By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
Burlington High School proved to be the best Division I boys basketball team in the state last season, and it doesn’t look like the Seahorses are ready to leave that lofty perch.
Burlington cleared a high hurdle Tuesday night when it beat Rice Memorial, 79-52, at Buck Hard Gym.
It was the 27th consecutive victory for Burlington, which went 24-0 en route to the Division I championship last season. Burlington beat Rice, 49-33, in last year’s championship game. Rice returned all five starters from last year’s team.
Junior guard Joe O’Shea scored a team-high 24 points (four 3-pointers) and senior center Clancy Rugg added 23 points for the Seahorses, who returned three starters from last year. Rugg also had six rebounds and three blocked shots.
“I knew coming into the season how good O’Shea and Rugg were going to be,” Rice coach Paul Pecor told the Burlington Free Press. “Some of BHS’s supporting cast is a little better than I anticipated.
“They are very good — definitely the team to beat again this year.”
Burlington’s three victories this season have been by an average of 33 points.
Junior Kevin Cherry added 10 points for the Seahorses, who made 10 3-pointers in the victory.
“Guys like Kevin Cherry and James Hale have kind of been waiting to get in and play their part,” Burlington coach Matt Johnson told the Free Press. “That’s what makes our team special: There are kids who are willing and able to step in when necessary.”
Burlington, which beat Rice three times last season, built a 38-25 halftime lead Tuesday and extended its advantage to 64-37 after three quarters.
Senior point guard Jon Goldberg collected 17 points and five rebounds for Rice, which also received 14 points and six rebounds from senior center Nick Meunier.
“Whenever it’s BHS-Rice, there’s extra buzz around the game,” Rugg said. “We came out fired up.”
Boys Basketball: White passes 1,000-point milestone
Senior guard Grant White collected the 1,000th point of his high school career to lead Springfield to a 56-45 triumph over Burr and Burton on Wednesday night.
White entered the contest with 994 career points and finished the game with 32. He scored his 1,000th point in the first quarter.
White became the seventh boys basketball player at Springfield to surpass 1,000 career points.
Football: Wong collects top honor
Hartford’s Mick Wong, a running back/linebacker, has been named Vermont’s Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2008 season.
Wong, a 5-foot-6, 182-pound senior, helped lead Hartford to its second straight Division I state title last season. He rushed for 1,427 yards and 18 touchdowns on 145 carries as a senior. He also caught nine passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Wong recorded 128 tackles (52 solo), intercepted four passes and had five sacks.
Wong rushed for 216 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in Hartford’s victory over Rutland in the Division I championship game.
