U-32’s Kyle Graves, who finished with 14, splits the defense of Harwood’s Evan Pearl (14) and Cole Lavoie (13). /Bradley Smart Photo
Trailing by one with six minutes remaining after seeing their 12-point halftime lead disappear, U-32 put together a 14-2 offensive run and ultimately dropped Harwood, 64-52, on Friday night in boys basketball action.
“Harwood fights you until the end,” said U-32 coach Dan Gauthier, whose team has won six of its last seven games. “The last time we matched up with them it was a triple-overitme game, so I don’t think anybody had any thoughts it’d be any different. They did a nice job of keeping themselves in the game.”
After Highlanders forward Adrian Baker finished on a break off of a nifty feed from Aidan Schoellkopf to tie it at 50-50 with 7:03 remaining, U-32 was reeling after being held scoreless for almost four minutes.
However, like so many of the Raiders previous games, somebody different stepped up as sophomore guard Jacob Toro buried a corner 3 to give U-32 the lead for good.
“The one play that sticks in my mind is Jacob Toro coming in and hitting that big three,” Gauthier continued. “The way we’re built, anybody can contribute to the team. Tonight it happened to be Jacob at that moment.”
In the first quarter, Harwood opened on a 9-2 run as the Highlanders played strong defense. U-32 cut it to just two entering the second, however, as Jackson McCoy — who scored a game high 24 points — took over with seven in the quarter alone.
McCoy’s run carried over to the second, as the Raiders scored 10 points before the Highlanders were able to counter. They built the lead behind four team 3-pointers, 9-of-15 free throw shooting and Kyle Graves added eight points.
“We were slow all night on our defensive rotations,” Harwood coach Michael Woods said. “They like to drive to the basket, and they do it really well. They got to the basket at will in the second.”
The momentum swung Harwood’s way in the second half, as the Highlanders started hitting shots and forcing turnovers. Junior guard Cole Lavoie kick-started the offense, hitting a pair of 3s and dropping ten in the quarter.
U-32 kept their distance, however, with a pair of free throws from McCoy midway through the quarter keeping the lead in double-digits. That changed quickly, as the Highlanders went on a 11-0 run over the end of the third and start of the fourth.
“We picked up our defensive intensity,” Woods said of his team’s comeback effort. “We figured out, for a little while, how to handle some of the dribble-drives and of course we knocked down some shots.”
After Toro’s 3, U-32 picked up the tempo and cruised over the final fourminutes to rebuild their 12-point halftime lead and sweep the season series with Harwood.
Graves scored 14 for the Raiders, who improved to 11-6 and have won four straight. They also cracked the Burlington Free Press’ Top Ten power rankings for the state, and are at top form entering the final stretch of the regular season.
They host Lyndon (11-5) next week in a rematch of last year’s championship game. The Vikings downed U-32 earlier in the season, 52-40.
“It’s going to be another tough game,” Gauthier said. “Lyndon’s a good team and it was a close game up at their place. I don’t expect it to be any different Tuesday.”
Harwood got 14 points from Vikram Seethepalli, while Lavoie and Adrian Baker collected 13 and nine, respectively. The Highlanders fell to 2-14.
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