CVU boys advance to championship

Champlain Valley did not leave much doubt on Monday night in the Division I boys’ basketball semifinals.

The Redhawks jumped out to a double-digit lead at halftime enroute to a 64-40 win over BFA-St. Albans to advance to the DI championship game for the second time in program history.

The top-seed CVU team will face No. 2 Rice on Saturday, March 11, at 7 p.m. at the University of Vermont’s Patrick Gym in the final, looking to dethrone the three-time defending champs.

The Redhawks used a 19-9 run in the third quarter to put away the No. 4 Bobwhites and put a stranglehold on the semifinal.

CVU was led by a double-double from Logan Vaughn, who scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Tucker Tharpe also scored 15 points for the Redhawks (21-1).

The Redhawks faced Rice twice in the regular season, with the Green Knights handing them their only loss midway through the schedule. CVU got a measure of revenge in the final week of the regular season, beating Rice 53-50.

No. 2 Rice beat No. 6 Brattleboro 76-49 in the semifinals to advance to the championship.

Girls’ hockey

Spaulding 7, Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield 0: The Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield girls hockey co-op team saw its season come to an end against top seed Spaulding in the DI semifinals Friday, March 3.

No. 4 CVU-MMU finished the season with 13-8-1 record.

Grace Ferguson (18 saves) and Ella Gilbert (14 saves) combined in goal for the Redhawks.

CVU-MMU advanced to the semifinals with a win over No. 5 Essex, 5-1, in the quarterfinals.

Riley Erdman had a hat trick to pace the CougarHawks, while Ferguson got the win in goal. Megan Rivard and Tess Everett each added a goal.

Boys’ hockey

South Burlington 3, Champlain Valley 2: The boys’ comeback effort fell short in the quarterfinals as they fell to South Burlington on Wednesday.

No. 4 CVU got goals from Travis Stroh and Nic Menard in the loss, with Jason Douglas making 36 saves in goal.

Champlain Valley finished the season with a 7-11-3 record.

Nordic skiing

The Champlain Valley Nordic ski teams each came in third place in the DI state championship meet, wrapping up the classic race at Rikert Outdoor Center on Tuesday.

On the girls’ side, Stella Laird came in fifth in the classic race and 10th in freestyle to pace the Redhawks. CVU came in third place behind state champs Burlington and second place Mount Anthony.

For the boys, Matthew Servin was the top finisher with a seventh-place finish in the classic race and a sixth place finish in freestyle. Owen Deaie was fifth in the freestyle for CVU.

The Redhawks came in third behind top finisher Mount Anthony and No. 2 Mount Mansfield.