#12 Royals Head to Aud
By Nathan McShinsky

South Royalton's Peter Doyle-Braman is surrounded by jubilant Royals after the team was victorious in the semi-finals of the state Division III basketball tournament. (Herald / Joyce Hunt)

Last Tuesday, the 27^th, the Royals, seeded 12^th in DIII, headed up to the fifth-seeded BFA-Fairfax for their first round playoff game. The Royals upset the BFA team, and won, 51-49.

The way the Royals started the game it looked like it would be their last game of the season, but they battled back. In the first quarter the Royals were down 10-0, until Nick Enright hit a jumper to put SoRo on the board. Forty seconds later, Enright added a three-pointer to make it a 10-5 game. 

In the second the Royals got hot in a hurry, putting up 22 points, including four shots from beyond the ark. Dale Manning came off the bench and had 11 quick points in the quarter with a trey of threes. Fairfax was down just a basket at the break 27-25. The Royals led 40-34 after the third quarter. Enright had nine of those 13 points with three treys.

In the fourth BFA battled back and tied it up 40-40. The rest of the game was neck-and-neck with many ties. With just over four seconds left, Enright let it fly from the left elbow with two of Fairfax's men on him for the final basket and the win.

SoRo was led by Enright with 21 points and Miles Ellis with 7. BFA was led by Seth Rebeor with 18 points.

Quarterfinals

On Saturday the Royals went south to Brattleboro to face Twin Valley, a team they had seen twice during the season, splitting the games with the home team winning both times. It was a 12 vs. 4 match-up and the Royals were again the underdogs, but won, 68-62. 

In the first quarter the Royals came out ready to play and had a 9-2 run in the first two minutes and finished with a 9-0 run, and making it an 18-6 lead after one.

In the second period it was Twin Valley with the explosive offense as they compiled 20 points in the quarter, 13 coming from Candon Rusin. The Royals were able to add to 12 to their total, making for a 30-26 SoRo lead at the half. 

Both teams traded baskets and traded often as the two teams put a total of 40 points in the third quarter. SoRo led 50-46 with only eight minutes to play. 

The Royals had issues getting started in the fourth as they stayed at 50 until a Walker foul shot was made with 4:20 left, giving Twin Valley the opportunity to take a three point lead, 54-51. The Royals hit a jumper which Twin Valley matched, but Enright hit a three to tie the game, 56-all, with 2:50 remaining. The Royals scored on a lay-up and added a foul shot before the Wildcats hit their own freebie. SoRo hit three more from the line before Twin Valley hit one from the corner to make it 62-59 with a minute to play. In the final minute the Royals added six points while Twin Valley hit a single trey to put the final tally at 68-62, South Royalton. 

The Royals had a very balanced attack offensively as they were led by Enright and Slack who had 17 and 15 while Miles Ellis had 15 and Doyle-Braman had 13. The Wildcats were led by Candon Rusin with 31. SoRo was now headed to the Barre Aud for the third straight year to face #8 Lake Region who had upset #1 Hazen the night before.

Semifinals

On Monday the Royals traveled to the Aud to take on the #8-seeded Lake Region team. Was that glass slipper going to fit one more time for South Royalton was the only question. Just like the first two games it did, but it was another nail biter right down to buzzer, 64-62. 

The Royals started out strong taking a convincing lead, 16-8. It was a very good defensive effort for SoRo, who held Lake Region to just two points in the final 3:35 of the quarter. 

The second quarter was a very offensive quarter for both teams as they combined for 46 with the Royals’ lead shrinking to six, 38-32. Enright and Ellis had nine each with five treys combined in the quarter. 

The Royals came out and slowed down the game in the third as both teams’ offensive production declined. The Royals lost another point of their edge with a 13-12 quarter in favor of Lake Region. The score was 50-45 with one quarter remaining. Ellis again led the way for the Royals with six of the 12. 

In the final eight minutes of play the lead went back and forth as Lake Region went on 10-0 run to start the quarter giving them a 55-50 lead. The Royals weren't done yet, and added seven points over the next two minutes while Lake Region added five. It was 60-57, Lake Region, with just under three minutes to play.

After three straight forced turnovers by the Royals, it was go to time and Enright drove to the basket putting in a scooping lay-up. Following a Lake Region foul shot, Ellis went back door for an easy basket, making it 62-61, Lake Region, with 52.6 to play. After a SoRo foul with 33 seconds left, Bathalon was at the line, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Royals got the ball and this time it was Ellis who got the ball coming off a screen at the top of the key with 18.2 seconds left and let it fly. Nothing but net! Lake Region called a timeout but in those 17 seconds that they had, the shot didn't fall and South Royalton was on its way to its second championship game in three years. 

The Royals were led by Ellis, who had a career high 29 points, and Enright with 15. The Royals also enjoyed a 35-23 edge on the glass that could have made the difference. Bathalon led Lake Region with 22.

The 12^th-seeded Royals (12-10) head back to the Barre Auditorium to play in the Division III State Championship on Saturday at 3:45 against the Thetford Panthers who they split the season with. The last time the Royals were in the championship was in 2005, when they beat Hazen 76-58 for the title. Last year they lost to Thetford in the semis at the Aud.

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