After a positive start to the week with a win over Lamoille, Randolph hosted the U32 Raiders on Wednesday for the two teams’ second meeting of the year. In the first game, held in Montpelier, the Ghosts played badly, without intensity or drive, and lost by a score of 48-40.

Before the varsity game, the JV team had a good game, winning by a score of 53-38. Hoping for a similar result, the varsity took the floor. Randolph rushed out to a quick 5-2 start, running the break and getting good shots. It was after the small Ghost run when Raider sophomore Ryan Booth came alive, hitting five consecutive shots to propel U32 on a 14-2 run, ending the first quarter 16-7.

Shocked, the Ghosts dug their heels in and began to fight back, but Booth remained hot and the Raiders’ lead stayed steadily at around nine points. Playing hard, Randolph managed to start scoring, but still trailed by eight at halftime, 31-23. After the intermission, U32 continued where they left off, shooting at a high percentage and gathering the majority of rebounds.

The Ghosts had trouble with the Raider size and U32 was able to stretch their lead to 14 late in the third quarter. Randolph responded yet again, with a 13-5 run sparked by baskets from Ross Caswell and Craig Bridge. As they began to draw close, however, they encountered some foul trouble and the Raiders converted from the charity stripe, giving them a 63-52 win.

Although Randolph played hard and competed with U32 for three quarters of the game, they were unable to dig out of the first quarter hole they had created, especially against the Raiders, who shot 58% from the field during the game. Ben Jickling had 14 points and teammate Bridge added 10 for the 8-7 Ghosts.

Thetford

Playing for the third time in a week, Randolph traveled to take on D-III rival Thetford Academy. When they played T.A at home earlier in the year, the Ghosts utilized a slow, methodically efficient offense to break down the passive zone, in an easy 36-21 win. In the second contest however, the game took on a very different feeling from the beginning. Randolph burst out to an early lead, led by dynamic offense and stellar manto man defense.

With a strong 13-point lead early in the second quarter, the Ghosts seemed primed to pull away for the victory, but the Panthers refused to give up, clawing their way back into the game, only trailing by seven at halftime, 39-32. In the second half, Randolph nursed their small lead late into the third quarter, when they allowed Thetford to fully complete their comeback and even the score.

Stunned, the Ghosts responded, led by senior Stephan Follansbee’s dead-eye shooting, to jump out to yet another lead, this time by 7 points. Thetford responded however, as the tempo of the game began to increase to almost a frenzied pace, with both sides trading baskets quickly. As the game drew close to the finale, Follansbee hit a three to push the Ghosts into the lead, 52-51. With 14 seconds remaining, Randolph committed a costly foul, sending Thetford to the free throw line, with the opportunity to take the lead. The Panthers converted both shots, giving them a one-point lead. The Ghosts missed a buzzer beater, and ended up dropping yet another close game, by a score of 53-52. Randolph struggled at the free throw line, shooting only 36%, failing to convert the easy points that would have given them the victory.

Follansbee had a good game for the Ghosts with a game-high 23 points. Randolph hopes to finish the remainder of the year off successfully and head into playoffs with a winning record and a high seed.