2013 Division III boys hoop semifinal previews

I'll be back in Barre tonight snapping away for the Burlington Free Press and doing some research on a feature story and as a part of my prep for that and this weekend's Barre Aud championship tripleheader, here's some numbers and notes on the two Division III high school boys basketball semifinal games.

No. 1 Williamstown 21-0 vs. No. 4 Rivendell 18-4, 6:15 p.m.

BFA-Fairfax senior Ben Pomitcher is one of the many offensive options for the Bullets (Shawn Corrow/Cold Hollow Photography)

Williamstown is the defending D-III champion and won the two regular-season meetings, played back-to-back on Feb. 1 and 5 by scores of 68-49 and 72-57.

This is the third all-time playoff meeting between the schools. Williamstown beat the Raptors for the title last year, 66-42. Back in 2006, Williamstown beat Rivendell 59-49 in a playdown.

Williamstown is gunning for its fourth D-III title and fifth overall (it won one in D-IV). The Blue Devils also won in 2010 and their recent string of success (third Final Four appearance in four years) comes on the heels of a nine-year drought in which it failed to advance past the quarterfinals.

Jason Manwaring, a 1,000-point scorer, led Williamstown into the semis with a 27-point, 14-rebound effort in a 76-53 quarterfinal win over No. 8 Hazen Union. Seth Atherton and Hunter McLaughlin each added 12 points in the win.

Williamstown has a 35-26 overall playoff record, including a 29-33 mark in Division III where it is 5-4 all-time in semifinal games and 3-2 in state finals.

Rivendell, an Orford, N.H.-based school serving that community as well as the towns of Fairlee, West Fairlee and Vershire, is playing in its third Final Four and aiming for its second straight trip to the Division III finals.

Jack Steketee has paced the Raptors in scoring with 11 points in a 73-47  first-round win over No. 13 Stowe and adding 20 in an 82-63 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Enosburg.

Josh Marshall has scored 11 points in each playoff game and Tim Stimpson (15) points), Cole Stever (12) and Nate Eastman (11) also reached double figures in the quarterfinals for the Raptors.

Williamstown averages 78.6 points per game and has scored 100 one and topped 90 or more points four times. The Blue Devils allow 43.7 points per game. They are 2-0 in games decided by less than 10 points (a 66-58 win over Union 32 and a 71-69 win over Twinfield).

Rivendell averages 64.3 points per game and 49.7 points allowed.

No. 3 Thetford (18-4) vs. No. 6 BFA-Fairfax (16-6), 8:30 p.m.

This is the third all-time meeting between the schools in the playoffs with Fairfax winning twice in the quarterfinals (57-45 in 2010 and 55-53 in 1982).

The schools did not play in the regular season. The only common opponent was Windsor, which Thetford beat 58-31 in the regular season and Fairfax beat 76-53 in the first round of the playoffs.

This is Thetford’s 13th trip to the Final Four and 10th in the last 13 years. The Panthers lost in the finals in 2006, 2007 and 2011. Their last title was in 2004. They are 7-5 all-time in semifinals and 3-4 in the finals.

Sophomore guard Brandon Gray led the team with 21 points in a 58-53 quarterfinal win over No. 7 Randolph and he added 14 points in a 66-50 playdown win over No. 15 Oxbow.

Senior guard Ian Weider had 20 points against Oxbow and added 13 versus Randolph, a game in which the Panthers trailed 21-20 at the half.

Senior center Aiden Cleaves scored 16 in the quarterfinals and senior guard Dominic Chatot had 10 in the playdowns.

Thetford has a 41-28 all-time playoff record.

The Panthers four losses were to Williamstown, Rivendell, U-32 and Harwood.

This is the third Final Four in five years for the Bullets and fourth in the last nine years. Prior to that, Fairfax went 23 years without a trip to the Barre Aud.

Fairfax is 3-7 in previous semifinal appearances and 0-3 in title games. The Bullets’ last trip to the finals was in 2009. Prior to that they were in the 1965 and 1966 finals.

Thetford is averaging 56.0 points per game and allowing 49.0.

Senior forward Kris Wehner leads a balanced attack for the Bullets, which often puts five players over six-feet tall on the floor at the same time. Wehner scored 20 in a 76-53 win over No. 11 Windsor in the first round and added 18 more in a 58-45 upset win at No. 3 Leland & Gray.

Senior forward Ben Pomitcher scored 17 in the first round win and senior forward and senior forward Jared Demar added 12 points apiece.

Sophomore guard Luke Rebeor had 14 points in the quarterfinals for the Bullets.

BFA-Fairfax is averaging 59.0 points per game and allowing 50.0.

The Bullets’ six losses are to Lake Region (twice), Hazen, Enosburg, MVU and Milton.