6-2, 7-4) used four 3-pointers from Wade Rainey to loosen up the Cavaliers en route to an NHIAA Division II victory.

Rainey hit all of his trifectas in the first half and matched his season high of 14 points in helping Lebanon build a 30-22 lead at the break. Matt Eylander and Chris Nulty, two of the Raiders’ taller players, shut down HB scorers Matt Dowling and Max Simco; Nulty also had a game-high 18 points, and Eylander contributed 13.

Lebanon heads to Bow on Friday.

Sunapee 62, Gorham 18

Gorham, n.h. — Eleven Lakers hit the hardwood and 10 hit the scoresheet as the Lakers (6-2, 7-4) had little difficulty with the Huskies.

Sunapee owned a 29-4 halftime lead, shutting out their hosts in the second period. Zach Belisle led the way for the Lakers with 12 points, followed by nine from Sean Shisko and eight from Kevin Nolan.

Sunapee continues a five-game road swing with a trip to Hinsdale on Tuesday.

Stevens 54, Winnisquam 29

Tilton, n.h. — The Cardinals closed in a flourish, outscoring the Bears, 16-2, in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Luke Come led the way with 21 points, 15 rebounds and four steals for Stevens (4-6). Joe Desilets added eight points. Drew Grenier and Tanner Durkee each added seven points.

The Cardinals conclude a stretch of six straight road games with visits to Newport on Tuesday and Newfound on Friday.

Hanover 55, Con-Val 34

Hanover — A 17-4 run in the third quarter was enough to lift the Marauders over the Cougars.

Graham Penfield had 16 points to lead Hanover (3-2, 6-2). Caleb Putnam added 10 points, and Charlie Adams made a trio of 3-pointers for nine points.

Assistant coach Daniel Randall praised the play of Penfield, Putnam and Michael Staiger down in the post, especially during Hanover’s third-quarter rally. The Marauders host Merrimack Valley on Tuesday.

Berlin 67, Mascoma 51

West Canaan — The Royals gave one of the top teams in NHIAA D-III all it could handle.

Mascoma was undone in the second quarter, getting outscored 18-3, but rallied to play a strong final 16 minutes. Dakota Decocq had three 3-pointers on his way to 21 points to lead the Royals.

“The kids played well. Berlin is extremely tough; they’re huge (physically). It would have been easy to fold the tent after the second quarter, but we won the second half. I’ll give the entire team credit for that,” Mascoma coach Jim Barry said.

Freshman Connor Thompson added eight points for the Royals (3-6, 3-9), who play at Fall Mountain on Tuesday.

Mill River 60, Hartford 43

North Clarendon, Vt. — The Hurricanes (3-6) were outscored, 38-13, in the middle two quarters.

Alex Valley had 15 points and Hunter Gaudette had 14 for the Canes. Patrick Brady added seven points. Hartford outscored the Minutemen, 16-6, in the fourth quarter.

The Canes host Bellows Falls on Tuesday.

Pittsfield 79, Woodsville 63

Woodsville — The Engineers lost an offensive shootout to the visiting Panthers.

Cooper Davidson had 18 points to lead Woodsville (6-3, 7-4). Garrett Olsen and Billy Green each added 15 points. Pittsfield pulled away with 46 points in the second half.

The Engineers visit Gorham on Monday.

Monadnock 49, Newport 36

Newport — The Tigers (2-3, 3-5) fell to the Huskies in just their second full game since Dec. 29. Newport hosts Stevens on Tuesday.

Girls Basketball

Stevens 56, Winnisquam 36

Tilton, n.h. — Sophomore Sydney Miller came back from an injury layoff in a big way and her Stevens teammates celebrated in kind by routing the Bears.

Out the past two games with a concussion, Miller — the Cardinals’ leading scorer this season — poured in a game-high 18 points to get Stevens (3-5, 4-6) back on track. Jenna Pond followed with a season-high 17 points; both Miller and Pond also buried three 3-pointers to help the Cards overcome a 16-12 deficit after one quarter.

Stevens also clamped down on defense. The Cards outscored their hosts, 16-4, in the second period.

Tess Whitney also had a season-high for Stevens, netting 11 points in the Cards’ most complete performance of the campaign. Stevens hosts archrival Newport on Tuesday.

Hanover 55, Con-Val 39

Peterborough, n.h. — The Marauders (5-1, 7-3) kept up their road-warrior ways with a strong offensive night against the Cougars.

Behind Maddie McCorkle’s 15-point night and Julia Golder’s 11 points, Hanover jumped to a 21-11 lead and maintained control the rest of the way. The contest was Hanover’s eighth on the road in 10 starts, including a three-game holiday tournament visit to South Carolina.

Lois Schwarz finished with eight points for the Marauers, who visit Kingswood for a makeup game on Monday before returning home against Merrimack Valley on Tuesday.

KUA 59, Holderness 37

Holderness, n.h. — Despite struggling to find a game-long groove, the Wildcats put three players in double figures to corral the Bulls.

Seniors Taylor Soule and Christina Ryan joined sophomore Maddy Haynes in scoring 13 points apiece in the win.

Kimball Union (8-5) hosts Northfield Mount Hermon this afternoon.

Windsor 54Bellows Falls 50

Westminster, Vt. — Evelyn Page and Brooke McKeen played strong supporting roles as the Yellowjackets (4-5) nipped a quick, physical Bellows Falls squad.

Freshman Page and junior McKeen both finished with nine points for the Jacks. Olivia Rockwood scored 17 points as Windsor used a 21-5 second period to overturn a nine-point deficit after one quarter.

The Yellowjackets visit Hartford on Monday.

Blue Mountain 59, MVCS 56

Quechee — Using cutters to pressure the Eagles’ interior defense to good effect, the Bucks handed Mid Vermont Christian (6-1) its first loss of the season.

Blue Mountain built a 34-27 halftime lead, withstood a MVCS charge in the third quarter and prevailed after forcing the Eagles’ Rachel Seale out of the game with five fouls. Lauryn Alley had 23 points and Mika White contributed 21 for the visitors.

Hayley Goodwin notched a season-high 22 points for Mid Vermont. Seale checked in with 18 points before fouling out. The Eagles host South Royalton on Tuesday.

Gorham 51, Sunapee 48 (ot)

Gorham, n.h. — Fiona Nolan’s hot shooting night wasn’t enough to keep the Lakers (5-5, 5-8) from dropping a tight contest to the Huskies.

Nolan scored a career-high 23 points in the defeat, more points in one game than any other two combined from this season.

“She’s a very good shooter,” Sunapee coach Stephanie Larpenter said. “She was just shooting the ball with confidence. She was on.”

Kalleigh Durkee contributed 13 points for the Lakers, who host Hinsdale on Tuesday.

Hollis Brookline 58Lebanon 40

Hollis, n.h. — The Raiders came up short in a rematch of last season’s NHIAA Division II state championship game.

The Cavaliers held a narrow lead at halftime, 22-20, but then took control after the break. Anna Wolke had 17 points and Rebecca Wright had 11 for the Raiders. Lebanon beat the Cavs, 44-35, in the state title game last season.

“They’re a good team and have four starters back (from last season),” Raiders coach Tim Kehoe said. “We struggled to hit shots. We’ve got to learn from it, playing on the road against a good team who shot the lights out. We have to be better next time.”

Lebanon (8-2, 10-3) hosts Bow on Friday.

Hartford 53, Woodstock 15

Woodstock — The Hurricanes opened the game on a 22-4 run and never looked back against the Wasps.

Jasmine Jenkins led a balanced Hartford attack with nine points. Megan Bushway made a pair of 3-pointers in the early barrage and had eight points. Morgan White also had eight points while Corey Lieberman and Bianca Severance each had six points.

Brooke Heston had six points for the Wasps (0-6), who visit Bellows Falls on Monday.

Hartford (4-5) hosts Windsor on Monday.

Woodsville 49, Pittsfield 32

Woodsville — The Engineers (7-4) received 16 points from Lily Kinder to put away visiting Pittsfield.

Olivia Sarkis finished with nine points and fellow freshman Morgan Wagstaff had six. Woodsville visits Gorham on Monday.

Monadnock 56, Newport 52

Swanzey, n.h. — Alexis Hurd scored a career-high 29 points to help the Tigers come close to a big upset over the Huskies (10-0).

Hurd made four 3-pointers, pulled down 12 rebounds and was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line for Newport (6-6 overall, 5-4 NHIAA). Alyssa Burr added 10 points and Anna Pysz had eight for the Tigers.

Newport trailed, 32-21, at halftime before outscoring the undefeated Huskies, 31-24, after the break. The Tigers visit Stevens on Tuesday.

Berlin 35, Mascoma 23

Berlin, n.h. — The Royals (3-7, 3-9) struggled on offense in falling to the Mountaineers.

Mascoma trailed, 21-14, at halftime and then could only manage nine points after the break. Jordan Henry had six points and Bella Kondi had five for the Royals, who host Hopkinton in a makeup game on Monday.

Boys Hockey

KUA 2, Brewster 0

Wolfeboro, n.h. — Thomas Samuelsen factored in both goals and Hugo Turcotte tossed a 16-save shutout in the Wildcats’ latest victory.

Samuelsen cashed in from the slot on passes from Andranik Armstrong and Kyle Penney for the only goal Kimball Union (17-3-1) would require. Matt Egan jammed home a Samuelsen crease pass in the second period for KUA’s other goal, with Arlo Merritt also posting an assist.

The Wildcats host Quebec’s Stanstead College this afternoon.

Ski Jumping

Hanover Third at Kennett

Conway, n.h. — Jasper Meyer made a strong return from injury and Sabin Mitchell won the girls competition to highlight the Marauders’ evening on the Kennett ramp.

Meyer finished third among Hanover jumpers, taking 10th place behind teammates Mason Winter (fourth) and Sawyer Hanlon (eighth) and ahead of Tristan Meyer (16th). “He hasn’t been able to jump much,” Hanover coach Tom Dodds said of Meyer.

Mitchell, meanwhile, continued to progress in hopes of competing for an NHIAA skimeister title later this winter. Fresh from an alpine race at neighboring Cranmore Mountain, Mitchell was 15th overall and first among the girls. Lebanon’s Ayla Weale placed seventh in the girls meet.

Sunapee put three jumpers in the top 15 among the boys in Camerson Summerton (11th), Lane Smith (13th) and Parker Reed (14th). Kennett’s Sean Maloney won the meet.

Team scores: Kennett 389, Plymouth 373.5, Hanover 364.5, Sunapee 343.5, Concord 312, Lebanon 81, Merrimack Valley 79.