dozen members of the Middlebury, Mount Abraham, Otter Valley and Vergennes union high school boys’ basketball teams and three of their coaches received postseason recognition from either the Lake Division or the Southern Vermont League B Division.
The fifth-seeded Tigers lost to No. 1 North Country in a Wednesday game at the Barre Auditorium.
The No. 9 seed Vergennes Union High School girls’ basketball team won one road game in the Division III playoffs before losing a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, March 7, to top-seeded Oxbow.
Another outstanding Otter Valley boys’ basketball season ended on Wednesday just as it did a year ago, in Barre with a loss to a powerhouse Montpelier team in a Division II semifinal.
Host No. 3 seed Lamoille on Thursday, March 13, ousted the No. 14 Otter Valley girls’ basketball team from the Division II playoffs, 67-30, in a first-round game.
In January, I got a call from my college friend Greg: “Hey Karl, want to see Cooper Flagg in person?” he asked. “Heck, yes,” I said.
The Middlebury and Mount Abraham girls’ high school basketball teams met in Bristol Friday for a Division II quarterfinal; MUHS showed no fear in the 2nd half and won the game.
Mount Abraham was the only high school girls’ basketball team to see action before the Wednesday deadline for the Independent as the playoffs got underway.
No.3 Harwood rallied in the second half on Saturday to defeat visiting No. 6 Middlebury, 57-50, in a Division II boys’ basketball quarterfinal.
No. 6 Winooski started strong on Friday against the No. 3 Vergennes, the Commodores bounced back and took a lead, but the Spartans closed strong to eke out a victory.
The No. 4 Otter Valley boys’ basketball team on Friday rallied in the second half to defeat No. 5 Fair Haven and book a date on Wednesday evening in a Division II semifinal. In Barre they will face No. 1 Montpelier.
Sometimes basketball games come down to the final seconds. Tuesday’s first-round Division II playoff game between No. 6 Middlebury and visiting No. 11 Spaulding turned out to be even closer — it was decided after the final horn sounded.
Jeff Brown, the most successful men’s basketball coach in Middlebury College’s history, will step down at the end of this academic year, Middlebury Director of Athletics Erin Quinn announced on Monday.
All four local girls’ high school basketball teams pulled out victories between Feb. 20 and 25, including a nailbiter win by Mount Abraham over Middlebury.
As the high school boys playoffs got underway on Tuesday, the area’s highest seeded team in Division II, No. 4 Otter Valley, advanced to a quarterfinal game this week with a victory.
