SOUTH ROYALTON — The Craven family’s impact on the White River Valley boys basketball team is most apparent during the Wildcats’ pregame introductions.
Senior guard Dominic Craven is WRV’s leading scorer, averaging 16 points per game last year and just over 19 per game this year. His step-brother, senior guard Austin Tracy, starts for the Wildcats as well, averaging 8.4 points per contest. Craven’s younger brother Donovan is a freshman this year, though he plays sparingly.
But it’s the youngest Craven who might be WRV’s good luck charm. After being introduced, the Wildcats’ starters jog over to the front row of the stands and fist-bump 6-year-old Cam Craven before each game.
“We’ve done it since Cam started walking,” WRV head coach Mike Gaudette said. “It’s been a tradition for us for the four years I’ve been here. If Cam is our good luck charm, we’ll continue to do it.”
While Cam Craven may still be several years away from competing for the Wildcats, his brothers are helping WRV to its best season in school history. Granted, that doesn’t account for much — the school has existed in its current form only since 2018, after South Royalton and Bethel’s Whitcomb high schools merged. But after three straight quarterfinal losses, the Wildcats have their sights on Barre Auditorium and the VPA Division IV Final Four this time around.
WRV played just five regular-season games in last year’s pandemic-shortened season, suffering an upset loss to West Rutland at home in the quarters despite 25 points from Dominic Craven. This year, after dropping the championship game of the inaugural Stretch Gillam Kickoff Classic to Division II contender Hartford, the Wildcats did not lose again for nearly two months.
“We’ve had a pretty good stretch of games, and not many (teams) have stayed with us,” Craven said. “Our defense is very strong (and) we all have really good chemistry.”
A shortage of players led WRV to drop down from Division III beginning with the second year following the merger, but the Wildcats are making the most of what they have. Gaudette arrived with plenty of coaching experience, having spent 10 years at Mascoma and five at Hartford.
WRV reeled off nine straight wins after the loss to Gaudette’s former team, including victories over several teams from higher divisions, before a four-point loss to Division III Bellows Falls last Thursday. The Wildcats rebounded from that by routing Twin Valley by 41 on Saturday.
“We’ve played by far the toughest D-IV schedule,” Gaudette said. “Most of the teams we play are Division II and III. It’s really going to have us battle-tested for the playoffs.”
Gaudette has been most impressed with his team’s maturation as the season has progressed. WRV has a number of underclassmen, including sophomore forwards Dylan Slack and Tattin Griffin and freshman guard Braeden Russ, playing significant minutes, and Gaudette said they have developed faster than he expected.
Slack set a career high with 13 points in Saturday’s win over Twin Valley, and Russ, who scored in double figures in three of his first four high school games, hadn’t played since seventh grade after his eighth-grade season was canceled because of COVID-19.
“I thought they’d be where they are maybe toward the end of the year, but they’ve grasped things so quick,” Gaudette said. “We’re a little bit ahead of schedule right now, and we’re getting better and better each game.”
The Wildcats still have some tests the next two weeks before the playoffs begin. WRV hosts undefeated Rivendell, currently the top team in Division IV, next Monday, and then will get a chance to avenge its loss to Bellows Falls when the Terriers visit South Royalton on Feb. 23.
Gaudette said the Wildcats learned some important lessons during that loss — they led for most of that game before turnovers hurt them late. But with a defense that puts constant pressure on the opposition and creates plenty of transition opportunities for the offense, WRV should be a dangerous team in the postseason.
“Little things flustered us at the beginning of the year,” Gaudette said. “When a call didn’t go our way or we started missing shots, we’d start pressing. The kids have matured, and they’ve bought into what we’re doing. Their confidence has gained because of that.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.