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Four boys basketball players from Litchfield County made a Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Team. Two of those players were from Gilbert. Senior center Austin Brochu was First Team All-State in Class S while junior guard Robert Skinner was named to the Second Team in 'S'.
Northwestern junior guard/forward John Stevens made the Second Team in 'S' while Shepaug Valley senior forward Eddie Kelly was named to Class S's All-Academic Team.
Of note, Tyler Veretto, grandson of former Northwestern head basketball coach Leon Veretto, was named to the Class L First Team and the 'L' All-Academic Team.

- Kevin D. Roberts

Former Torrington standout Desmond Williams is making a name for himself at Division II Community College of Rhode Island.
Williams had 41 points, 12 rebounds, 9 steals, 3 assists and 1 block in an overtime win in the Final Four on Friday night. Tonight, Williams and CCRI play for the national championship. To read more, click here.
Check back later tonight for more.

- Kevin D. Roberts

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen

Gilbert senior standout center Austin Brochu picked a great way to close out his high school basketball career Wednesday evening during the S/M (Class S and Class M) all-star game at Meriden's Maloney High School.
Brochu had 19 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. The double-double isn't surprising given that was what Brochu was known for during his senior season, where he averaged 20.6 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, according to stats posted on MaxPreps.com.
Brochu capped his night with this dunk in the final 30 seconds of the game.
Brochu had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in the first half. His S/M West team defeated the East 123-95. Teammate Jaquann Starks of Classical Magnet was the game's MVP with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
To read more about Brochu, click here.
Brochu now puts his focus on baseball, where he is a strong pitcher for the Yellowjackets. Brochu could be a Division I baseball player.

- Kevin D. Roberts

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It will be an unusual Berkshire League connection this evening at the boys 2012 Connecticut High School Coaches Association Senior All-Star Festival at Meriden's Maloney High School.
Gilbert senior center Austin Brochu will be suiting up for the S/M (Class S/Class M) West team, which is coached by Northwestern's Doug Sebach and Woodland's Tom Hunt.
For the record, the Yellowjackets won all three meetings against the Highlanders this season.
This evening's all-star game between S/M West and S/M East is slated to begin at 6:15. The L/LL West vs. L/LL East game is scheduled to start at 8.
Brochu was a consistent double-double machine for Gilbert throughout his career. He averaged 20.6 points and 15.5 rebounds per game during his senior season, according to stats posted on MaxPreps.com. Very few defenses could hold the 6-5 Brochu down.
Brochu will be teammates with Immaculate's Dan McCorkle during this evening's game. McCorkle and the Mustangs ended the Yellowjackets' season in the Class S quarterfinals on their way to a state championship.
I will be there this evening to recap Brochu's stellar career. The story will appear in Thursday's Register Citizen.
You should also look for a follow-up to Northwestern's solid season in Friday's edition of The Register Citizen. The Highlanders made the semifinals for just the second time in school history this year. I will be talking to Coach Sebach to get his take on his team's season, as well as an early peek at next year.

- Kevin D. Roberts

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen

The Torrington girls basketball team celebrated another successful season Sunday evening at P.Sam’s banquet hall at Eastwood Country Club.

The Lady Raiders honored the season put together by varsity team members Aly Otis, Caycee Williams, Mariah Cerruto, Emily Eanniello, Mollie Bartles, Morgan Thulin, Dia O’Brien, Nicole Kozlak, Megan Calabrese, Caroline Teti, Mika Howard, Olivia Morrison and Paige Middleton. Torrington also celebrated successful campaigns at the junior varsity and freshmen levels.

THS graduates Otis, Williams, Cerruto, Eanniello, Bartles, Thulin and O’Brien.

To read more about the banquet and what was said, click here.

Here are some more quotes from Sunday evening’s festivities:

"It was just a pleasure to watch the girls play. It was a lot of fun."

• Torrington athletic director Janet Giampaolo

“You guys were my first freshmen group. I’m so excited to see what the future has in store for you, so good luck.”

• freshmen coach Barbara Beebe talking about the seniors

“It’s always sad to see you go, but you’re moving on to bigger and better things. We had a lot of laughs.

• assistant coach Erika Pratt talking about the seniors

“We have a great group of kids. They make me laugh every day. There are days they make me cry, and there are days they make me angry. But, all in all, and I say this every year, when we get done, they’re always going to remember the good times.”

• head coach Mike Fritch

“Seeing all my little cousins sprint across the floor to give me a hug after my game is a feeling I’ll never forget.”

• Torrington senior Mariah Cerruto

“It was like we never stopped playing after eighth grade PAL.”

• Torrington senior Caycee Williams talking about returning to the Raiders after spending her first three years of high school at Wamogo

“Wow girls, this is really it. We’ve gone through so much this year.”

• Torrington senior Morgan Thulin

“Mr. Fritch, thank you for always being a good sport when we played pranks on you.”

• Torrington senior Emily Eanniello

“We wouldn’t have gotten as far as we did without the coaches pushing us.”

• Torrington senior Mollie Bartles

 
- Kevin D. Roberts

Photo credit: Jennifer Royals

The No. 5 Northwestern boys basketball team takes on a big challenge on Tuesday night when they face top-seeded Immaculate of Danbury in a Class S state semifinal at Plainville High School. The game starts at 7.

The Highlanders have spent plenty of time in practice working on rebounding fundamentals, most of all boxing out. They will need to do plenty of that against a Mustang team that has seven players 6’2” or taller. That includes 6’8” senior center Vitor Melo, 6’7” Connor Holbrook and a well-built Sheldon Irving at 6’5”.

In last Friday’s quarterfinal against No. 8 Gilbert, Immaculate pounded the glass on the way to a 92-54 rout of the Yellowjackets. The Highlanders would like not to see the same thing play out against them.

Northwestern (20-4) will need to pressure Immaculate (24-1) and create turnovers. The Highlanders also hope that the Mustangs aren’t hitting from the outside.

With Immaculate, it’s a case of pick your poison. The Mustangs can pound opponents inside and Dan McCorkle showed he can shoot from the outside.  Northwestern will need to limit offensive rebounds, but they also need to be aware of where McCorkle is.

Northwestern fared well against the pressure defense of No. 4 Classical Magnet in last Friday’s quarterfinal, so they’ve had experience dealing with tenacious defense. What’s different about Immaculate is the height it brings to the table.

There’s not much the Highlanders can do about the height of the Mustangs. What Northwestern must do is get the best position and force Immaculate to go over the top of them.

On offense, the Highlanders look to knock down more shots than their counterparts from Gilbert did.

The bottom line is Northwestern needs to get off to a good start and keep it going.

To read — and watch — what Northwestern’s Connor Guiheen, John Stevens and Jake Plitt had to say about tonight’s game, click here.

To read more about Northwestern’s exciting win over Classical, click here.

For more on Immaculate’s impressive effort against Gilbert, click here.

Reporter Peter Wallace will be covering the game. Follow his updates on Twitter @PWallaceSports and @nwctsports.

- Kevin D. Roberts

Photo courtesy of Associated Press

This is normally a blog for high school basketball, but I want to take time out to spotlight a former Torrington High School star Sarah Royals.

It has been a year to remember for Royals, who is a freshman at the University at Albany. On Saturday night, the Lady Danes played in the America East Tournament's championship game against the University of Maryland Baltimore County. At stake was an NCAA Tournament berth.

Royals may not have had her best game (16 minutes, 0 points, 0-for-1 FGs, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 foul, 2 turnovers), but Albany topped UMBC to claim its first-ever America East title and NCAA tournament bid.

To read more about the game and Royals' numbers leading into Saturday night's game, click here.

Albany finds out who it will play in the NCAA Tournament on Monday night when the seedings are announced at 7 on ESPN.

- Kevin D. Roberts