RUMFORD — Hotel Rumford for the third time in four years and second in last two , has won the 2023-24 Mountain Valley Rec Basketball Championship. They were disciplined enough throughout the game to hold off a feisty A & G Custom Cabinet and Carpentry team, 90-80.

Hotel Rumford (15-2) finished 1st in the league standings and then got to the championship by beating 8th place Stix & Stones and 4th place Mt Blue to earn the right to defend their crown. A & G (13-4) who finished tied for 2nd ( 3rd due to tiebreaker) beat Jay and then Smart Care PT, Inc to get to the finals.

Hotel Rumford started off with hot shooting combined with tough defense to go out to an early double digit lead. They moved the ball well and assisted baskets were also a key to the good start. They held a 49-34 halftime lead, led by the inside play of Tom Danylik and penetration by JT Taylor along with some long distance shooting. Zach New also had a solid first half, and as a rookie was effective throughout.

They maintained their lead for most of the second half, but tired some, as A & G’s Malik Farley and Keagan Pitcher led a charge back, which brought the lead down to 5 with four minutes to play. The Hotel clamped down defensively, which led to some turnovers and fast break points, that then put the game out of reach.

The Hotel was led by JT Taylor with 24 points (4 threes), Tom Danylik 23, Zach New 15 and Owen Jones 14 (4 threes). A & G’s top scorers were Malik Farley with a game high 33 points, Keagan Pitcher 22 (4 threes) and Mateo Lapointe 11.

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