Week in Review: VT Heavyweights – Down Goes Frazier

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm going to fly through this week a little differently. I'm taking a notebook style approach to the week, dropping names as I summarize the action. Let's get going!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Burlington Rises Up:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Burlington HS got hot this week, starting out with a lopsided win over Colchester and then taking down the D1 favorites Burlington HS in an OT thriller. Led by <strong>2025 6'3 G [player_tooltip player_id='2453004' first='Deng' last='Aguek']</strong> and <strong>2026 5'11 G [player_tooltip player_id='2478937' first='Paul' last='Comba']</strong>, SB went toe-to-toe with a slightly banged up BHS. <strong>Aguek</strong> put up 7 in the OT frame to secure the W, doing so with a crispy 3 to start the frame and the go-ahead bucket plus FT to seal the deal, finishing with 18 and 6 rebounds as <strong>Paul </strong>added 17 points and 11 boards via his shifty, gliding scoring touch inside and out. Emerging <strong>2026 6'6 F [player_tooltip player_id='2553737' first='Oli' last='Avdibegovic']</strong> added 10 and 10, finding buckets around the rim and flashing a short-range J too in addition to his work securing the paint against the aggressive slashing of BHS.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BHS didn't go down easy though. Led by <strong>2026 5'9 G Byron Robertson's</strong> 23 on seven 3s, including the game-tyer to force OT, BHS clawed all night. <strong>Robertson</strong> found the range off the bounce and the catch, finding nooks and crannies against the zone defense from SB. Moreover, he's a distributor who knows how to get the dominos of the defense to fall. <strong>2025 6'5 G/W [player_tooltip player_id='2325846' first='Abdi' last='Sharif'] </strong>dropped 20, added 7 boards and a few assists too, using transition opportunities and tough slashes to get it done. <strong>2027 5'8 G [player_tooltip player_id='2711459' first='Pascal' last='Munezero']</strong> had a big outing himself, contributing 18 points, 13 boards and 8 dimes to catapult the BHS cause with his impressive athleticism and tough finishing at the iron. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Burlington Still Top Dog? Rice Challenges the Narrative Too</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While BHS fell to SB in somewhat of a surprise, it can't be taken out of context. They went to Hoophall last weekend and won their bracket, then took down defending champs Rice in a tough one and then had this OT thriller while dealing with some injuries. The win over Rice was included a huge 30-piece from <strong>2025 6'5 G/W [player_tooltip player_id='2325846' first='Abdi' last='Sharif']</strong>, going for 24 in the 2nd half with his relentless second layer scoring and sharpened perimeter jumper. And it was <strong>2027 5'8 G [player_tooltip player_id='2711459' first='Pascal' last='Munezero']</strong> once again with a strong 17 points and transition playmaking, mainly at the cup off electric drives, dimes off turnovers, and transition finishes. Shooter <strong>2025 6'1 Khamis Ali </strong>chipped in 9 points and <strong>2028 6'1 [player_tooltip player_id='2571911' first='Tyrell' last='Robertson'] </strong>tallied 8, 5 of those points coming in the final frame off a 3-ball and FTs in crunch time. BHS has a ton of firepower and having played 4 games in 6 days against tough teams day after day is no joke. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yet, Rice came away with a lot of positives. They lost 3 starters from last year's title team, one being <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2325846' first='Abdi' last='Sharif']</strong> now back at home with BHS. Regardless, the electrifying trio of <strong>2025 6'3 G [player_tooltip player_id='2325785' first='Owen' last='Eaton'], 2025 6'3 G [player_tooltip player_id='2325800' first='Evan' last='Eaton'], and 6'0 G [player_tooltip player_id='2547032' first='Dallas' last='St. Peter'] </strong>gave BHS a run for their money. <strong>Evan's </strong>20-points came in the typical variety pack of impressive shooting from range and athletic finishes, getting himself going in the halfcourt and in the open court. <strong>Owen</strong> too, who added 15, managed to find some rhythm amidst the defensive pressure of BHS. His ability to step way out and knock it down opened up some slashing opportunities, which naturally led to some open space for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2547032' first='Dallas' last='St. Peter']</strong> to knock down shots or attack the closeout, providing 10 points himself. Rice had BHS on the ropes and led through a good portion of the 4th; confidence is high on what you could classify as a good loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rice's Response</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Green Knights responded with a sound win over Rutland Thursday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2325785' first='Owen' last='Eaton']'s </strong>19-points off dynamic 3-level scoring was tough to quell, along with 16-points from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2547032' first='Dallas' last='St. Peter']</strong> who's solidified himself as a key scoring option for Rice with his aggressive slashing and 3-point shooting off the catch. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2325800' first='Evan' last='Eaton']</strong> added a cool 9-points to top it all off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But Rutland had plenty of bright spots. Led by <strong>2026 6'0 G [player_tooltip player_id='2955182' first='Cellan' last='Wood']'s</strong> 18 and <strong>2026 6'3 W Ethan Whalen's</strong> 11, Rutland hung around to the end. <strong>Cellan's</strong> aggression and physical slashing collapsed the defense, which provided <strong>Ethan</strong> the space to hit his jumpers. Or it was the orchestration of <strong>Cellan</strong>, running <strong>Ethan </strong>off a set play, which sent the defense into disarray and afforded RHS scoring opportunities. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wrapping Up</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all their firepower, I still have BHS as the favorite. But SB and Rice both showed they're not a puzzle which can't be solved. Plus, we have guys like <strong>2025 6'5 W [player_tooltip player_id='2396750' first='Rex' last='Hauser'] </strong>at St. J who can take a game over with wingman <strong>2025 6'1 G [player_tooltip player_id='2546968' first='Kerrick' last='Medose'] </strong>orchestrating, and there's a pesky bunch of guys at CVU finding their stride like <strong>2025 6'3 W Luke Allen</strong> and an emerging leader in <strong>2027 6'3 W Owen Scott.</strong> This week showed the D1 rankings might be a little more precarious than initially thought. Time will tell. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->