The Brattleboro Colonels completed the regular season last week with two big wins to finish 14-6 and pick up the No. 6 seed in the state Division I boys' basketball tournament. As a result, they will host No. 11 Spaulding (8-12) in a first-round game on March 1 at 7 p.m.
On Feb. 21, they took advantage of a slow start by Mount Anthony and hung on for a 67-60 win over the Patriots in Bennington. MAU was scoreless in the first 6:30 of the game and trailed 12-5 after one quarter. The Patriots rallied to take a 14-12 lead in the second quarter, but a 14-0 run by the Colonels put them back in control to stay.
Brattleboro's dynamic duo of center Eli Lombardi and guard Ian Fulton-Black again led the way. Lombardi had 31 points, including three 3-pointers, and went 12-for-17 at the free throw line. Fulton-Black added 19 points.
In the regular season finale on Feb. 24 at the BUHS gym, the Colonels beat the top seeded team in Division II, the Mill River Minutemen, 56-46. The win ended the Minutemen's 18-game win streak. Lombardi again was the high scorer for the Colonels with 17.
• Twin Valley is also having a great season, finishing 14-6 and earning the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs. They'll host No. 14 Randolph (4-16) in a first-round game on March 1 at 7 p.m.
On Feb. 20, Skyler Boyd hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation to lift Twin Valley into a 40-40 tie against Bellows Falls Monday night, and the Wildcats then controlled the overtime period for a 51-46 win. Brett Swanson scored 25 points for the Wildcats, while Shane Clark led the Terriers with 12 points and Cam Joy and John Strocki each scored 11.
In the regular season finale on Feb. 24, Swanson scored a career-high 31 points as the Wildcats beat Poultney 61-29. Skyler Boyd added 11 points.
• Bellows Falls recovered from the loss to Twin Valley to win their last two games and finish the regular season with an 11-8 record. On Feb 21, they beat Green Mountain, 67-45, in Chester and then closed on the regular season at home on Feb. 25 with a 59-31 win over Leland & Gray.
Unfortunately for the Terriers, since only three of their 11 wins came against Division II opponents, it lowered their index rating and prevented BF from hosting a first-round playoff game. Thus, even though Harwood and BF have identical records, Harwood was seeded seventh and BF got the 10th seed. The teams were scheduled to play Feb. 28 in Duxbury.
• This has been a difficult season for Leland & Gray. The Rebels finished the regular season at 3-17 and lost their final eight games. On Feb. 22, they lost at Poultney, 42-25. The Blue Devils opened the game with an 11-1 run and were in control from wire-to-wire. Caleb Thibault led the Rebels with 11 points.
The Rebels were seeded No. 15 in the Division III tourney and will be on the road to face second-seeded Hazen (16-4) on March 1 at 7 p.m.
• Per Vermont Principals' Association rules, admission for all high school basketball playoff games is $5 and no school passes will be accepted.
Ice hockey
• The Vermont high school hockey playoffs also begin this week.
The Brattleboro girls (6-13-1) were seeded seventh in Division II and will play a quarterfinal game on Saturday, March 4, at 7:45 p.m., at second-seeded Woodstock (14-5-1).
The Colonels went 1-2 in the final week of the regular season. They started with a 1-0 win over Harwood on Feb. 20 at Withington Rink, lost a road game to Stowe, 4-3, on Feb. 23, and closed out the week with a 2-1 loss on the road to U-32 on Feb. 25.
• The Brattleboro boys finished the regular season at 4-13-3. That earned them the No. 10 seed in the Division II tournament and a first-round game at No. 7 Missisquoi (9-10-1) on March 1 at 7 p.m.
In the final week of the regular season, the Colonels went 1-1-1 with a 2-1 loss at Mount Mansfield on Feb. 20, a 5-2 home win against Northfield on Feb. 22, and a 2-2 tie with Hartford on Feb. 25.
Girls' basketball
• Elise Magro's free throw with 2 seconds left in the game gave Rutland a 39-38 win over the Colonels on Feb. 20. It was the Colonels' third one-point loss on the season and the win gave the Raiders a sweep of the season series.
The Colonels had a 36-32 lead with 2:49 left in the game, but the Raiders rallied for the win. Gabby Carpenter led the Colonels with 12 points, Hailey Derosia and Shenisse Taliaferro added 7 and 6 points, respectively.
On Feb. 23, freshman guard Rachael Rooney was the star of the Colonels' 47-42 win over Mount Anthony at the BUHS gym. She finished with 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers. She's been getting more playing time as the regular season winds down, and she's making the most of the opportunity.
The Colonels also had a good defensive game, using their 2-3 zone defense to limit the Patriots to just two points in the first quarter. Devin Millerick chipped in 10 points for the 8-10 Colonels, while Hailey Derosia added 9 points.
• Hannah Kelly and Abbe Cravinho scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Bellows Falls cruised to a 53-22 win over Twin Valley. The Terriers used great defense to take a 21-4 halftime lead and all but wrap up the game.
The Terriers finished the week at 11-6 with the No. 9 ranking in Division II with a 55-28 home win over Woodstock on Feb. 24.
• Leland & Gray keeps rolling along. On Feb 20, the Rebels defeated Green Mountain at home, 54-30. Rachel Borgesen scored 20 points for the Rebels and Hannah Buffum had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
In the Senior Night game in Townshend on Feb. 23, seniors Jesse Stockwell and Borgeson celebrated with 13 and 11 points, respectively as Leland & Gray defeated Poultney, 46-26. The Rebels finished the week with a 35-27 loss to Mount St. Joseph on Feb. 25. They are now 12-5 and ranked fifth in the Division III standings.
• It was another rough week for 3-14 Twin Valley. On Feb. 23 in Whitingham, they lost to Green Mountain, 49-35.
Defensive pressure was the key to the win for the Chieftains. They outscored the Wildcats 23-2 in the second quarter and forced 20 turnovers in the first half. Maya Lewis had 13 points and Kassidy Cummings added 12 for the Chieftains. Kendall Howe led the Wildcats with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The next night, the Wildcats hosted Proctor and lost, 49-39. Jarrett Niles led Twin-Valley with a career-high 12 points, while Howe had 11 points and 12 boards. But, once again, turnovers killed Twin Valley's chance of winning as they gave the ball up 26 times.
Nordic skiing
• In the Division I state nordic skiing championships, the Brattleboro girls finished fourth behind North Country, Mount Mansfield, and Champlain Valley, while the Brattleboro boys were second to Champlain Valley.
The classical race was held on Feb. 24 at Rikert Touring Center in Ripton. The course was as messy as you might expect on a rainy and unseasonably warm day, which threw an extra challenge at competitors.
Brattleboro's Isabella Thurber was sixth in the girls' classical race in 18 minutes, 25.9 seconds, while Elery Loggia was ninth in 18:37.1, and Sarah Gallagher was 14th in 19:11.8.
Isaac Freitas-Eagan, the Colonels' top male skier all season, won the boys' race in 14:04.4, while teammate Spencer Loggia was eighth in 15:40.
Part two of the state championships, the freestyle races, were held Feb. 27 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Freitas-Eagan won the boys' race in 11:46, while Loggia was 12th in 13:28.7 and Phelan Muller was 16th in 14:00.8 for Brattleboro.
Gallagher was the top freestyle skier for the Brattleboro girls, finishing eighth in 15:52.9. Thurber was 11th in 16:26.5.
• Some local nordic ski racers did well in the Lakes Region League Championships Skiathlon, held Feb. 16 at the Dublin School in New Hampshire.
In a skiathlon, racers switch from classic to skate skis and poles halfway through the race. More than 60 girls, representing 12 preparatory schools, raced and double that number of boys competed.
Nevada Powers of Northfield Mount Hermon finished sixth, while Delaney Bullock of The Putney School was seventh in the girls' race. In the boys' race, Galen Shaw of NMH had a top-20 finish.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 6 of the winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League saw Team 6 (22-8) in first place, and Team 2 (18-12), while Team 10 (18-12) are tied for second. Team 7 (16-14) and Team 1 (16-14) are tied for third. followed by Team 9 (14-16), Team 4 (11-14), Team 5 (12-18), Team 3 (11-19), and Team 8 (10-20).
Sally Perry (260) had the women's high handicap game, while Arlene Blum (656) had the women's high handicap series. Jon Peters (237) had the men's high handicap game and Tom Johnson (710) had the men's high handicap series. Team 8 had the high team handicap game (882), while Team 5 had the high handicap series (2,544).
Johnson (614) had a 600-plus series, while Warren Corriveau Sr. (586), Charles Marchant (500), Fred Ashworth (529), and Jerry Dunham (503) all rolled 500-plus series. Johnson (212, 203) and Peters (200) were the only bowlers with 200-plus games.
Rink closes March 5
• It's not a robin, but it's another sure sign of spring: The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says that the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park will close for the season on March 5 at 10:45 p.m.