-Bellows Falls got a balanced scoring effort and strong defensive play in the second half to defeat the winless Leland & Gray Rebels, 52-26, in Townshend on Jan. 2.
Freshman Jaden Bazin led the 3-2 Terriers with 10 points. Seniors Will Hallock and Carson Clark each scored nine points. Juniors Coby Levesque and Cameron Perry added seven and six points, respectively. Senior Cody Hescock led the Rebels with a game-high 13 points, and Ely White chipped in with six points.
The Rebels kept it close in the first half, and trailed BF 21-18 at halftime. BF coach Evan Chadwick then made a defensive adjustment in the second half, switching from a 1-3-1 alignment to man-to-man defense. It worked very well, limiting the Rebels to just eight points in the second half.
"My guys found the defensive energy, I think, in the second half and we were able to get out in transition and do kind of the things that we really focus on and so I think that was the difference," said Chadwick after the game. "Holding them to eight points in the second half, that was a product of just our seniors really kind of stepping up and then everyone kind of feeding off their energy."
Rebels coach Bob Culver thought his team played well in the first half. "We've just got to put it all together with our whole lineup and all four quarters," he said.
Leland & Gray started its week with a 74-37 loss to Poultney on Dec. 30. With the BF loss, the Rebels are now 0-6.
Girls' basketball
• Brattleboro had a tough time of it again against St. Johnsbury as the Hilltoppers swept the season series with a 48-20 win on Jan. 2. The Hilltoppers set the tone by taking a 17-0 first-quarter lead. It was the only game last week for the 2-3 Bears.
• Green Mountain used strong second-half play to defeat Leland & Gray, 48-35, in Townshend on Dec. 30. Green Mountain's Sophia Cherubini scored 10 of her game-high 13 points in the second half to break open a close game. GM had a narrow 18-17 lead at halftime but they outscored the Rebels, 12-4, in the third quarter to take control. Abigail Emerson led the Rebels with 11 points.
Boys' basketball
• Brattleboro is struggling to be more consistent as the calendar turns to January. Against Rutland at the BUHS gym on Jan. 3, the Bears lost, 64-50.
The Bears were in it in the first half, forcing 13 turnovers by Rutland and trailing 27-22 at intermission. The second half was a different story as Rutland committed only two turnovers. Rutland extended its lead to 42-33 after three quarters and pulled away in the fourth.
Dez Krakowka led Rutland with 18 points and five assists, while Wyatt Fuller contributed 13 points and five rebounds and Cooper Sparks had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Josh Satterfield led the 2-4 Bears with 17 points, including three three-pointers. Dawson Wheeler added 13 points, all of them in the second half, while Keagan Systo scored 10 points.
Bears coach Winston Sailsman Jr. said after the game that while the Bears lost, the team "earned respect" in playing competitively in the first half against one of the top teams in Division I this season. "We played pretty solid on defense," he said. "We are just instilling in the players that if you want to be a great team, you have to multiply the intensity."
• Brayden Brown scored 22 points to lead Twin Valley to a 60-53 win over the visiting Poultney Blue Devils on Jan. 3. The Wildcats improved their record to 5-1.
Gymnastics
• The BUHS gymnastics team, coached by Karen Gallivan, made an impressive debut in their first competition of the season, taking first place with a total score of 126.8 points in a tri-meet held in Middlebury on Dec. 27, showcasing the strength and determination of the 15 athletes on the team.
Notable individual performances included Sadie Cheslawski, who captured first place on Vault with a score of 9.2, and Lauren Chute, who not only earned first place on Floor but also secured top honors in the All-Around competition with a total score of 34.05.
On the Vault, Cheslawski's first-place finish was closely followed by Juliette Pals who took second. Other notable finishes on Vault included Lauren Chute tying for third, and Sylvia Moshovetis placing fifth.
The team's strength on this apparatus set the tone for the day. On Bars, Chute captured first place, while Moshovetis finished third, Cheslawski took fifth, and Pals finished in sixth.
The depth of talent by the Bears continued on Jan. 4 in a tri-meet in Essex. With 128.25 points, Brattleboro finished second to Essex (138.35) and ahead of third place South Burlington (110.55).
Chute again won in Vault, with 9.15 points, with Cheslawski finishing fourth with 8.75 points. Chute was also second on Bars, Beam, and All-Around, while Cheslawski was third on the Beam.
The Bears will host home meets on Saturday, Jan. 25, and Feb. 8, at the Gibson-Aiken Center in Brattleboro at 3:30 p.m.
(P.S.: A tip of the hat to Jess Cheslawski, who provided us the info on the Middlebury meet).
Ice hockey
• The Brattleboro boys had a pair of wins last week to improve to 4-2-1 on the season.
On Dec. 30, Seniors Evan Wright and Alex Dick each scored two goals as the Bears defeated St. Johnsbury, 4-1, at Withington Rink on Dec. 30.
It was a physical game as the two teams combined for 15 penalties and 38 penalty minutes. The Bears got the better of it by scoring a power play goal and going 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. Brattleboro has been very good at killing off penalties and generating goals on power plays this season, two things that have helped them win games so far this season.
Facing Mount Mansfield on the road on Jan. 4, the Bears rolled to a 4-0 win. Wright had two goals and an assist, while Dick had a goal and an assist, and Colby Robinson had a goal. Rylan Ernst had two assists and Rowan Lonergan also had an assist. Bears goaltender Senji Kimura made 32 saves to earn the shutout.
The Bears will host U-32 on Jan. 8 and travel to Woodstock on Jan. 11.
• The Brattleboro girls are still searching for their first win of the season. The Bears had a pair of road losses last week. On Dec. 30, the Bears lost to Stowe, 7-3, and were beaten by Hartford, 11-2, on Jan. 4.
Michaela Heiden and Jaidyn Denny both scored in the Stowe loss, and Fiona Toole added a goal and an assist. Avery Hiner had a pair of assists and Reese Thompson added an assist. Dakota VonFeldt had 15 saves in goal for the Bears, while Lakota Offenburger had eight saves.
Heiden and Denny also scored in the Hartford loss; Baylie Houle notched an assist. Offenburger had 15 saves in goal, while Nellie Sterlin had seven saves. The 0-6 Bears will be back in action at Withington Rink on Jan. 11 against Woodstock.
Bowling
• Brattleboro finished third behind Randolph and Fair Haven in a Jan. 4 match at Rutland Bowlerama. The Bears will be back at their home lanes at Brattleboro Bowl for a Jan. 11 match.
Senior bowling roundup
• The 17-week winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League began at Brattleboro Bowl on Jan. 2. Slo Movers, Team 8, and Team 9 all started out 5-0, followed by Double Trouble (4-1), Charlie's Angels (3-2), Wayne's World (2-3), Let 'Em Roll (1-4), and Team 7 and Renagades (both 0-5).
In case you're wondering, league secretary Nancy Dalzell tells us that the teams now known by their numbers should have names for Week 2.
Chris Montgomery had the women's high handicap game (245) and Vikki Butynski had the high handicap series (676). Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (274) and series (726). Charlie's Angels had the high team handicap game (901) and series (2,524).
Corriveau had the men's high scratch series (681) with games of 259, 218, and 204, while Peter Deyo had a 599 series with games of 220 and 197. John Walker had a 586 series with a 216 game, Robert Rigby had a 582 series with a 214 game, Milt Sherman had a 542 series with a 199 game, and Kevin Napaver had a 534 series with a 203 game. Gary Montgomery had a 527 series, Rick Pietro and Jerry Dunham each had a 500 series, and Marty Adams rolled a 191 game.
Diane Cooke had the women's high scratch series (458), while Dalzell had the high scratch game (167). Cooke and Gloski each had a 165 game, while Butynski rolled a 163.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.