ORFORD — The Rivendell Academy boys basketball team will ride an 11-game winning streak to Barre Auditorium, as the Raptors punched their ticket to the VPA Division IV semifinals with a 65-45 victory over Leland & Gray on Sunday evening in a game that wasn’t even as close as that score suggests.

Four players scored in double figures for No. 2 seed Rivendell — junior Finn O’Donnell led the way with 13, seniors Harry Molesworth and Ashton Pierson each had 12 and senior Josiah Welch added 10. Another senior, Josh Gould, chipped in with nine off the bench.

The Raptors (18-4) held a 32-11 lead at halftime before a strong fourth quarter by the No. 7 seed Rebels made the final score look more respectable. Alex Parker-Jennings led all scorers with 23 points for Leland & Gray.

Rivendell hit just two 3-pointers, both by Pierson in the second quarter, but controlled the paint even without a true post player. The Raptors also got to the free throw line 27 times, making 17 of them.

“Our defense, for the last several weeks, has stepped up,” Rivendell first-year coach Andy Perkins said. “We’ve tried to take the mindset of defense first and the offense will take care of itself, and we feel pretty comfortable with our offense. Since we’ve stepped it up on defense, we’ve been an improved team.”

Awaiting Rivendell in Barre will be No. 3 seed Danville, a team the Raptors did not face during the regular season. Rivendell will be trying to exorcise its semifinal demons after blowing a late lead last year against Blue Mountain.

BOWLINGWindsor reaches semis at state championship

COLCHESTER, Vt. — The Yellowjackets advanced to the semifinal round in Sunday's Vermont high school bowling championship before bowing out to No. 2 seed Essex, 4-1, in the best-of-seven Baker round.

In the quarterfinals at Spare Times Entertainment, No. 3 seed Windsor defeated No. 6 seed Craftsbury, 4-1, winning the first, second, fourth and fifth games.

Hartford, seeded ninth, was defeated by No. 8 seed Fair Haven in the first round, 4-0. White River Valley, the No. 10 seed, lost in the first round to seventh-seeded South Burlington, 4-0.

]]>