Local Roundup: Seniors Lead SoRo in Playoff Win

South Royalton — The South Royalton High boys basketball team had a real senior moment on Wednesday night, but in a very good way.

The Royals received their usual offensive contribution from senior Nicholas Howe, but play from fellow seniors Dalton McDougall and Andy Moore also lifted sixth-seeded South Royalton to a 52-37 win over No. 11 Cabot in a Vermont Division IV tournament opener at the South Royalton School. With the Huskies (10-11) breathing down their necks, the Royals (15-6) turned fortunes their way with their seniors leading the way.

Howe scored all 15 of SoRo’s third-quarter points to turn a tight 23-18 halftime lead into a more comfortable 38-27 cushion entering the final quarter.

McDougall dominated the glass to the tune of a game-high 20 rebounds, and Moore backed Howe’s 25-point outing with 10 points of his own, a season best.

McDougall also completed a double-double with 14 points. South Royalton visits No. 3 Arlington in a D-IV quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon.

Fair Haven 60, Hartford 49

Fair Haven, Vt. — The Hurricanes (9-12) fell into a 23-9 hole after one quarter, which proved too much to overcome in a Vermont Division II tournament contest.

“We battled back; we got it to one a couple of different times,” Hartford coach Steve Landon said. “We had a couple of shots in and out, and that really was the difference in the game. They’re very well-coached and they have good players, but my guys didn’t give up.”

Senior Gavin Farnsworth canned two 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points for 11th-seeded Hartford. Triston Potter, Connor Chandler, Keith Illingworth, Brett McLaren and David York joined Farnsworth in playing their final games for the Canes.

BFA-Fairfax 44, Oxbow 40

Fairfax, Vt. — The 10th-ranked Olympians’ fourth-quarter comeback came up short in a Vermont Division III tournament-opening defeat.

The Bullets held a 27-18 lead at the half. Oxbow chipped away for much of the final two quarters, but “we just couldn’t get over the hump,” coach Steve Carson said.

Nick Place paced BFA with 16 points.

Oxbow (7-14) picked up 15 from Matt Towle, eight from Orin Mahikoa and seven from Ben Emerson. All three return next season, although the O’s will lose Kyle Pittman, Jacob Stimson and Dakota Smith to graduation.

Proctor 73, MVCS 23

Proctor, Vt. — The Eagles’ season, underscored by a small roster all winter, came to a close in a Vermont Division IV first-round loss.

Logan Landon netted a game-high 17 points for the second-ranked Phantoms. Dylan Patel had six points to top Mid Vermont Christian, which received five each from Josh King and Nate Twarog.

Mid Vermont (3-16), which had only six players on its varsity roster, loses Jake Roberts and Christian Tsakiris to graduation.

Boys Hockey

Spaulding 4, Lebanon-Stevens 2

West Lebanon — Lebanon-Stevens saw its season end on Wednesday in a first-round NHIAA Division II playoff game at James Campion Rink. The Red Raiders’ Adam Enscoe scored four minutes into the first period and a minute into the second stanza for a 2-0 lead, and his ninth-seeded team was ahead, 4-1, late in the game.

“We made two really big mistakes on the first two goals,” said Lebanon coach Gary Smith, whose eighth-seeded team finished 9-10-0 in league play and 10-11-0 overall. “We stressed how important it was not to throw the puck up the boards, and that’s what happened on both of them.”

Spaulding’s second tally followed a stroke of bad luck for the hosts. A Lebanon defenseman wearing a plastic guard on an injured foot had the device’s Velcro strap come loose, impeding his skating ability. His partner, seeing the struggle, fired the puck around the wall under pressure. Enscoe intercepted and threw a shot from the outside of the circle and in off the far post.

Lebanon halved its deficit with Nate Damren’s power-play goal six minutes into the second period but Spaulding (9-9) went up, 3-1, three minutes later and held that lead entering the third period.

Hopes for a home team comeback during Lebanon’s first home playoff game since 2007 weren’t helped when the Raiders took a roughing penalty during the third period’s fifth minute and a blatant slashing foul less than a minute later.

“That was a big mistake that really set us back,” Smith said. “Our kids got frustrated, because they were grinding and it wasn’t going our way. But I had told them that in playoff hockey, the officials are going to let you play.”

The Red Raiders scored again 10 minutes into the final period before Jack Sandmann scored on a shot from near the blue line with three minutes to play.

— Tris Wykes

KUA 2, Thayer 1 (ot)

Meriden — Junior forward Thomas Samuelsen sent the Wildcats (30-5-2) to the NEPSAC Elite Eight semifinals with a laser wrist shot from the low right circle for the overtime game-winner at Akerstrom Arena.

Samuelsen, who had been around the net with great chances all game, cashed in on a feed from fellow junior Nik Armstrong by sending his shot just under the short-side crossbar five minutes into the extra session. KUA opened the scoring in the second when senior Bobby Young converted on a second-period power-play after being set up in the slot by fellow senior Mike Lombardi.

Kimball Union visits Dexter in Saturday’s semifinals. The winners advance to the Elite Eight title game on Sunday at Saint Anselm College.

Middlebury 5, Woodstock 2

Middlebury, Vt. — The sixth-ranked Tigers scored twice in the opening 83 seconds and netted the game’s first five goals to end the Wasps’ first season in Vermont Division I.

Cullen McCarthy scored twice in the third period, both on Luc Issa passes, to prevent Middlebury goalie Doug DeLorenzo’s shutout bid. DeLorenzo finished with 16 saves, while Jason Drebber and Henry Greene each stopped 15 pucks for the Wasps (4-16-1), who lose six to graduation.

Girls Basketball

Oxbow 73, Harwood 23

Bradford, Vt. — Oxbow seniors Alex Giesing, Kayleigh Trojanowski and Sara Walker made the most of what will likely be their last home game with big performances in a win over the Highlanders.

Giesing hit two 3-pointers as part of a season-high 22-point night for the Olympians (8-12). Trojanowski also hit two from beyond and finished with 16 points, and Walker added nine points as well.

Thetford 65, Randolph 35

Thetford — The Panthers used a 22-6 second quarter filled with solid passing and transition conversions to close a 15-5 regular season and clinch the second seed in next week’s Vermont Division III tourney.

Dahlia Klarich scored 16 points to power a TA offense that received at least one basket from 12 different players. Regan Covey netted 12 points and Izzy Wilmott had nine, all on 3-pointers, for the hosts.

Thetford’s five losses — by a combined 23 points — include two in overtime. The Panthers expect to open tourney play on Tuesday.

Wilbraham & Monson 56 KUA 41

Wilbraham, Mass. — The Wildcats (14-12) closed their season with a NEPSAC Class C quarterfinal loss on the road. Kimball Union loses four to graduation.

Girls Hockey

Thayer 5, KUA 1

Meriden — The fourth-seeded Wildcats (16-7-2) saw their season come to an end at the hands of fifth-ranked Thayer in an NEPSAC Division II quarterfinal at Akerstrom Arena.

First-year Kimball Union coach Mark Hudak loses seven to graduation from a roster that boasted a healthy contribution of Upper Valley-based talent.

Women’s Lacrosse

Dartmouth 19, BU 7

Boston — The Big Green (4-0) kept up its solid start to the season by dominating the Terriers (1-2) at Nickerson Field.

Sophomore Elizabeth Mastrio notched a career-high five goals and senior Taryn Deck added four for Dartmouth, which had two other players contribute at least three goals.

Junior Cara DePippo and sophomore Kierra Sweeney each scored three times. For DePippo, it marks the third straight game in which she has netted at least a hat trick, while it was the second such game for Sweeney.

Colby-Sawyer 20, Newbury 1

Boston — The Chargers (2-0) picked up goals from 11 different players in Wednesday’s road rout. Sierra Schuster paced Colby-Sawyer with a four-goal afternoon. Nicole Lavigne had a game-high six points on three goals and three assists.

Skiing

Dartmouth Announces NCAA Roster

Hanover — Winners of five of the East’s six carnival stops, the Big Green confirmed a full 12-athlete team for next week’s NCAA championship in the White Mountains.

The Big Green will send Brian McLaughlin, Tanguy Nef, Thomas Woolson, Alexa Dlouhy, Kelly Moore and Foreste Peterson to slalom and giant slalom racing at Cannon Mountain in Franconia. Dartmouth’s Nordic contingent —

Luke Brown, Callan DeLine, Fabian Stocek, Lydia Blanchet, Abby Drach and Lauren Jortberg — will hold their races at the Jackson Ski Touring Center.

The University of New Hampshire is serving as host, with racing set for March 8-11. Dartmouth is seeking its first national title since 2007, when UNH last hosted the NCAAs.