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On Otter Valley’s senior night, with a packed gym and emotion baked into every possession, Bellows Falls walked into a storm — and for 32 minutes, answered it punch for punch.
The night opened with a classy moment. The Otters honored an injured senior by letting him score on the first possession. Saul James layed it in for the Terriers in return, and once the formalities ended, the gloves came off.
Early on, neither side gave an inch. Defensive stops stacked up before James finally broke the seal for Bellows Falls. The Otters answered immediately from deep and would ride hot shooting and an active 2-3 zone to a 17–10 lead late in the first. The zone clogged passing lanes, hands high, bodies shifting — nothing easy.
But if Otter Valley thought momentum would snowball in their gym, they misread this group.
Coby Levesque went to work on the offensive glass. Jacob Kissel protected the rim. Haskell and James pressured the ball. Every time the Otters nudged the lead, the Terriers steadied it.
By the second quarter, something became clear: this wasn’t a young team hoping to hang around. This was a sophomore quartet playing with veteran composure.
Levesque’s work inside and James’ pace in transition kept the Terriers within striking distance. Late in the half, Kissel cleaned up a missed free throw to trim it to two. On the next possession, James slipped a pass through the zone to Levesque cutting down the middle to tie the game at 26–26. The House of Noise got quiet for a breath.
Otter Valley hit from outside again to take a 32–28 lead into the break, but nothing about this game felt comfortable.
The third quarter brought an Otter surge — an 8-0 run that stretched the lead to 40–30. In many gyms, on senior night, that’s the stretch where the rope snaps.
Not here — not this group.
Bazin settled things with a strong finish inside. Haskell buried a timely three. Stops started stacking up. With the game sitting at 46–41, Haskell and James teamed up to force a turnover, and James finished to make it a one-possession contest.
The flurry continued into the final minute of the third, setting up a 50–46 game entering the fourth. The gym buzzed. Every possession felt heavier.
Early in the fourth, Lleroy Marino made his presence felt immediately with a block at the rim in his first minutes of the night. Bazin followed with a pull-up jumper before adding a block of his own that led to a Haskell drive. Just like that, it was a two-point game with six minutes left.
Then came another Otter push. 58–50.
Again — no panic.
James attacked the rim and cleaned up his own miss. Kissel drilled a corner three. Bazin ripped a steal near midcourt and went coast-to-coast to slice the deficit to one.
With 1:25 remaining, the Terriers had seized the emotional edge.
Then it happened.
After a defensive stop, James rose and floated one in from about eight feet. The Terrier bench erupted. The Bellows Falls fans answered the House of Noise with their own roar.
Bellows Falls led by one with 40 seconds to go.
It was a veteran performance — the kind you don’t expect from underclassmen, complimented by their senior captain Levesque. But the kind that tells you something is forming.
The Terriers forced a tough look on the ensuing Otter possession, but a cruel bounce off the rim fell back into Otter Valley’s hands for a putback. Down one again.
Bellows Falls had a chance. A late miss forced a foul with 13.7 seconds remaining. The Otters converted quickly on the inbound. A final Terrier look came up short.
Final: Otter Valley 67, Bellows Falls 64.
Featured photo courtesy of Kristie Lisai
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