Lucas Aube (file photo above) finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds for CVU.
Having lost their last four games by narrow margins, CVU found themselves in a tight game again at Colchester Thursday night.
With a height advantage on Colchester inside, CVU needed one of their big men to step up.
Redhawks sophomore Lucas Aube was the man for the job.
Aube owned the paint in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of his thirteen points in the final period helping CVU beat Colchester 59-52 in boys basketball. Trailing 43-42 with less than six minutes to play, Aube scored six of those points on a 10-2 CVU run that put the Redhawks in control.
“We tried to get ball movement on the outside,” said Aube. “They played a little eager which left the inside open. In the second half, we focused on getting offensive rebounds and being aware on defense.”
Aube hit two wide open five-foot jumpers and made two trips to the free throw line during his fourth quarter spurt.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| CVU | 9 | 18 | 12 | 20 | 59 |
| Colchester | 15 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 52 |
“His best varsity game,” said CVU head coach Scott Bliss of Aube. “It was clear he was ready to play before the game started. Tonight he was very important.”
In order to win, CVU also needed to stop Anthony Granai on defense. The Colchester senior slashed his way to 12 of his team’s first 19 points and was a big reason the Lakers led 24-17 in the second quarter. CVU head coach Scott Bliss made a switch on defense—assigning Ryan Brogna to guard Granai.
Bliss couldn’t have asked for better results. Granai did not score at all in the second half, and Colchester’s offense was limited in the paint.
“Brogna was the guy on defense,” said Bliss. “Brogan switched onto Granai in the second quarter and he was one of the most important players in the game tonight for us. Our guys really worked on defense.”
CVU (9-9) ended the first half on a 10-0 run to lead Colchester 27-24 at the half. The Redhawks remained in front until Colchester opened the fourth quarter on an 8-1, allowing the Lakers to pull in front by one point.
Aube finished with eight rebounds for CVU while Brad Bissonette led all scorers with 14 points along with seven rebounds. John Keen had 12 points and six rebounds and Ryan Brogna added nine points for CVU. The win snapped a four-game losing streak and brought CVU back to .500 on the season.
“We did a very good job of advancing the ball,” said Bliss. “Its what we’ve wanted to do the majority of the year. We can run the floor and our big guys are fairly athletic.”
Colchester (8-10) was paced by Anthony Granai, Nate Hodge, and Sandi Caus each scoring 12 points. The Lakers have lost four of their last five games.
CVU adjusted to Granai with a smaller player and Granai could have feasted in the post. Colchester did not have him post up. Just kept running plays CVU seemed to know.