BARRE — Top-seeded Fair Haven on Monday dealt the Otter Valley Union High School boys’ basketball team a loss for the third time this winter, and this one hurt the most.
It came in a Division II semifinal in the Barre Civic Auditorium, 58-42, and it ended the Otters’ strong season with a 15-8 record.
The Slaters, who during the regular season defeated OV at home by 13 and in Brandon by eight, improved to 18-5 and are scheduled to play for the D-II title on Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
However that timetable is open to question with the midweek snowstorm. The status of Wednesday night’s semifinal between No. 3 Milton and No. 7 U-32 was uncertain at presstime, and forecasts called for the storm to linger and also to postpone other scheduled games at the Aud. Whenever the final is played, Fair Haven, a perennial contender, will be seeking its first title since 2002.
On Monday the Otters hung with the Slaters in the first period, trailing by 15-12 after the first eight minutes despite eight of Slater Cam Coloutti’s game-high 23 points. Early three-pointers from Josh Letourneau and Tyler Rowe kept OV in the hunt.
The Slaters then outscored the Otters by 17-8 in the second period to take a 12-point lead at the half. Aubrey Ramey and Zach Murray hit three-pointers as Fair Haven went ahead by 30-16, but late hoops by Dylan Mackie and Rowe helped OV stay close.
The Otters scored the first six points of the second half to pull to within 32-26, but five straight points from Drew Eddy and threes by Ramey and Coloutti helped the Slaters take charge. They led after three periods, 49-32, and then scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to put the game out of the Otters’ reach.
The backcourt of Mackie (12 points) and Letourneau (11) paced OV.
The Otters finished the season by winning nine of their final 11 games, with both losses to the Slaters.
As well as Letourneau, a four-year varsity player, Payson Williams, Sawyer Heath and William Kelly put on basketball uniforms for the last time for OV on Monday.