Montpelier’s Jonah Cattaneo handles the ball against Spaulding’s Isaiah Terrill in Wednesday’s state Division II semifinal. Cattaneo led all scorers with 26 points. Photo by Tom Brown.
BARRE — Montpelier High School’s Division II state championship boys basketball game against Mount St. Joseph has been moved from 3:45 p.m. Saturday to the same time Sunday due to an impending snowstorm, the Vermont Principals Association said Friday.
The 22–1 Solons will play No. 5 seed MSJ of Rutland (18–5) Sunday at Barre Auditorium. The Solons are the defending state champions, having beaten North Country in 2021 after losing the 2020 title game to Fair Haven by a single point.
Saturday’s other scheduled title games were also moved to Sunday. In Division IV, Twin Valley plays Blue Mountain at noon and in Division III, Hazen faces Winooski at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Sunday’s games can be purchased online.
The Solons earned their third consecutive trip to the final with a 66–43 semifinal win over Twin City rival Spaulding on Wednesday.
Senior Jonah Cattaneo led the way for Montpelier on Wednesday with 26 points, but it was freshman Carson Cody who gave the Solons a third-quarter spark that broke open a tight game and sent Montpelier on its way. Cody hit three 3-point baskets to start the second half as the Solons turned a slim 29–27 halftime lead into a 52–37 bulge after three quarters.
Cody finished with 15 points and teammate Rashid Nikiema added nine. Spaulding, which finished the season at 20–3, was led by Cooper Diego and Riley Severy with nine points each. Isaiah Terrill and Grady Chase added seven points apiece.
The Crimson Tide won the non-athletic portion of the evening as senior player Sam Wilcox blew away the full house with a Jimi Hendrix-inspired guitar rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner.
A packed crowd erupts behind Montpelier coach Nick Foster (and his son Clayton Foster) during Wednesday’s semifinal at Barre Auditorium. Photo by Tom Brown.
