Sam Russell of Twinfield-Cabot looks to pass around Richford’s Carson Steinhour (left) and Jerrick Jacobs (center) during play January 5. Richford defeated Twinfield 79-47.
by Ken Brown
MARSHFIELD – The Twinfield-Cabot boys’ basketball team found themselves shorthanded last week against a potent Division III Richford squad after dominating West Rutland over the holiday break.
Will Steinhour poured in a game-high 27 points to lead Richford to a convincing 79-47 road win over the Trojans last Thursday. Sophomore point guard Jerrick Jacobs complemented Steinhour with a strong 23 of his own and big man Elias Varisco chipped in with 17. Tej Stewart paced the Trojans with 16 points and Brayden Cushing and T.J. Bernatchy added 11 apiece in the loss. Richford improved to 5-3 on the season with the win.
“Our youth really showed early against a very good team and we lost that game in the first quarter,” said head coach Chris Hudson. “They’re starting five is big and fast and I’m just glad they are in division III. The guys made some good runs in the second half, but we just dug ourselves too deep of a hole and expended too much energy trying to chase. It’s a good sign that this group never quits, but we need to get to a point this season where our defense is setting the tempo of our offense and not the other way around,” added Hudson.
Twinfield-Cabot’s Dominic Hale rushes the ball past Colton Kittel of Richford during action at Twinfield January 5. Richford won 79-47.
The Trojans handled West Rutland 79-41 on December 27, making them a perfect 3-0 against Division IV southern opponents on the road this season. Meles Gouge led the way with 17 points for Twinfield-Cabot and freshman Zepherin Hebert poured in a career-high 16 in the win. The loss dropped West Rutland to 2-5 on the season. Hudson hopes to turn the page on 2022 with a more consistent schedule that includes some upcoming pivotal divisional match-ups.
“Honestly, a lot of teams have six to eight games under their belts already and we only have five. We’re a young team and the only way we’re going to get to the team we want to be is to play games and get repetitions. Our schedule hasn’t done us any favors, but I still like where we are ranking-wise in the division. We’re going to get back to work this week and hopefully get into more of a flow with consistently playing games. I like the young talent on this team and if we continue to improve, we can play with anybody,” said Hudson.
The Trojans traveled to Oxbow on Tuesday, will welcome Craftsbury Academy to town on Thursday, before wrapping up the week with a home match-up against Winooski on Saturday afternoon.
