ADDISON COUNTY — The Mount Abraham Union High School boys’ basketball team broke through for the program’s first win since the 2014 campaign to highlight season-opening basketball action this past Saturday.
In other games, the Vergennes and Mount Abe girls each picked up road victories, while the Middlebury boys dropped a home game. The Tiger girls’ game scheduled at Mill River on Saturday was postponed until Jan. 16.
EAGLE BOYS
Mount Abe snapped the program’s 49-game skid by rallying for a 44-38 victory at Randolph as several Eagles made big plays. Coach Martin Clark, who earned his first varsity head-coaching victory, said the Eagles played solid man-to-man defense for most of the game, but switched to a 3-2 zone in the fourth quarter, a move that created Ghost turnovers.
Chris Wood converted two of those turnovers into fast-break hoops, and a Ryan Thompson three-pointer made it 36-35 with a little less than three minutes to go. Coleman Russell, who scored a game-high 15 points, then took advantage of another Ghost turnover for the go-ahead layup with 2:15 to go.
Up by 37-36, the Eagles then hit their free throws to seal the win, including five of six in the final minute, when Russell went four-for-four from the line. In all, Russell hit nine of 10 free throws. Jackson Counter added 13 points, including a three-pointer at the end of the first half that made it 23-19 at the break after the Eagles had trailed by 23-14.
EAGLE GIRLS
The Eagle girls also won by six points on the road, 49-43, at Mount Mansfield, and they also sealed the game from the free throw line. The Cougars cut a larger lead to three points in the late going, but the Eagles hit their charity tosses to win their opener.
Eagle junior Emma Carter led all scorers with 24 points.
VUHS GIRLS
The Commodore girls took charge of their game a little earlier, outscoring host Harwood by 26-8 in the third quarter on the way to a 60-35 victory. The Commodores had led by just seven points at the break before the surge.
Morgan Lynk’s 23 points led the Commodores in her varsity debut. Ciara McClay scored 10 points and added eight steals, and Shay Pouliot chipped in nine points.
TIGER BOYS
Visiting Burr & Burton used balanced scoring and strong defense to defeat the Tiger boys, 49-31. Sophomores Jake Nicholson, Will Frink and Pat Fortsmann combined for 29 points for the Bulldogs, who played without standout Griff Stalcup, out for at least six weeks with a broken ankle. 
Cody Pomainville and Trey Kaufman led the Tigers with seven points each.