Hilltoppers Hard efforts fall short against CVU

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Created on Saturday, 21 February 2026 00:31

Written by Max Kocha

Saint Johnsbury – Saint Johnsbury Hilltoppers (3-13) took on Champlain Valley Union (8-6) @ STJA.

The Hilltoppers are hoping to catch a sneaky upset win against a top 10 team in the state, as CVU tries to build up their resume right before playoff starts. As STJA is trying to make a last-second push to make the postseason.

CVU started the game with a 9-2 run with an early timeout. The Hilltoppers were on the verge of getting dominated.  That's when a light switched on for the Hilltoppers on offense. The thing was, it was mostly Junior Guard Michael Rodriguez Guerrero. He had 18 points in the first half alone. He was on fire, hitting mid-range after mid-range. This was keeping the Hilltoppers in the game with some help from Junior Guard Hugh after he hit some tough shots and a big 3.

This wasn't going to stop CVU, and their Junior Star Forward Connor Dubois. He had 24 points in this contest, and with him hitting some big shots, that helped CVU hold the lead. The Hilltoppers did fight the whole game, though, back and forth; it was basically a one-possession game the whole second half, but every time the Hilltoppers scored, it seemed like CVU always had an answer. CVU would run away with the win on the road, 59-55.

I got to interview Coach Antonio Carsile, an assistant for the Hilltoppers and a former player, and this is what he had to say: "We started flat to start and no energy, and they got ahead of us pretty quick...." "What was good was we didn't give up, and there's progress in that area."

The Hilltoppers(3-14) look to end their losing streak, heading on the road to South Burlington and trying to still make that last-second playoff push.