Northwest Connecticut high school basketball news, stats, tidbits and analysis from the Register Citizen sports department.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Jordan Williams staying busy with Nets off the court
Torrington native and New Jersey Nets rookie Jordan Williams is staying busy during the preseason. Williams, Deron Williams, Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro and Shelden Williams paid a visit to the Bedford-Stuyvesant Family Center in Brooklyn to spread holiday cheer to underprivileged families, according to a story on the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's website. To read more of the story, click here.
The Thomaston-Terryville basketball doubleheader will be taped by Connecticut Public Television, according to a press release on CPTV's website. My colleague Chris Hunn at the New Haven Register first reported about it on his girls basketball blog.
The games will be at Thomaston High School with the girls game at 5:15 and the boys game at 7. CPTV had the boys game listed as 7:30, but the CIAC has it listed as 7. To read more, click here.
Litchfield boys beat Canton, pick up first win of the season
JENNIFER ROYALS/Register Citizen Correspondent
The Litchfield boys basketball team used a patient offense and stingy defense to top Canton 59-40 in a non-league game Tuesday night at Litchfield High School. The win was the first this season for the Cowboys (1-2, 0-2 Berkshire League). The Warriors fell to 0-2 (0-1 North Central Connecticut Conference) with the loss.
Litchfield senior Quinlan McCarthy (pictured in this post) scored 20 points for the second straight game, but he had plenty of help from fellow seniors Drew Gauvain (17 points), Kyle Murphy (12) and Nick Hula (8).
To read more about Tuesday night's game, click here.
- Kevin D. Roberts
BOX SCORE
Litchfield 59, Canton 40
At Litchfield
Canton 9-9-7-15—40
Litchfield 12-8-18-21—59
CANTON (40): Zach Powell 0-0-0; Tyler Detorie 0-0-0; Andrew Zukowski 0-0-0; Jake Wood 2-0-5; Colin Gurry 7-0-17; Tim Gavin 2-1-5; Cameron Daley 1-0-2; Alex Daley 0-0-0; Patrick Sullivan 1-0-3; Tyler Lange 3-2-8; TOTALS: 16-3-40.
LITCHFIELD (59): Steve Ringquist 1-0-2; Mark Collins 0-0-0; Quinlan McCarthy 7-5-20; Spencer Persechino 0-0-0; Drew Gauvain 8-0-17; Kyle Murphy 4-4-12; Nick Hula 4-0-8; Christian Wiles-Lafayette 0-0-0; TOTALS: 24-9-59.
3-point goals: C—Gurry 3, Wood, Sullivan; L—McCarthy, Gauvain.
Records: Canton 0-2 (0-1 North Central Connecticut Conference); Litchfield 1-2 (1-1 Berkshire League).
Litchfield boys looking for first win tonight against winless Canton
I will be heading to the Litchfield-Canton boys basketball game tonight. Game starts at 7 at Litchfield High School. Both teams are looking for their first victory of the season.
The Cowboys hung in during both of their losses, which were to Nonnewaug and Shepaug Valley.
The Litchfield game against Nonnewaug was a battle of defenses. In that game, the Cowboys cut the Chief lead to 41-37 late in the fourth quarter, but Nonnewaug's Ben Timme scored the game's final four points.
The Litchfield game against Shepaug Valley saw the Cowboys get in foul trouble, which hampered their efforts to win their game. Litchfield led by a point late in the third quarter, but Shepaug's Cody Brennan was fouled on a 3, made all three free throws, and the Spartans never trailed again.
Canton lost by 15, 49-34 at Suffield in the season opener. Tonight's game will be the second for the Warriors this season.
The Torrington girls basketball team used plenty of teamwork to dispatch Kennedy 54-23 on Friday night at THS. Aly Otis led the team with 12 points (8 rebounds), but she was the only player in double figures. Nine different Lady Raiders scored, including eight apiece from Nicole Kozlak, Caycee Williams (11 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Mollie Bartles and seven from Caroline Teti. Emily Eanniello (pictured in this post) came off the bench to grab seven rebounds while Mariah Cerruto had seven assists to go along with her five points.
Torrington girls look to bounce back against Kennedy at home
The Torrington girls basketball team looks to get back on the winning track tonight at 7 against Kennedy at Torrington High School. The Lady Raiders are coming off of their first loss of the season, 65-46 to Holy Cross on Tuesday in Waterbury.
Torrington enters the game with a 2-1 record. The Lady Raiders opened the season with a 65-30 home win over Wilby, then beat Naugatuck on the road 59-40 before the loss at Holy Cross.
Kennedy comes in at 1-1. The Eagles were thumped by Sacred Heart, 45-20 last Friday, then beat Wilby 37-33 on Wednesday.
Gilbert boys basketball pulls away from pesky Terryville in season opener
MARIANNE KILLACKEY/Register Citizen Correspondent
The Gilbert boys basketball team used a solid second half, including tough play inside from Austin Brochu (28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks), to pull away from pesky Terryville 69-52 in the season opener on Wednesday night at The Gilbert School.
The Kangaroos led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter, then trailed by just four at the half, 35-31, after surviving a barrage of 3-pointers from the Yellowjackets.
In the second half, Brochu asserted himself inside (16 points). He had help from a host of other players, including Robert Skinner (16 points, 3 3-pointers), Luis Cordova (9 points, 7 rebounds, team-leading 8 assists) and Dan Williams (10 points).
Tonight is the start of the high school boys basketball season for area teams.
Here's the schedule:
Holy Cross at Torrington, 7 p.m.
Wamogo at Lewis Mills, 7 p.m.
Housatonic at Northwestern, 7 p.m.
Thomaston at Shepaug, 7 p.m.
Classical Magnet at Wolcott Tech, 7 p.m.
Terryville at Gilbert, 7 p.m.
Nonnewaug at Litchfield, 7 p.m.
All games start at 7 p.m. Peter Wallace will be covering the Torrington-Holy Cross matchup. Correspondent John Nestor will be at the Housatonic-Northwestern game. Kevin D. Roberts will be covering the Terryville-Gilbert game. Correspondent Russ Coward will be attending the Nonnewaug-Litchfield game.
We have the major contenders covered in the BL tonight. Wallace will be sending out tweets about the Torrington game while Roberts will be firing some out about the Gilbert game.
Berkshire League boys basketball appears to be wide open this year
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
Most Berkshire League boys basketball coaches picked Nonnewaug, Northwestern and Gilbert as the teams to beat this season, but all of the coaches expect the league to be very competitive this season.
Here's just one quote from Housatonic head coach Dave Battistoni.
"The league is stronger and better balanced than the previous three yereas that I have coached," Battistoni said.
Battistoni's team is being called a dark horse by BL coaches.
To read more about this upcoming season, click here.
Torrington girls basketball drops road game to Holy Cross
JENNIFER ROYALS/Register Citizen Corrspondent
The Torrington girls basketball team had a rough first quarter, and that's all it took for Holy Cross to roll to a 65-46 win on Tuesday night at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury.
The Crusaders led 19-2 in a disastrous first quarter. It didn't help the Lady Raiders when senior forward Aly Otis didn't see her first game action until there was 5:08 left in the second quarter. Otis had banged her head in practice Monday, then got hit by an air ball during warm-ups. Head coach Mike Fritch held her out until she was cleared to come in by the Holy Cross trainer.
Torrington did play better as the game went on, but the first quarter deficit was too much to overcome.
Thomaston Jamboree showcases Golden Bears, Nonnewaug Chiefs
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
On Saturday, the Thomaston boys basketball team and Thomaston High School hosted its third Thomaston Jamboree. Nonnewaug, Woodland of the Naugatuck Valley League and Bullard Haven Tech of Bridgeport and the Constitution State Conference joined the Golden Bears in Thomaston.
In the first quarter, Thomaston rallied for a 22-21 win over Bullard Havens. The teams needed a two-minute overtime to decide the matchup. A free throw from Thomaston senior Ryan Hurlbert was the difference.
The Golden Bears played hard in each of their two quarters under first-year head coach Gary Franklin. While Gilbert, Northwestern, Nonnewaug and possibly Housatonic are considered to be the league favorites, Thomaston will be better than its 8-12 record from last year.
There were four quarters in the jamboree, each 15 minutes long. In the second quarter, Nonnewaug held off Woodland 21-17. The Chiefs led all the way, but still had to battle to hold off the Hawks.
The third quarter matched up Woodland and Bullard Havens. Each side played plenty of players, but the Hawks got the better of the Tigers, winning 31-19.
The fourth quarter matched up Thomaston and Nonnewaug, the winners of the first two quarters. The Chiefs raced out to a 10-0 lead behind juniors Dylan Martland and Ben Timme.
The Bears went on a 12-2 spurt to tie the game. The run started on senior Chad Pierce's 3-pointer. After an offensive rebound and basket by sophomore Alex Gagne, Pierce hit another 3 to make the score 12-8.
A quick move and basket by Gagne cut the deficit to 12-10.
Thomaston missed a chance to tie, but stole the ball from Nonnewaug. Hurlbert got the ball inside and hit a hook to tie the game at 12.
Senior John Kelley traded baskets with the Chiefs. First, Kelley gave the Bears a 14-12 lead. After a Timme 3, Kelley struck again to put Thomaston up 16-15.
Timme, however, answered with another 3-pointer and Nonnewaug took over from there. The Chiefs led by as much as 11 and ended up closing out the quarter with a 30-25 win.
Nonnewaug may have lost Cody St. John and Collin Schneider to graduation, but BL coaches expect them to be among the top three again this year.
Don't be surprised if Thomaston causes problems for its fellow BL teams this season as well.
Litchfield girls basketball tops Housy, gets first win of Jessica Sprague era
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
LITCHFIELD -- The Litchfield girls basketball team was able to hold off Housatonic 43-39 at home on Friday night for the first win of the season. The win was also the first for first-year Cowgirls head coach Jessica Sprague.
Litchfield's Jenny and Kaylee Cappello combined to make 8 of 12 foul shots in the fourth quarter of the game. The Cowgirls may not have hit a high percentage (17 of 31 for the game), but they made them when they counted.
Sprague said Litchfield had trouble winning close games in the past. Friday night was a different story.
Housatonic put together a solid effort in its own right and will win its first game soon.
The Burlington/Harwinton community hummed at Lewis Mills High School Friday evening. The girls basketball team began with a game against Terryville at 5:30 p.m., moved up so people could stay to watch the JV game that followed, then move to the auditorium for a holiday concert by the Mills Concert Choir and Mills Wind Ensemble.
What do big cities have that we don’t have? - - Peter Wallace
Housatonic, Litchfield girls basketball teams looking for first win
I will be covering the Housatonic-Litchfield girls basketball game tonight at Litchfield. Game time is 7 p.m.
Look for tweets @kroberts023. Both teams are looking for their first win of the season.
The Mountaineers lost to defending Berkshire League champion Thomaston 57-29 on Wednesday night. The Cowgirls lost at home to SMSA, 41-32.
Torrington girls basketball team pulls away from Wilby in second half
TORRINGTON — The Torrington girls basketball team used a big second half to blow away Wilby 65-30 in the season opener on Tuesday night at Torrington High School.
Senior transfer Caycee Williams had a solid night with 16 points 19 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Fellow senior Aly Otis had 16 points and three steals while sophomore Caroline Teti added eight points, five assists and two steals.
A key for the Lady Raiders was when head coach Mike Fritch moved Teti to the point guard position. Teti helped Torrington turn a five-point halftime lead into a 15-point advantage in a 13-2 run. Teti’s pass to Aly Otis for the first Raider basket of the third quarter got THS going. Later in the quarter, Teti scored on back-to-back lay-ups to push the lead to 40-25.
Torrington got contributions from several different players Tuesday. Nicole Kozlak (5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) and Megan Calabrese each scored eight points while Emily Eanniello played tough defense against Tatiana Harge, Wilby’s top player.
The Raiders travel to Naugatuck on Friday night to play the Greyhounds.
TORRINGTON — The Wolcott Tech girls basketball team won for the first time since the 2008-09 season, defeating Goodwin Tech in the season opener 56-43 on Tuesday night at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School.
“I’m happy with team,” Lady Wildcats head coach Brian Hurlock said. “I saw a few kids getting teary-eyed. It was a long process to finally get that win.”
Breanna Bodnar poured in a career-high 25 points and added seven rebounds for Wolcott Tech, which led 36-9 at halftime. Jen Hislop added 14 points and six rebounds while Megan Hislop and Ashley Laliberte each had six points.
“It’s good for us to show people what we’re capable of doing,” Hurlock said.
The victory also represents the first time that a Wolcott Tech girls basketball team has won a season opener in its history. The Wildcats last won on Dec. 23, 2008, 40-39 against Nonnewaug in Torrington.
“It’s the first time that we raelly played team ball,” Hurlock said.
Wolcott Tech (1-0) used its height advantage against the much smaller Goodwin Tech (0-1) defense. The Gladiators were led by Jocelyn Burgos, who tallied 25 points.
Torrington senior Mariah Cerruto will be a key player for the Raiders this season. Photo Credit: Jennifer Royals.
The weather outside may be unseasonably warm, but the winter high school sports season officially starts tonight with a full slate of girls basketball games throughout the Northwest Corner.
Take a look at tonight's area schedule below:
Goodwin Tech at Wolcott Tech, 6 p.m. Wilby at Torrington, 7 p.m.
Nonnewaug at Northwestern, 7 p.m.
Lewis Mills at Kolbe Cathedral, 7 p.m. Wamogo at New Milford, 7 p.m. Housatonic at Thomaston, 7 p.m.
SMSA at Litchfield, 7 p.m. Gilbert at Canton, 7 p.m.
Wilcox Tech at Granby, 7 p.m.
South Windsor at Simsbury, 7 p.m.
The Torrington girls (team preview) look to make another run to an NVL regular season title, and Kevin Roberts will be on site at THS with the full report.
In the Berkshire League (league preview), Nonnewaug and Northwestern face off in a game that features two teams that should contend for the league title, and Peter Wallace will be in Winsted with the coverage. In Thomaston, the Golden Bears (17-3 last year), arguably this year's BL favorites, host Housy. John Nestor will be in Thomaston for what should be a good early-season test for the Bears.
In the Farmington Valley, Canton hosts Gilbert from the BL and Dan Podheiser will be at CHS for the story. Look for new Warriors head coach Mike Jessie to pick up his first win in that one. Simsbury hosts South Windsor as the Trojans look to build on a strong end to the 2010-2011 season. Evan Camporeale will have the story from SHS. Our coverage concludes up in Granby, where the Bears, who are littered with players from their terrific soccer and field hockey teams, host Wilcox Tech from the CSC. Greg Scibelli will have the report, but you can probably chalk that one up for Granby.
Check The Rebound Reporters later tonight for extra notes from each game.
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