MIDDLBURY — The fact the Middlebury and Vergennes union high school boys’ basketball teams combined on Tuesday for the same number of points as the teams scored in the Super Bowl on Sunday (62) says a lot about the game the Tigers and Commodores played in a packed MUHS gym.

Yes, Tuesday’s hoop game was a defensive battle. Both teams struggled to put points on the board against hardworking man-to-man defenses.

Ultimately, the Tigers, who led most of the way, repelled a VUHS third-quarter surge to earn a 37-25 victory that avenged their 43-30 loss in Vergennes on Jan. 25.

The Tigers improved to 9-8 after a 2-7 start. They’ve moved up, unofficially, to sixth in the Division II standings.

Meanwhile, the D-III Commodores took just their second loss in nine outings and dropped to 11-6. Unofficially, the setback pushed them down one place to fifth in the D-III standings.

Tiger Coach Chris Altemose said an important factor on Tuesday was his team took care of the ball against tough defense. The Tigers turned the ball over just 10 times, about half their early-season average.

“We took better care of the ball tonight than we did up there, and we shot a little better at home,” he said. “And then they made a run at us in the third quarter, and our guys did a good job of staying with it, and got a couple buckets to quell their run and finish the game strong.”

TIGER SENIOR GUARD Tassilo Luksch goes airborne in an effort to keep the ball from going out of bounds as the Commodore bench looks on during the basketball game in the MUHS gym Tuesday evening.
Independent photo/Steve James

On defense, he pointed to the individual effort of sophomore forward Brady Lloyd on VUHS junior standout forward Ryker Mosehauer, as well as a team-wide dedication to defend.

“That was a collective effort defensively,” Altemose said.

VUHS Coach Eric LeBeau had no complaints about his team’s defense, but said his Commodores were not at their best at the other end of the floor.

“All the props to them. They (MUHS) had a game plan, and they executed it,” LeBeau said. “Obviously, we played good defense as well. And in a game of defense, you have to make something happen on the offensive end. We were just out of sync all night.”

LeBeau took the blame.

“My feeling is when a team plays like this, it falls on me. Somewhere along the line preparing for the game I didn’t get them ready,” LeBeau said. “We came out flat, and we could never find it.”

Actually, the Commodores scored the first four points of the game, a jumper by junior guard Ryan Wright and a layup by senior forward Spencer Gebo. But it took them more than three minutes to take that lead, and it came not against the Tigers’ first string — it was the Tigers’ senior night, and their regular lineup didn’t start.

And those were the only VUHS points of the period. In the final 3:40, senior Tassilo Luksch and sophomore Taylor Altemose sandwiched three-pointers around a post move by junior forward Cooke Riney, and it was 8-4 when the quarter ended.

The low-scoring second quarter ended with the Tigers taking an 18-10 halftime lead.

Senior Tiger guard Cam Whitlock hit a three and a free throw and converted a steal into a layup to score six points in the period, and Riney and Brady hit inside. For VUHS in the period, Gebo and sophomore center Theo Elzinga scored inside, and sophomore guard Cohen Howell converted a transition feed from Mosehauer in the final seconds.

With four minutes left in the third period the teams had only combined for six points, two each by Riney and Whitlock for MUHS and a drive for two by Gebo for VUHS. The Tiger lead was 10 at 22-12.

Not for long. The Commodores took advantage of Riney taking a breather on the bench to attack the basket and rattled off six points in the next two minutes the cut the lead to four. Riker scored on a putback and a drive, and Gebo drove for two at 2:17 to make it 22-18. That’s when Altemose called for time and put Riney back on the floor.

VUHS SENIOR FORWARD Spencer Gebo carves out space in the Tiger lane during Tuesday’s basketball game at MUHS. Seniors George Devlin, in the back, and Colton Odell (#20) defend.
Independent photo/Steve James

Tiger senior guard Keenan Chicoine broke the run with a jumper, but Mosehauer hit a jumper in the lane with minute to go and then was fouled at the buzzer and made a free throw. The MUHS lead was 24-21 after three periods.

The Commodores failed to sustain the momentum, turning the ball over twice early in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Lloyd drained a corner three, and Whitlock sank a jumper at 6:20 as the Tiger lead grew to eight.

At 5:30, Elzinga converted a Mosehauer feed inside, but that would be the last Commodore points in about 4.5 minutes.

At 4:22, Riney powered his way in for a critical three-point play to push the lead to 32-23, and even when he missed a transition dunk on the next Tiger possession, the lead seemed safe. Then a Luksch free throw at 3:04 pushed the lead to 33-23.

The Commodores got a Wright free throw at 1:05, and then he sank a three-pointer at 0:35 to make it 33-27.

It was a two-possession game in which a VUHS miracle was theoretically possible, given the Tigers had missed four straight free throws. But the Commodores missed heavily pressured threes in the final minute, and Taylor Altemose swished two free throws at 0:17 to settle matters.

For VUHS, Mosehauer led with nine points, Gebo and Wright finished with six each, and Elzinga added four points. Mosehauer, Elzinga and Gebo led a rebounding effort that gave VUHS a 33-25 edge on the boards, including team rebounds. The Commodores committed 14 turnovers to the Tigers’ 10.

While disappointed on Tuesday, LeBeau continues to have faith in his Commodores. He referred to what’s been working to give them 11 wins.

“What you saw defensively, and we’ve been playing better offensively,” he said. “If you give me my guys when they show up, I’ll play anybody. I will play Montpelier (D-II’s first place team), I will play anybody. Because my guys, when they’re ready, can compete with anybody.”

Riney led the Tigers with nine points and was strong on the boards. Whitlock finished with eight points, Lukach with six, and Lloyd with five.

TIGER JUNIOR FORWARD Cooke Riney carries the ball into the Commodores’ lane during the boys’ basketball game at MUHS on Tuesday.
Independent photo/Steve James

Riney was asked what’s helped the Tigers bounce back from their slow start.

“I’ve got to say teamwork. We’ve got a lot of depth. If someone is not shooting right, then somebody else is,” Riney said. “We always find a way to pull through.”

Belief has also helped.

“We all have confidence in ourselves, and we’ve got … confidence in each other,” Riney said. “And I think that’s the most important reason for that … It was our mentality that brought us through.”

Altemose said the Tigers are gelling on the floor.

“I would say (during) this stretch our pieces have come together a little more,” Altemose said. “If you collapse on the inside, we’ve been able to make enough shots on the outside to make them pay for doing that. If they spread out, we make them pay inside. And that’s really the balance we’ve been trying to develop the whole season.”

He also touted the team’s attitude as vital to its success after a slow start against a challenging early schedule.

“It was frustrating at times, but nobody got discouraged,” Altemose said. “We kept working hard every day, and it’s cool the kids got to see the results of staying the course and working hard.”