WHITEFIELD, N.H. — Two wins in two nights on the road? That’s a Christmas present the Mascoma High boys basketball team will gladly keep under the tree for safe keeping.
A day after a trip south resulted in a victory at Hillsboro-Deering, the Royals went the opposite direction and grabbed a 54-50 decision at White Mountains.
Mascoma turned the tide with a 19-8 second quarter that produced a 34-20 lead it protected the rest of the way.
Ben Seiler scored eight of his team-high 16 points in the quarter, but Ben Schwarz’s defense play against the Spartans’ top scorer, Jack Curtis, also played a role. Curtis finished with a game-high 17 points, but Schwarz shut him down in the second period as Mascoma built its cushion.
“He did a great job,” Mascoma coach Silas Ayres said. “They made some adjustments in the second half and started posting him up. He got to the free-throw line and made some easy 2s. But for the most part, Ben did a great job.”
Schwarz also backed Seiler’s offense with 10 points. Gabe Rock had nine points for the Royals, and Connor Thompson added seven.
Mascoma is off until opening Hanover High’s Connecticut River Shootout tournament against Littleton on Thursday.
THETFORD — The Panthers clawed their way to a 26-10 lead at halftime en route to their first win of the season.
Alex Emerson made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points for Thetford (1-3). Eli Dunnet also had 13 points. Playing from in front from the start, 10 different players scored for the Panthers.
“(The win) got the monkey off our backs, finally,” Thetford coach Jason Gray said. “We moved the ball well, played hard defense and did a good job keeping them off the boards.
Caden Lockwood had nine points to pace Windsor (1-1). The Yellowjackets visit Green Mountain on Friday.
Thetford will host Hazen on Monday.
WESTMINSTER, Vt. — Harrison Morse had 22 points and the Wasps nearly erased a fourth-quarter deficit at the Terriers.
Down by eight points early in the fourth, Woodstock rallied to tie it up at 53-53. The Wasps then missed a few field goals late and the Terriers were clutch from the free-throw line to pull away for the win.
Morse drained three of the Wasps’ eight 3-pointers. Ryan Ducharme added 12 points for Woodstock, including a pair of threes.
The Wasps (1-2) will play in the SVL East-West Challenge at Hartford on Monday.
Hartford 65, Lake Region 61
ORLEANS, Vt. — Jeff Thomas won his first game in charge of the Hurricanes (1-2), who held off the Rangers in a tight affair.
Hartford led at the end of every quarter but couldn’t get comfortable. The Canes held a 42-34 advantage entering the fourth period and secured the victory.
The Canes host the two-day, four-team SVL East-West Challenge next week, opening against Woodstock on Monday night.
CONCORD — The Marauders (1-0) used an 18-3 run over the final 3½ minute to put away the Green Giants.
Down 53-48, Hanover held Brady without a field goal down the stretch and got key contributions to reverse the contest. Charlie Adams had seven of his 18 points in the run, Jai White went 3-for-4 from the line and Hank Pikus added two late free throws to clinch the win.
Nolan Gantrish matched Adams 18-point output to share team honors. Pikus ended up with 15 points and White netted 12 for Hanover, which hosts Bow on Monday.
LACONIA, N.H. — The Sachems overwhelmed the Cardinals in their NHIAA Division II season opener.
Matt Jones led Stevens with 10 points, hitting two 3-pointers on the night. Owen Taylor and Clayton Wadsworth each had six points for the Cards, who trailed 26-9 after one quarter and 52-11 at halftime.
Stevens is off until Thursday when it hosts Hillsboro-Deering for a holiday doubleheader.
LEBANON — The Raiders used a 14-0 run late in the first quarter, which carried over early into the second, to power their way to a season-opening win.
Guard Megan Gradijan scored six points during the run and Caroline Laramie hit a 3-pointer with 7:11 to play in the second quarter to cap it off. Laramie finished her first career varsity start with 10 points.
“It’s good to just get one in. Little rusty, first game,” Lebanon coach Tim Kehoe said. “Forced the ball a little too much, too many turnovers. Came out and played hard. I thought we pulled away in the second quarter.”
Rebecca Wright had 18 points and Catherine Cole added nine for the Raiders.
Lebanon returns to action after Christmas at the Manchester Central holiday tournament.
— Pete Nakos
ORFORD — The Raptors (1-1) grabbed their first win of the year after first-half changes to its defensive game plan.
Rivendell coach Dennis Fitzgerald put his team in a 1-2-2 zone in the second quarter, which turned a 6-5 Raptor-led game into a 14-7 cushion by halftime.
The hosts added full-court pressure after halftime, and Rivendell’s lead gradually grew the rest of the way.
Adele Tilden had 15 points, Cora Day added 13 and Kylie Taylor contributed eight for the Raptors, who visit Oxbow on Monday.
WEST CANAAN — The Royals (1-3) had a fourth-quarter comeback attempt come up just short against the Spartans.
Mascoma trailed, 38-30, through three quarters but rallied to hold a one-point lead late in the fourth.
“Down the stretch, we had a couple good looks but just missed. We’ll keep digging; it was a really good basketball game,” Mascoma coach Walt Hammond said.
Liberti LaCasse had 10 points off the bench to pace the Royals. Brianna Withington and Michaela Dowd each chipped in eight points. Mascoma will face Stevens on day one of the Fall Mountain Holiday Tournament on Thursday.
CLAREMONT — Abigail Faro had 12 points and the Cardinals made things interesting by closing the game on a 17-8 run to get back within striking distance against the Sachems.
Sydney Miller added eight points and Ellee Grenier had seven for Stevens (1-1).
The Cardinals will play in the Fall Mountain holiday tournament on Thursday.
MILTON, Mass. — A five-goal second period enabled Kimball Union (7-4-0) to roll past host Milton Academy for a split of its opening-day contests at the Flood-Marr Tournament.
KUA blew open a scoreless tie with its big middle stanza. Earlier Friday, the Wildcats lost their tourney opener to Salisbury in a rematch of last year’s NEPSAC Elite Eight final, which the Wildcats won for their third straight New England championship.
Kimball Union continues the Floor-Marr against Deerfield on Saturday afternoon.
WEST LEBANON — Meredith Morhun opened her scoring account with a hat trick as the Marauders won their snow-delayed home opener at Campion Rink.
Morhun scored her first of the night at the 23-second mark on the game’s first shift, finishing passes from Sage McGinley-Smith and Kaye Lindsay. McGinley-Smith made it 2-0 by the intermission horn, Morhun and Sophia Brackett added second-period tallies and Morhun completed her hat trick in the third on a pass from her sister, Natalie.
Pepper Joseph had two assists, and Kali McDonnell produced her first career point with an assist on Brackett’s strike. Rebekah Rudd finished with 15 saves for Hanover, which meets Bedford at St. Anselm College’s Sullivan Arena on Sunday.
DURHAM, N.H. — The Raiders (2-1-0) gave as good as they got in their first game against stiff competition.
Oyster River-Portsmouth netted the game’s only goal on a shot from senior Lillian Poitras 2½ minutes into the second period. Lebanon thought it had a third-period equalizer only to have it waved off by an quick whistle.
“We’re very happy with the way we played,” Lebanon coach Mike Sheehan said. “We played well, we battled hard, should have tied it early in the third. … I’m very proud of the way we played tonight.”
Paige Hoegler stopped 25 shots in goal for Lebanon, which will play in a short-game holiday tournament at Keene next week.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
HANOVER — Dartmouth senior defensive back Isiah Swann earned his fourth spot on an All-American roster on Friday when the American Football Coaches Association included him on its second team.
The Associated Press and Stats also granted Swann second-team honors this week, while Hero Sports placed the Arizona native on its third team.
Swann had four interceptions during the Big Green’s 9-1 season, returning two for touchdowns. He will graduate as the program’s all-time interceptions leader with 17.
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Scores that missed Friday’s paper due to deadline. Find updates online at www.vnews.com.
BRADFORD, Vt. — The visiting Trojans pulled away from a tight contest with an 18-8 fourth quarter, sending the Olympians (0-2) to defeat.
Bryce Ilsley had the big night for Oxbow, hitting three 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 22 points. Twinfield kept Ilsley in check after a strong first half, although he accounted for all of Oxbow’s scoring the final quarter.
Cooper Simmons added seven points for the O’s, who host Richford on Saturday.