SOUTH ROYALTON — Fans are barred from VPA tournament competition this season, but the White River Valley gym was far from quiet on Saturday.
Propelled by a steady stream of self-generated noise and enthusiasm, the West Rutland Golden Horde defeated the Wildcats, 55-48, in a VPA Division IV quarterfinal matchup.
No. 2 WRVS (4-2), which entered the game following a 10-day layoff, had trouble keeping up with the Horde, a veteran squad featuring nine seniors.
“We knew coming in they have good athletes and they work real hard, and they’re vocal,” said Wildcats coach Mike Gaudette. “And we didn’t match their intensity at times. I think we have good basketball players, but today I think the difference was more (West Rutland’s) energy and intensity than it was about talent.”
The Golden Horde, which lost to WRVS, 45-27, on March 9, will face either Twin Valley or Twinfield in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The Wildcats, who got 25 points from Dominic Craven, saw their regular-season finale against Arlington on March 12 canceled due to COVID-19, then got a bye in the first round of the D-IV tournament.
“We were rusty,” Gaudette said. “That’s not an excuse. The kids played hard; they tried hard. I give them a lot of credit (for) when we got down, but we didn’t execute and again, I think that’s rust. It wasn’t our day today.”
Saturday’s contest began frenetically with both teams trading baskets in the opening minutes. Craven’s 3-pointer to close out the first quarter gave the hosts a 13-11 lead. The junior sharpshooter went on to score the first five points of the second quarter before West Rutland answered with a layup by Michael Goodnough.
A putback by Carder Stratton (seven points) and a drop-step layup by Weston Trombly gave WRVS its largest lead of the game at 22-13. The Golden Horde responded with a 12-2 run, culminated by a tip-in at the halftime buzzer by junior Levi Petit (21 points).
Out of the locker room, momentum continued to favor West Rutland, which enjoyed its largest lead of the game, 44-29, after Perry Macalyster hit a jumper to end the third quarter.
WRVS trimmed the Horde lead down to five points on Craven’s steal and layup with three minutes remaining, but West Rutland answered with a layup by Tyler Serrani (14 points).
That prompted Gaudette’s crew to stop the clock by fouling, then hope for missed free throws by their opponents. West Rutland did miss two key attempts during the final minute, but snatched the rebound both times, to the chagrin of Gaudette.
“This week we worked on boxing out because we gave them some second chances (during the previous game),” Gaudette said. “So our game plan going in was to cut down on their dribble drive and rebound the second chances.”
Faced with the inevitable task of rebuilding next season, Golden Horde coach Jordan Tolar plans on going for broke in 2021.
“(We’re) just trying to play it like it’s our last game every game,” Tolar said. “We’re trying to bring that energy every single day in the gym. … I told them, ‘There’s not going to be fans, but it shouldn’t be quiet. You should be contributing to the team in any way you can. Even if you’re not in, still get loud, still cheer your teammates.’ Sometimes, positivity can really go a long way for a group.”
The Wildcats, for their part, hung around and never gave up.
“We got down 15 and they continued to fight,” Gaudette said. That’s how they’ve been all year, and I give our seniors a ton of credit. They’ve been the backbone of our team for years.”
The Wildcats will graduate Stratton, Curtis Barry, Jacob Barry and Alex Lober, a group of upperclassmen that will certainly be missed.
“I’ve grown up playing with these guys since third and fourth grade, and it’s just not going to be the same without them next year,” Craven said. “But we’ll come back hungry. I know we will.”