Local Roundup: A ‘Close’ Victory for Lakers

Newport — The Sunapee High girls basketball team experienced its closest game of the season on Tuesday night — and still won by 19 points.

The Lakers (11-0 league, 13-0 overall) downed neighboring Newport, 64-45, to push their three-year unbeaten streak to 61 games.

“This was the first game where our kids who swing between jayvee and varsity didn’t get a ton of minutes,” said Sunapee coach Tim LaTorra, whose team has won back-to-back NHIAA Division IV titles. “Everyone on the bench in every game has gotten minutes.”

Sunapee’s Katie Frederick had 26 points and Faith Larpenter had 14. Sydney Clark and Jessica Parsons each chipped in six points.

Anna Pysz had 17 points and Kyrstin Kibbey had eight for Newport (8-8). The teams meet again at Sunapee on Monday.

LaTorra said he works to find different ways to motivate his players, some of whom have won state titles in volleyball, soccer and softball.

“Some days it’s a challenge, so I try to push certain buttons to get them going,” he said. “But these kids have been successful, and they want to maintain that success. They don’t take shortcuts or take things for granted.”

Staying close with a good team is nothing new for the Tigers. Newport owns two wins over Monadnock, which entered the night ranked fifth in D-III.

Sunapee hosts Mascenic on Thursday. Newport hosts Franklin on Friday.

Mascoma 52, InterLakes 46

West Canaan — Senior guard Justine Martin scored 20 points and junior forward Sydney Thompson made 13 of 17 free throws to boost the Royals to 4-10. Lizz Pelton added six points.

“Justine led us down the stretch,” coach John Billings said. “She wasn’t afraid of the moment and made some big shots with two minutes to go.”

The Royals host Belmont on Friday.

Hanover 50, Pembroke 38

Hanover — The Marauders (9-2, 10-4) wore down the Spartans with full-court pressure, which paid dividends in a 13-4 third quarter that decided the game.

“By the third quarter, even the kids on our bench were saying the other team was complaining that they were tired,” Hanover coach Dan O’Rourke said. “They are literally one pass and shoot; the first open kid shoots it, and they were shooting from all over the place. When they weren’t making their shots, the long rebounds led to some high-percentage points.”

Maddie McCorkle and Diana Schwarz both scored 14 points to lead Hanover, which added Julia Golder’s 10 points to the pot. The Marauders visit Bow on Friday.

Lisbon 32, Woodsville 25

Lisbon, n.h. — Woodsville’s Lily Kinder, who scored 30 points in a victory over Lisbon earlier this season, was held to four this time around as the Panthers pulled off the win. Molly Clough led the visitors with eight points, and Brianna Robbins added seven.

“Lisbon double- and triple-teamed Lily, and we missed 42 field goals,” said Engineers coach Russ Wilcox, whose team hosts Profile on Friday. “That’s not going to get it done against a team as good as Lisbon.”

Nute 59, Mount Royal 56

Sunapee — Sisters Marylin and Sophie LaRose each scored 10 points and Alexis Matte dropped in 26, but the Royals fell to 4-7. An open shot at the buzzer wouldn’t go for the Knights, who played the third of five games in eight days.

“Nute had two girls who are at least 6 feet, and we don’t have anyone that tall,” said coach Derek Tremblay, whose team hosts Concord Christian today. “And of course, at this time of year, we have all kinds of people sick.”

Boys Basketball

Woodstock 56Otter Valley 50

Brandon, Vt. — Big games from Caleb Webb and Jack Arthur gave the Wasps (6-6) perhaps their biggest win of the season to date.

Webb went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter for the punctuation on a game-high 21 points. Arthur dropped three of Woodstock’s four 3-pointers for 19 points, his best output since scoring 28 points at Harwood on Dec. 16.

“It was us moving the ball,” Woodstock coach Joel Carey said. “We didn’t stall the ball as much as we did in the first three quarters. They played a 3-2 zone the entire game, and it took us pretty much three quarters to beat it.”

The Wasps trailed by as much as 11 points before mounting their comeback. Woodstock heads down to Brattleboro on Thursday night.

Hanover 71, Pembroke 67

Pembroke, n.h. — Benny Gantrish had 23 points, Charlie Adams and Martin Paulsen each had 16 and the Marauders improved to 3-6 in NHIAA Division II play and 4-8 overall.

Caleb Putnam had eight points for Hanover, which hosts Bow tonight.

Mascoma 52, InterLakes 41

Meredith, n.h. — Devin Duhaime sank a trio of 3-point shots and added a 2-point bucket during the first quarter to lead the victorious Royals (6-5). The senior guard finished with 13 points.

“He averaged 15 points a game last year but was only scoring three or four this season,” said coach Jim Barry, whose team handed the Lakers (9-2) just their second defeat of the season and ended their six-game winning streak. “It was good to see him get going again.”

Alex Schwarz had 19 points and Dakota DeCocq had 14 points for Mascoma, which hosts Belmont on Friday.

South Royalton 95Blue Mountain 50

Wells River — The Vermont Division IV Royals (12-2) rode a 42-point night from Nicholas Howe for an easy win and set up an intriguing date with D-III powerhouse Williamstown.

The Bucks couldn’t keep up with the visitors after they piled 45 points on the scoreboard in the first half. Dalton McDougall scored 24 points to back Howe, while Stephen Paige posted 11 points and Jacob Hewitt contributed eight.

The Royals visit Williamstown (14-0) on Thursday night.

Rivendell 48, Sharon 40

Orford — Sam Knoerlein had 19 points and Harvey Kelley chipped in 12, but the Phoenix couldn’t hold an eight-point lead in the third quarter.

Owen Pelletier had 15 points, Noah Martel had nine and Isaac Martel had eight points for the Raptors, who improved to 7-6.

“We knew we had to contain Sam and Harvey, so we boxed out, rebounded and pushed the tempo and got up the floor,” said Rivendell coach Jeff Huntington, whose team visits Craftsbury on Thursday. “Sharon only used seven players, so they were pretty gassed by the end of the game.”

The Phoenix visits Vermont D-IV frontrunner Twinfield on Thursday.

Woodsville 54, Lisbon 30

Lisbon, n.h. — With Eric Thornton out ill, Adam Cataldo stepped up and provided key minutes at point guard as the Engineers (12-1, 13-2) kept up their winning ways.

Woodsville held the Panthers to 10 second-half points to put the game away. Garrett Olsen topped the scoresheet with 17 points for the Engineers, who also dominated the frontcourt behind forwards Cooper Davidson (13 points) and Sam Pushee (12).

“Adam had to do a little bit more ballhandling that normal; he had to step up and do a little more guard play,” Woodsville coach Jamie Walker said. “With Sam and Cooper, we pretty much controlled the paint at both ends of the floor.”

Josh Woods pumped in 16 points for Lisbon.

Woodsville hosts Profile on Friday.

Mount Royal 68, Nute 50

Sunapee — Gus LaRose hit for a season-high 25 points to help the Knights (5-7) pull away from the Mules.

“He finally put it together on the floor inside,” Mount Royal coach Matt McMenaman said. “We’ve been trying to keep him from shooting outside and taking it inside instead, and it worked.”

The Knights outscored Nute in every quarter, but never by more than six points. Andrew Normandin backed up LaRose with 14 points, with Kolbe Bocko adding nine.

Mount Royal hosts Wilton-Lyndeborough on Friday.

Harwood 48, Thetford 40

Moretown, Vt. — Dylan Thorburn had 17 points and Noah Perry added 11, but despite taking a 14-4 lead after a quarter, the Panthers tumbled to 2-10 this winter.

Thetford visits U-32 on Thursday.

Rochester 54, MVCS 45

Quechee — Troy Walker’s 31-point night went a long way toward the Rockets’ win over Mid Vermont Christian (1-9).

Despite the loss, the Eagles picked up top performances from a pair of players. Jake Roberts netted a season-high 14 points to lead the home team, while Dylan Patel showed his continued improvement with an eight-point effort. Patel has scored 27 points in Mid Vermont’s last three games after notching 15 in its first seven.

Josh King kept up his high-scoring ways with 12 points for the Eagles, who host Black River on Friday.

Montpelier 64, Oxbow 44

Montpelier — The Olympians struggled on the boards and dropped to 5-9.

Lincoln Illsley had 10 points, Matt Towle had eight points, Ben Emerson had seven points and Tegan McKnelly had six points for Oxbow, which hosts Randolph on Thursday. The Galloping Ghosts won the teams’ first meeting this year.

Men’s Basketball

Colby-Sawyer 77Castleton 74 (ot)

New London — Taylor Grande scored eight of his 19 points in overtime as the Chargers (6-7 league, 9-11 overall) outlasted the Spartans (7-5, 12-6) in a North Atlantic Conference game at the Hogan Center.

Freshman Dana Bean also had 19 points for Colby-Sawyer, aided by a 9-for-10 performance at the charity stripe.

The Chargers held a 63-61 lead with 2:21 to play, but Castleton’s Jordan Nelson hit two late foul shots to force overtime.

The Chargers host New England College on Saturday afternoon.

Women’s Basketball

Castleton 69Colby-Sawyer 43

New London — The Spartans (9-3, 11-8) controlled the Chargers (8-5, 13-7) in a key NAC showdown.

Senior Kristen Ellis had a team-best 12 points for the Chargers.

Colby-Sawyer holds senior day in a Saturday game with New England College.

Nordic Skiing

Caldwell 18th At U23 Worlds

Soldier Hollow, Utah — Lyme native Paddy Caldwell skied to an 18th-place finish in the men’s classic sprint to open the FIS U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow on Tuesday.

Seven of the eight American men and women entered in the races, including Caldwell, advanced to heats. That group included former Dartmouth skier Corey Stock, who placed 22nd in the women’s sprint.

Scandinavian skiers took five of the six medals on offer, with Norway’s Fredrik Riseth and Sweden’s Anna Dyvik claiming wins. The U23s resume today with a 10K freestyle for the men and a 5K for the women.