Hope to see you all there.

All effort and then some, the Terriers fell to Vergennes in quarterfinal action on Saturday afternoon 63-52, concluding BF’s season with a 16-6 record.

“What a great season we had,” said Coach Evan Chadwick. “We are of course sad about the result today, but I could not have asked for anymore from this group of men.”

The game was close throughout, as Vergennes took a 4 point lead in into the half that expanded to as many as 9 in the third quarter.

The purple and white would not fold, cutting the lead to 3 in the fourth on three separate occasions and had several chances to tie the game up. Unfortunately, in a 60 second span, Vergennes hit two threes and BF missed three point-blank opportunities that forced the Terriers into foul mode with one minute remaining. The Commodores hit their free throws and earned a trip to Barre.

The Terriers lose 5 seniors: Owen LaRoss, Jackson Goodell, Jack Cravinho, Captain Patrick Barbour and Captain Jonathan Terry.

“These five men have dedicated their high school careers to this program, and have shown this town that the pride of BF basketball is alive and well,” said Chadwick. “Believe me when I tell you this, we will be back in this position soon.”

Note: Captains for next year’s season have already been named, as Jamison Nystrom, Jake Moore and Peter Kamel accepted the positions and will work with the underclassmen to gear up for the 2022-23 season, it should be a fun one.

Calendar has been updated

Please see amended schedule for tomorrow’s practices.

Coach Harry LaDue, a Vermont high school coaching icon, who has headed the Windsor boys basketball program for over 40 years would have been impressed with the Terriers 70-36 victory on Thursday evening in Windsor, if it was against anyone but his own Windsor Yellow Jackets.

“What a great game for us,” said Chadwick. “Our fans came out in droves, our guys played with energy and we got a big win for our program all while honoring one of our State’s greatest coaches.”

The Terriers attacked the rim with urgency from the opening tip, generating second chance opportunities of offensive rebounds from Jonathan Terry, Owen LaRoss and Patrick Barbour. LaRoss alone registered 10 offensive rebounds in the first half.

Despite generating second and third shots, the Terriers struggled early to finish in the paint and, after 4 minutes of action, they only led by a score of 7-2. Jamison Nystrom connected on two threes to extend the lead to double digits by the end of the first at 13-3.

“I know what we are working on tomorrow,” said Chadwick. “We can’t keep teams in games by missing easy ones.”

BF gained their separation in the second, scoring 24 points to Windsor’s 6. Nine Terriers scored in the frame, led by LaRoss’ 8. As time expired, Nystrom pulled up and drilled a straight away 2 that had the Terriers leading by 28.

“We got into a rhythm for a stretch there,” said Chadwick. “At that point, I just get to sit back and enjoy the show.”

The second half was a little sloppy for the Terriers, as the Yellow Jackets fought hard to bring their coach a comeback victory, narrowing the gap to as little as 20.

The BF bench would respond, getting an inside bucket from Peter Kamel, and a drive from Walker James that kept the lead at 27 and allowing the Terriers to close the contest and earn their 14th win on the season.

“Our bench really stepped up,” said Chadwick. “Having players that can come in and contribute immediately is a luxury many teams don’t have.”

LaRoss was one blocked shot away from a triple double scoring 14 points, grabbing 19 boards and blocking 9 shots. Jonathan Terry added his own double-double with 12 points and 14 boards , while Goodell added 12 points and Jamison Nystrom dished out 5 dimes to go with his 8 points.

The Terriers will next step on the Court on Saturday, as they honor their seniors on their 2pm matchup with Leland and Gray.”

“They (L&G) are playing real well right now,” said Chadwick. “It should be a great game to come out to and support these seniors who have given so much to this program.”

Calendar has been updated.

The Terriers used their size and speed to lead their contest with Mill River wire-to-wire and to pick up their 13th win on the season at MRUHS 66-26.

“I liked out speed today,” said Coach Chadwick. “We talked before about taking good shots in transition and crashing the boards. I would have like to see us shoot a little better especially from close, but overall I liked the energy.”

The Terriers only led 7-2 with 3 minutes remaining in the first, as they struggled to finish their bunnies, despite getting regular second chance opportunities. Pat Barbour would extend the lead out to 10 when he corralled a loose ball and finished a drive through harm and then hit the free throw.

Four free-throws from Jonathan Terry and Walker James extended the lead out to 13, but a buzzer-beating three by the Minutemen narrowed the gap back to 8 after the first at 18-10.

“We hit 80 percent of our free throws today,” said Chadwick. Those are the numbers we need to see come playoff time.”

Bellows Falls would pitch a shutout defensively in the second, turning the Minutemen over and scoring 14 points off of transition, including back-to-back thefts and finishes by Colby Dearborn and Jesse Darrell.

At the break, the purple and white lead by 22.

BF would dash any hopes of the hosts to come back in the second, which started with a Jack Cravinho 3, an inside hoop off an offensive rebound by Terry and a coast-to-coast finish by Barbour off a steal. In a flash the Terriers were up 28 at 41-13.

“We are closing out games early in the third much better now than earlier in the season,” said Chadwick. “It’s a product of these men understanding just how important that first four minutes of the second half is.”

Barbour and LaRoss led the scoring attack for BF with 15 a piece. LaRoss also added 16 boards including 10 on the offensive side. Jamison Nystrom contributed 14 and Jonathan Terry added 9 points and 11 boards.

The Terriers sit at 13-3 and will next travel to Windsor to face off with the Yellowjackets on Thursday, February 17. JV tips at 5:30 and Varsity follows at 7.

“I expect a hard-nosed physical battle,” said Chadwick. “We have to be ready.”

BF took a step in the right direction as their regular season reaches its final stretch, using a full-court man defense and transition offense to sprint past the Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon 83-39 in Poultry.

“There have been times that we have gone away from what we are,” said Coach Evan Chadwick. “Today we took to heart our identity, it helped.”

The Terriers took command early, leading 21-6 after one and 43-20 at the break.

All 12 Terriers scored and BF was able to generate 75 shots on the day, hitting 40% of their two-point attempts and 33% of their shots behind the arc.

“The number of quality shots we took was encouraging,” said Chadwick. “I am basic math guy and I say if we generate more quality shots than our opponent, we have a great chance at getting the W.”

Pat Barbour paced the Terriers with 13. Jamison Nystrom and Owen LaRoss added 12 and Jake Moore contributed 7points and 10 boards.

The Terriers sit at 12-3, currently in the 4th seed in Division 3.

The Terriers are back in Rutland County on Monday as they face the Mill River Minutemen in a Southern Vermont League matchup.

For anyone following Vermont basketball this year, the Bellows Falls/White River Valley matchup had as much intrigue as any. Two teams vying for top seeds in their division riding impressive win streaks and both coming into Thursday’s contest with 10 wins. In the end, the Terriers had one more play then their opponents and they earned a play-off like 56-52 win.

“That was a ball game,” said Coach Chadwick. “Physical, gritty and down to the wire, both teams gave the fans a treat tonight.”

White River jumped out early scoring the first 8 points as BF struggled to hit from mid-range.

Jonathan Terry got the scoring going off an offensive rebound and, from there the Terriers scored the last 8 points of the quarter to take a 10-8 lead.

The Wildcats would take it to BF in the second, as the purple and white offense went stagnant. With two minutes remaining, WRV held a 10 point lead at 24-14.

“We got sloppy offensively in the second,” said Chadwick. “Our game plan was to push the tempo, we didn’t and that let them (WRV) dictate the pace.”

Despite the offensive struggles, the Terriers were able to hang in defensively and, in the last minute, two Jamison Nystrom jumpers narrowed the Wild Cat lead to 5 at the half.

The third saw the Wildcats take a four point lead with less than a minute to go. The Terriers would score four points in 5 seconds, the first two courtesy of a Walker James steal and finish and then Pat Barbour stole the inbounds pass and laid it in to tie the contest at 41 a piece entering the final frame.

The Wildcats were looking to take some control after they hit two threes that saw them take a 3 point lead at 49-52 and had possession the basketball with 2 minutes to go.

Jack Cravinho would not let WRV eat the clock, as he picked off a pass, drew a foul and hit two free throws to close the gap to 1.

WRV again would try to nurse the clock, drawing BF outside in the hopes of drawing a foul. On this occasion, Jonathan Terry was the thief de-jour, picking up a loose ball and finishing to give the Terriers a 1 point lead.

“I don’t know what happened or how it happened,” said Chadwick. “Bottom line, J.T. made a play.”

After forcing a Wildcat turnover on their next possession, WRV would foul Jackson Goodell who calmly sunk two free throws. The Wildcats tying 3 rimmed out and Goodell added another free-throw that sealed the deal and gave the Terriers their 11th win on the season.

Four Terriers finished in double figures: Goodell had 13, Owen LaRoss added 12, Nystrom tallied 11 and Terry contributed 10.

The Terriers (11-3) are next in action on Saturday as they travel to Poultney to face off with the Blue Devils. JV tips at 11 and varsity follows at 12:30.

The early stages of the Springfield/Bellows Falls boys basketball game on Wednesday night, was everything you would expect from the classic rivalry; physical, gritty and downright ugly. Ultimately, the Terriers size and speed wore down Springfield and the purple and white took home a 64-39 win.

“Game was called tight early,” said Coach Evan Chadwick. “Foul trouble made things difficult, but we got big contributions from the bench.”

The Terriers jumped out early, Jamison Nystrom was crafty, finishing 3 drives, Jake Moore added a 3-point play and Jackson Goodell finished two baby-hooks to give the Terriers an early 16-6 lead.

Springfield would narrow the deficit to as little as 8 thanks to four free throws that were products of the 1-and-1 bonus. During this stretch Nystrom would pick up his third foul, forcing him to the bench.

“Colby, Walker and Jesse, played great when Jaimo had to head to the bench,” said Chadwick. “Those kids are sophomores and they show no fear.”

The Terriers would close on an 8-2 run. Terry finished a post touch, then splashed a pull-up from 12 feet, James hit an off-balance floater and Pat Barbour finished in transition of a Darrell assist that had the Terriers head to the locker room up 30-16.

BF wasted little time closing this contest out in the third, taking the quarter 23-8 that allowed the Terriers bench to get plenty of minutes.

Terry started the quarter off with an elbow 3, Owen LaRoss finished an offensive rebound and Nystrom completed a 3-point play that ballooned BF’s lead to as many as 31.

“We took care of business in the third,” said Chadwick. “Upper class-men played great, but I really thought Cravinho’s ball movement is what got things going.”

The Terriers were led in points by Terry and Nystrom with 12. Cravinho dished out 8 assists and LaRoss had a monster game defensively, blocking 8 shots and grabbing 15 rebounds.

With the win, the Terriers stand at 10-3. They are back in the fire on Thursday as they welcome 10-1 White River Valley. JV tips at 5:30 and Varsity at 7pm.

“Hoping for a big crowd,” said Chadwick. “If you haven’t made a game yet this year, tonight’s the one to see.”