The U-32 Varsity Boys Basketball team started the new year off with an epic 56-42 win over the Randolph Galloping Ghosts.
“The Randolph away game has always been a challenge for us, so I’m glad we were able to overcome adversity and get a win,” senior forward Zack Taylor said.
The Raiders opened up the game with a quick 8-0 run, then held the Ghosts to just five points in the first quarter. U-32 maintained their lead, pushing to the end of the first half, which concluded with the Raiders ahead 23-17.
U-32 were confident moving into the second half, extending their lead with a 10-0 run. They held the Ghosts to only seven points in the third quarter.
U-32 forward Jackson McCoy led the Raiders with 21 points followed by Kyle Booth (eight points) and Jacob Toro(seven). Six other Raiders contributed to the scoring.
“I’ve been in sort of a slump lately, and it feels good to be back on the scoring sheet and to be able to contribute to a win again,” added senior guard Jacob Toro.
The Raiders faced the Thetford Panthers on Tuesday, January 5th for the second game of the new year, resulting in a 64-41 U-32 victory.
U-32 took the lead quickly with guard Dashiell Vermilya hitting five of his nine points in the first quarter. They held the lead and finished the half ahead by 20.
Dashiell said, “Every night I’ve tried to contribute something new to our teams success and tonight it was shooting.”
U-32 forward Jackson McCoy contributed 18 to the Raider victory while hitting four of his five free throws with forward Derek Cote adding 11 points.
The Raiders continued to control the game but both teams were sloppy down the stretch. Neither team had a strong run in the second half of the game.
“We played a little sloppy throughout the game and had more turnovers than we had hoped but we still pulled off a win,” said senior forward Jackson McCoy.
“We are off to a really strong start this year and we hope to continue our success through our next game against Hartford and into playoffs,” said Taylor.
U-32 has momentum moving into their third game of the new year which will be against the Hartford Hurricanes on Monday the 11th, with an away Montpelier matchup in the near future.
“We aren’t losing in 2016,” a confident McCoy added.
