New Canaan sophomore Ben Clay wrestles with Norwalk freshman Tom Jakaj in the heavyweight bout during a wrestling match at New Canaan High School on Wednesday, Jan. 9. — Dave Stewart/Hearst Connecticut Media photo

NEW CANAAN — It took the New Canaan and Norwalk wrestling teams approximately 50 minutes to battle through 14 weight classes on Wednesday night at NCHS.

After the last bout ended, it took an extra five minutes to determine a winner.

When the calculations were finally complete, the New Canaan Rams had edged the Bears, 40-39 on criteria, with the seventh tiebreaker ending the drama. New Canaan won by scoring the first point in seven of the 10 matches which weren’t decided by forfeit.

“Sometimes it’s most matches if it’s really competitive,” New Canaan head coach Paul Gallo said. “Or the other team pins more, but that goes early (in the tiebreaking rules). This time it was most first points and we were able to get the win.”

“When they’re giving up a few weight classes and they still come away with the W, it’s a painful one,” Norwalk head coach Job Fernandez said. “I feel that there are a few lessons to be learned for our guys, putting themselves in compromising situations that they weren’t able to get out of.”

The match was as even as it could get beyond the final score. Each team won seven bouts — New Canaan (2-1) had six pins and one decision, and Norwalk (3-3) had two pins, one decision and four forfeits.

The first tiebreaker was unsportsmanlike conduct penalties — there were none — and then moved to combined pins and forfeits, with each team having six. Given that all the results were even — each team had one decision — the tiebreakers went quickly with first points being the deciding factor.

New Canaan, which gave up 24 points on four forfeits, still came through with the victory thanks to its strength in the middle weights, and key pins from sophomore Matt Benevento (170 pounds), senior Sergiy Babenkov (195) and Ben Clay (285) in the upper weights.

One of the bigger results for the Rams, however, may have come in a loss at 106 pounds, where Norwalk freshman Jack Cahill defeated New Canaan sophomore Jack Goetz, 7-0. Goetz was nearly pinned, but managed to stay off his back and lost by decision, giving the Bears three points instead of six.

“Sergiy and Matt came through with pins, and the big match was Goetz not getting turned to his back,” Gallo said. “He was almost over, and his loss was really a win for us because if he gives up one more point, we lose.”

Norwalk won four of the first five bouts to gain a 27-3 lead.

Senior Michael Campos (113) and freshman Michael Roselle (120) won by forfeit, and senior Sam White (126) pinned New Canaan sophomore Joey Bucci in 43 seconds to make it 21-0.

“My 106 pounder had a tough time getting down to weight, but he made the weight and he got a W on top of that,” Fernandez said. “So that was big for us. And clearly, Sam White is very dominant. Those two embodied the way I want this program to compete.”

After Ram sophomore Dylan Kortman (132) defeated senior Chase Larkin 9-2, Norwalk senior Cesar Rivera (138) answered by pinning junior Dean Hannah in 48 seconds to give the Bears a 24-point advantage.

New Canaan came roaring back with four straight pinfalls, starting with the imposing trio of junior Tyler Sung and senior brothers nate and Christian Sibbett.

Sung (145) pinned senior Lensendro Laguerre in 59 seconds; Nate Sibbett (152) pinned junior Connor Gilchrist in 1:05; and senior Christian Sibbett (160) pinned senior Mykol Reyes in 1:24.

“It’s three wins almost every time,” Gallo said of Sung and the Sibbetts. “When you look at those three guys and they’re pinning every time, it makes it a lot easier. We’ll get Justin (Mastroianni) back (at 138) next week and he’ll give us that fourth guy who’s going to pin, so it’ll be a 12-point swing for us. That’s going to make a big difference.”

The 170-pound match was a thriller, as Benevento led 2-1 after one period, and added an escape and a takedown before winning via pinfall in 2:30.

“Benevento is strong, he’s athletic and he wrestles hard,” Gallo said. “If you do those three things, you’re going to win a lot of matches. He was doing a nice job against him, he just needed to do a little more and then he caught him and pinned him.”

The last four weight classes were a split, with Norwalk winning by forfeit at 182 and 220 pounds, and New Canaan countering with pinfalls.

Babenkov (195) defeated David Lamb in 4:44, and Clay (285) defeated Tom Jakaj in 2:32.

That tied the match with the Rams winning by tiebreaker.

For Norwalk, it was a frustrating loss, coming up one point short against a New Canaan team which finished third in the FCIAC last season.

“It was a mixed bag,” Fernandez said. “I knew coming in that it would be a toss-up even though they were giving up a few weight classes, but it feels like it was an opportunity that slipped away for us. Sometimes you need matches like this so that when the opportunity presents itself once again, you can seize that opportunity and get the W.”

Quotable

“My team is geared for the tournaments. I knew I was going to be short people and we’re a much better tournament team. This weekend, I’ll have seven guys going to Eastern (States) and the other ones are going to the Greater Hartford Tournament. I’ll do well in tournaments and we’ll be better the harder the tournament gets. I should have two guys winning State Open and two more who should place.” — New Canaan head coach Paul Gallo

NEW CANAAN 40, NORWALK 39

106: Jack Cahill (N) dec. Jack Goetz, 7-0; 113: Michael Campos (N) won by forfeit; 120: Michael Roselle (N) won  by forfeit; 126: Sam White (N) pinned Joey Bucci, 0:43; 132: Dylan Kortman (NC) dec. Chase Larkin, 9-2; 138: Cesar Rivera (N) pinned Dean Hannah, 0:48; 145: Tyler Sung (NC) pinned Lensendro Laguerre, 0:59; 152: Nate Sibbett (NC) pinned Connor Gilchrist, 1:05; 160: Christian Sibbett (NC) pinned Mykol Reyes, 1:24; 170: Matt Benevento (NC) pinned Christopher Murralles, 2:30; 182: Joey Lusardo (N) won by forfeit; 195: Sergiy Babenkov (NC) pinned David Lamb, 4:44; 220: Dante Solano (N) won by forfeit; 285: Ben Clay (NC) pinned Tom Jakaj, 2:32

New Canaan won on criteria: Most 1st points scored

New Canaan (2-1); Norwalk (3-3)

BRIDGEPORT — One cannot miss the banner behind one of the baskets inside the Bassick High School gym: “1989 Boys Basketball State Champions.”

Yes, it has been that long.

But after their decisive 66-41 victory over a talented Hillhouse team Wednesday, it seems quite possible that the surprising streak could finally end for the Lions.

“It’s our time,” Bassick coach Bernie Lofton said after his team, led by Kevin Crawford’s 32 points, improved to 9-0. “We want respect. We’ve been the No. 3 team in Bridgeport long enough. It’s time we earn some respect.”

The Lions, currently fourth in the state, certainly got that from Wednesday’s opponent. Hillhouse was a top 10 team in the state in a preseason poll. Wednesday’s loss dropped them to 5-3 but considering the opponent, none of the Academic players or coach Renard Sutton were hanging their heads.

“Bassick is a very good team,” Sutton said. “I think they are definitely one of the better teams in the state.”

The sometimes rambunctious Lions committed 23 turnovers, many unforced, and yet still beat a strong team by 25 points. Besides Crawford’s big night, Jordan Gallimore had 12 points and 12 rebounds while EJ Linton and Isaiah Sullivan each added nine rebounds.

The most impressive aspect of Bassick’s performance was the 30 turnovers they forced against a Hillhouse team filled with ballhandlers.

“Their defensive pressure rattled us,” Sutton said. “And we weren’t too good rebounding, and missed a lot of layups. Do that and you don’t expect to win.”

Yes, especially against a team with state championship aspirations.

“We have three keys to get to Mohegan Sun (for the state finals),” Crawford said. “Play great defense, share the ball, and rebound. I think we can get there if we keep playing like a team.”

Bassick jumped out to a 10-1 lead and never led by fewer than 10 the entire second half. The Lions’ 22-9 effort in the fourth quarter put an exclamation mark on the victory.

“Hillhouse is a heck of a team,” Lofton said. “I don’t think it really was a 25-point game but we played really well. Most of our turnovers were unforced so we can clean that up. But we did a great job putting pressure on the ball and taking charges.”

Bassick took a dozen charges during the game as the Acs stubbornly continued to try to drive the lane against Gallimore, Linton and Sullivan. The Lions filled the lane so well that Todd Gurley would’ve been stopped for no gain.

“I’m proud of the team,” Crawford said. “Hillhouse was playing here for the first time in (25 years) so we were excited.”

Hillhouse, which previously lost to East Catholic and Cheshire, were led by Tazhon Daniels, who had eight of team-high 10 points in the first quarter. Jalen Satchell had nine rebounds and Gregorio Chambers and Tyrone Kelley each had six boards.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

While Jordan Gallimore was a force inside for the Lions (12 points, 12 rebounds), it was Kevin Crawford again who stole the show again with 32 points.

QUOTABLE:

“(Bassick’s Kevin) Crawford was unstoppable; I thought we could slow him down but we couldn’t” — Hillhouse coach Renard Sutton

BASSICK 66, HILLHOUSE 41

HILLHOUSE (5-3)

Aiden Roundtree 2 0-1 4; Jacari Douglas 1 4-6 7; Tazhon Daniels 3 3-4 10; Cinceree Lash 1 0-0 3; Jalen Satchell 0 0-0 0; Evan Alexander Scott 3 0-2 7; Tyrone Kelley 0 1-2 1; Khalel Francis 1 0-0 2; Gregorio Chambers 3 1-2 7; Kenard Fuller 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 14-56 9-17 41

BASSICK (9-0)

EJ Linton 1 2-2 4 ; Jordan Gallimore 2 8-12 12; Isaiah Sullivan 2 0-0 4; Kevin Crawford 11 10-15; 32 Julio De Los Santos 2 0-0 6; Joe Torres 0 0-0 0; Javier Hernandez 1 3-4 5; Jason Marrero 1 1-2 3; Ricky Irby 0 0-0 0; Jermaine Grant 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-53 24-33 66

HILLHOUSE 13 10 9 9—41

BASSICK 18 14 12 22—66

3-pointers: H – Douglas, Daniels, Lash, Alexander-Scott. B – De Los Santos 2.

SIMSBURY — No. 3 Northwest Catholic and Glastonbury played to a 3-3 tie on Wednesday night at the International Skating Center of Connecticut.

The Lions scored three goals in a row in the second period to wipe away a two-goal deficit to take a short one-goal lead.

Glastonbury’s Doyle Coughlin would tie the game up for good with his second goal of the game in the second period.

Keane Smith scored the first goal for Glastonbury.

For Northwest Catholic, Sean Macary, Connor Melanson and Cam Porter each scored in the tie.

Paul Augeri / For Hearst Connecticut Media
Middletown’s Kalil Shabazz wrestles with Carson Sassu of Bristol Eastern in the second period before winning by pin in the third. Middletown is ranked 10th in the latest state poll.

There was very little movement in the state wrestling poll. All 10 teams remained, but just a little bit of shifting. Danbury retained all 17 first-place votes.

Brunswick School ran its record to 5-0, swimming past host Hackley School, 87-60, in a meet held on Wednesday.

The Bruins won 10 of 11 events en route to registering their latest win.

The meet began with Brunswick winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1:38.14. In the 200-yard freestyle, Christian Farricker posted a winning time of 1:44.68. Teammate Nicolas Apostolides took third in 1:51.41.

The 200 individual medley saw Cole Pierce of Brunswick touch the wall first in 2:02.22. Keegan Drew

won the 50 freestyle (22.52), while Bruins teammate

Marcus Hodgson placed first in the 100 butterfly (53.07).

Michael O’Malley gave Brunswick a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle (50.73). Apostolides was the runner-up in the event (51.55). In the 500 freestyle, Farricker touched the wall first in 4:49.52.

Lucas Hodgson took first in the 100 backstroke for Brunswick in 54.77, while teammate Max Meissner was second in 55.22. Alexander Hazlett was the 100 breaststroke winner for the Bruins. The meet concluded with the Bruins’ 400 freestyle relay team of Marcus Hodgson, Drew, Apostolides and Hazlett registering a winning time of 3:22.20.

BRUNSWICK WRESTLING

The Bruins continued their standout season, upending Suffield Academy in a meet held at Trinity-Pawling School on Wednesday.

Will Donovan won his 132-pound match for Brunswick, defeating Connor Smith by technical fall, 17-2. Luca Errico of Brunswick pinned Jack Kent in the 138-pound match in 1:22.

Nadjingar Ngbokoli (152) of Brunswick won by pinfall against David Towers in 1:31, while the Bruins’ Clayton Ostrover pinned Luca Pirondini in 49 seconds.

Timothy Saunders of Brunswick won his 192-pound match by injury timeout and teammates William MacGillivray (106), Luke Schlank (120) and Harry Fett (160) each won their matches by forfeit.

BRUNSWICK HOCKEY

The Bruins earned a road win at Millbrook School on Wednesday, topping the Mustangs 4-2. Charles Shaffer’s second hat trick of the season powered Brunswick. Brunswick (6-6-4) is back in action against visiting Hoosac School on Saturday.

Shaffer opened the scoring just under four minutes into the first period, finishing a Ryan St. Louis pass to give Brunswick a 1-0 lead. The hosts tied the game with a goal just past the midway point of the first period.

In the second period, St. Louis set up another Shaffer goal with 7:17 remaining.

The duo struck again nearly three minutes later with Shaffer setting up St. Louis for a goal, giving the Bruins a 3-1 advantage.

After Millbrook made it a one-goal game in the opening minute of the third period, Shaffer, who currently leads the team in scoring (12 goals, 14 assists), completed his hat trick.

Seven different players scored goals for the Greenwich High School girls ice hockey team, which put the brakes on a two-game losing streak with an 8-0 victory over Stamford-Westhill-Staples in an FCIAC matchup held on Wednesday.

Grace Fahey opened the scoring at the 5:16 mark of the first period. Hayley Duffy and Lexi Danielson each assisted on the goal.

Jennifer Kelly gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead 2:22 into the second period. Fahey and Tess Marciano set up the tally.

Katie Piotrzkowski made it 3-0, tallying with 11:21 to go in the second period off assists from Sydney Orszulak and Kelly.

Paige Finneran and Lexi Danielson capped the second-period scoring for the Cardinals.

Wingrove, Lily Bates and Piotrzkowski each tallied in the third period for the Cardinals (5-2). Morgan Dall got the win in goal.

Right on schedule.

More than halfway into its season, the Greenwich Academy squash team is in its usual dominant form and already primed and poised to defend its titles.

Greenwich Academy, which won the Division I title at the U.S. High School Team Championships the past three seasons and has seven straight New England crowns to its ledger, is 4-1 this winter, after topping Taft School on Wednesday.

The Gators, whose lone loss came against Brunswick School, swept a talented Taft team, 7-0, and once again, showed why they are the gold standard on the squash court.

“We are a strong team and we played with a good, professional attitude against a good Taft side,” GA coach Luke Butterworth said. “Our team is ready to step up at nationals, which is coming up in three weeks time. We are so excited for it and we are hungry to get another title for Greenwich Academy.”

Junior Emma Carney, Greenwich Academy’s No. 1 player, continued her standout season at the top spot, defeating Taft’s Adriya Patel, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 on Wednesday.

Carney, who also excels on GA’s tennis team, competed at the prestigious Junior British Open last week in England, where she won three of the five matches she tested her skills in.

“The British Open was a really good experience, there were a lot of great girls and I’ve never seen squash played at that high of a level,” Carney said. “I got to meet a lot of players all over the world and got to work with a lot of coaches, which was good. I played a girl from Malaysia, a girl from India, and someone from England, it was great.”

Carney’s brother Tad, a freshman at Brunswick, also played at the British Open. Her oldest brother Drew, is on the squash team at Yale University, after starring at Brunswick.

“My older brother started playing squash and we all wanted to play it too, because whatever he did we wanted to do,” Carney said. “I’ve practiced with Tad a lot over the years.”

This marks Carney’s first season playing at the No. 1 position for the Gators.

“It’s definitely tougher than last season, because going into every match, I’m expecting to play someone really good,” Carney said. “But the season is going really well so far.”

Senior Claire Aube, who will play squash at Dartmouth College next season, was an 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 winner against Taft’s Carolina Salvatore at the No. 2 spot on Wednesday.

Aube and her twin sister Haley, who will continue her squash career at Stanford University, have been a part of three GA national championship squads.

“So far the team has been playing really well,” Aube said. “We’ve been working hard the past couple of days after break and before break we also worked hard on our fitness and conditioning drills.”

Last season saw the Gators defeat Agnes Irwin School for the U.S. High School Division I title.

“Nationals is sooner than we think and we are all really excited for nationals,” Aube said. “We are just hoping we can play as we did last year and do even better. All these teams we will play against will provide us with good competition.”

At the third spot, Binney Huffman of GA was a 3-0 victor against Sadie Pollack (11-1, 11-1, 11-4).

“Playing against each other during practices definitely helps everyone get on their game, because everyone on this team is such a great player,” Huffman said. “We’ve won the national title three years in a row so we are looking to come on strong and get that national title back.”

Greenwich Academy senior Lucy Stephenson, who will compete at Princeton University next season, posted an 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 win over Taft’s Eliza King Freedman at No. 4.

“My match at No. 4 was good, I stayed focused through the whole match and got through it really well,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson knows what the perfect ending to her senior season on the squad will entail.

“We want to capture the New England and national title again,” Stephenson said. “Winning the New England title is hard, because it’s about team points, so each player has to focus on placing as high as they could to get those points. A couple of years ago, we shared the New England title with Deerfield, so we are trying to avoid that this year and get the title for ourselves. That would be awesome for our seniors.”

Lindsay Westerfield (No. 5), Haley Aube (No. 6) and Brecon Welch (No. 7) were also 3-0 winners in their respective matches against their Taft foes.

“Nationals and New Englands are all we’ve been looking for and we are all ready for those competitions, which is great,” Huffman said.

dfierro@greenwichtime.com

Fairfield Prep has swam past most of its opponents for six decades and Rick Hutchinson has experienced a wealth of the many winning moments.

A swimmer for coach Bruce Jaffee’s teams in the 1980’s, Hutchinson served as an assistant coach under Jaffee for eight seasons, before taking over the helm on the squad he competed on in high school.

Now in his seventh season as coach of the Jesuits, Hutchinson has helped the program maintain its excellence.

“It has been a privilege to be a part of this program,” said Hutchinson, who is in his seventh season as Fairfield Prep’s coach. “I give a lion’s share of the credit to Bruce Jaffee, who created an atmosphere of self-sacrifice. It was a privilege to have the reigns handed over to me and I have been doing my best to uphold our traditions, as well as update it and modernize it a little bit.”

A 1987 Fairfield Prep graduate, Hutchinson has seen a lot of standout athletes hone their skills in the program over the years and this winter, he has several who are making their mark.

Senior Liam Colleran, the defending State Open champion in the 100-yard backstroke (50.90 seconds), is in the midst of another successful season. Colleran is also the Jesuits’ leading performer in the 50-yard freestyle — an event he placed fourth in at last season’s State Open.

“Liam is the ultimate sprinter who loves to race,” Hutchinson said. “Having a go-to guy like that in the 50 and backstroke in every meet is so important. He is also a good butterflyer and is just rock-solid for us.”

Richard Nolan, a versatile junior, is coming off season in which he placed seventh at the State Open in the 200 individual medley (1:55.44).

“He can do a little bit of everything and plays a lot of different roles,” Hutchinson said of Nolan. “He always has a smile on his face and he has a knack for having big swims in key moments. Whenever we needed that big swim to pull out a meet he has done the job.”

Senior Brody Biebel, who placed among the top 15 at the State Open in the 200 freestyle (1:45.65) has also displayed his talent in the sprint events, while junior Anthony Daccache has been stellar in the distance and breaststroke events.

Junior Jack Rogers has produced solid results in the sprint events for Prep over its first three meets, while freshman Thomas Kehor has paced the divers.

“Our divers who have returned have improved a lot and Thomas has performed really well,” Hutchinson said. “The divers showing a lot of confidence and have been a pleasant surprise.”

Fairfield Prep, which has captured the SCC championship 14 straight seasons and placed second at both the State Open and Class LL meets last winter, had a 2-1 record, heading into Thursday’s meet against Branford/Guilford.

Their loss came against non-conference foe Pingry School from New Jersey.

“There’s nothing wrong with testing yourself against one of the top teams in New Jersey and we have some challenging meets coming up,” Hutchinson said.

One of those challenging meets takes place Jan. 19 against host Greenwich — one of Prep’s biggest rivals.

“Our meet against Greenwich is always one that we have marked on our calendar,” Hutchinson said. “It is a great measuring stick for us and we are looking forward to it.”

TOP PERFORMANCES

Kevin Bradley, Norwalk/McMahon

The senior won the diving event for Norwalk/McMahon against Greenwich, totaling 300.70 points.

Spencer Erickson, Darien

Erickson, a senior, registered winning times in the 50 freestyle (24.00) and 100 freestyle (51.77) vs. Westhill/Stamford.

Christian Farricker, Brunswick

Farricker finished first in the 200 freestyle (1:44.68) and won the 500 freestyle for the 5-0 Bruins in their victory against Hackley School.

Ben Feldman, Westhill/Stamford

Feldman had winning efforts in the 200-yard medley relay in 2:04.63 and the 100 butterfly (55.09) in the team’s meet against Darien. He also helped spark the squad’s winning 200 medley relay (1:47.43) and 400 freestyle relay (3:34.13) teams.

Jai Goel, Shelton

The freshman finished first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:17.64) and the 500 freestyle (5:23.18) for Shelton (3-0) in its 99-69 win over Lyman Hall/Cocginhaug.

Shiva Gowda, Amity

A senior, Gowda placed first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.49) and was on Amity’s winning 200 freestyle relay team (1:36.32) in the team’s 93-73 win over North Haven. Amity improved its record to 4-0.

William Hinckley, Notre Dame-West Haven

A senior, Hinckley touched the wall first in the 50 freestyle (24.22) and 100 freestyle (55.27) for Notre Dame-West Haven in its 86-84 loss against Foran/Law.

Holden Hoon, Wethersfield

Hoon, a senior, finished first in the 200 IM (2:05.81) and the 100 freestyle (52.11) for Wethersfield in its meet against Hall.

Ben Howell, Xavier

The junior took top honors in the 100-yard backstroke (57.84) and competed on Xavier’s first-place 200 medley (1:42.07) and 400 freestyle (3:29.14) relay teams in the squad’s victory against West Haven/Platt Tech.

Nick Malchow, Greenwich

Malchow, a sophomore, notched first-place finishes in the 200 IM (2:08.67) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.86) against Westhill/Stamford.

Connor Martin, Darien

A junior, Martin won the 200 freestyle in 1:53.10 and touched the wall first in the 100 butterfly (55.97) for the Blue Wave, which beat Westhill, 103.50-78.50.

Will McCleery, North Haven

McCleery registered a winning time of 5:15.40 in the 500 freestyle for North Haven in it meet against Amity. The senior was also on the team’s 400 freestyle relay team, which placed first in 3:43.53.

Andrew Mitchill, Xavier

Mitchill won the 200 freestyle in 1:51.84 and took first in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.81) in Xavier’s 92-78 win over West Haven/Platt Tech. A sophomore, Mitchill also competed on Xavier’s winning 200 freestyle relay (1:51.84) and 400 freestyle relay (3:29.14) teams.

Edward Platonov, Foran/Law

The sophomore won the 200 freestyle in 1:48.28 and the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:11.13 for Foran/Law against Notre Dame-West Haven. He also swam on the squad’s winning 200 freestyle relay team (1:40.87).

Tyler Roy, Amity

The junior won the 100 freestyle (50.96) and was on Amity’s winning 200 medley relay (1:49.67) and 200 freestyle relay (1:36.32) against North Haven.

Connor Skarzynski, Hall

A junior, Skarzynski posted winning times in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.51) and the 500 freestyle (5:15.73) for Hall, which edged Wethersfield, 93.5-92.5. He also helped the 400 freestyle relay team win in 3:35.80 and the 200 freestyle relay team take first in 1:35.90.

Nick Todorovic, Greenwich

Todorovic finished first in the 200 individual medley for the 3-0 Cardinals in their win over Norwalk/McMahon. A junior, Todorovic also won the 500 freestyle in 5:04.24.

MEETS TO WATCH

New Canaan at Greenwich, Friday, 4:30 p.m.

Amity vs. Xavier, Monday, 7 p.m.

Staples at New Canaan, Jan. 17, 4 p.m.

Westhill/Stamford at Glastonbury, Jan. 19, 3 p.m.

Fairfield Prep at Greenwich, Jan. 19, 2:30 p.m.

SIMSBURY – Last Saturday, those interested in Connecticut high school hockey had their eyes set on an important Division I game in the northern part of the state: Undefeated Northwest Catholic was playing host to New Canaan, an FCIAC school from the south.

“They always talk about the Southern teams, Fairfield Prep, Hamden, all down there,” Northwest Catholic senior defenseman Tyler Esposito said. “They don’t really talk about us because we have to play our CCC schedule.”

The Lions indeed opened with a ton of CCC teams, only one of which played in Division I, the state’s strongest playoff classification. They were 5-0 heading into the game, while New Canaan made the trip with a 3-3 record, with all their games coming against top division foes.

“I think teams might just think we are the team from the North,” Northwest Catholic senior goalie Michael Kaliff said. “But I think at the same time, we do get some respect in the same regard. It’s weird.”

The stereotype against the Lions is not unfounded.

Since the Lions moved up to Division I six seasons ago, they have been ousted from the state tournament in the first round three times and in the second round once. The other time, the Lions reached the Division I final in 2017, losing to Ridgefield, 6-2.

Only twice in state championship history, since 1948 — when the CIAC started hosting state championship in hockey — has a team in the north part of the state won a Division I state championship.

Enfield beat Notre Dame-West Haven, 5-4, in 1983 and in 2003 Simsbury beat Hamden, 3-2. 

Heading into the New Canaan game, the Lions were ranked No. 3 in the previous two GameTimeCT polls.

Both in the second and third periods, New Canaan took the lead. Each time, Northwest Catholic tied it up.

“It was good to see,” Northwest Catholic coach Dan Melanson said. “They fought adversity. We went down a goal, within two minutes we tied it up. We went down a goal again, within two minutes we’re back tied up again.”

Nick Salcedo wins it 3-2 over New Canaan in OT as Boys Ice Hockey remains undefeated at 6-0!!! #ShotOfTheDay #cthk pic.twitter.com/d1xBC9u3kI

— NWC Athletics (@NWC_athletics) January 5, 2019

It took 15 seconds into overtime to not only send the Lions home a 3-2 winner on a Nick Salcedo goal but, it also sent a message that the boys from the North might be for real.

“It was really important for us to make a statement like that to show that we can play with the stronger teams down South for sure,” Northwest Catholic junior Brennan Horn said. “Not just getting our wins against easier opponents – such as the Division II teams we have played earlier – so it was good for us to get on the map like that.”

The underdog, no-one-respects-us mentality is something that permeates in the Lions’ locker room and is something the team uses as motivation.

“It’s a constant thing in the locker room, trying to prove people wrong,” senior defenseman Sean Macary said. “Whether it’s people on the ice or people off the ice.”

The overtime victory have the Lions believing they can play with anyone.

“It was very crucial to get a statement win out there, saying that we can keep up with these bigger teams and we can beat them,” senior forward Colby Tuttle said. “Because people have been questioning our abilities when we are playing D2 teams and conference teams – who may not be as strong as the Southern teams. It just proves that we are just as good as those teams.”

Led by Horn’s 18 points (nine goals, nine assists), as well as Salcedo (13 points) and Tuttle (12 points) the offense for the Lions is in good hands, to go along with a ton of other talented players filling in the stat sheet.

Defensively, the Lions have two mainstays in Macary and Esposito – both who saw top four minutes as sophomores on the championship game team – holding down the backend.

The Lions, now 6-0-1 after a 3-3 tie with Glastonbury on Wednesday, have a chance to prove how good they are twice in the next week.

They play No. 5 Notre Dame-West Haven (4-4) on Saturday and No. 6 Greenwich (2-1-2) on Wednesday.

“It should be a good test, but being able to beat New Canaan going into this next week was a good start,” Salcedo said.

A good start indeed for a team that plans on playing at Ingalls Rink in March.

“We can be a team that is going to be successful at the end,” Melanson said. “We have a chance to hopefully make it to Yale.”

STAMFORD — With 2:30 left in the first half, Norwalk coach Rick Fuller pulled all-state guard Ashley Wilson out for a breather.

With Wilson out, the Bears outscored Trinity Catholic by seven over those final minutes and Fuller did not re-insert Wilson until the start of the third quarter.

He did not have to; the rest of the Bears were not missing a beat and not missing many shots, either.

Using a stifling defense and with four players scoring in double digits, No. 4 Norwalk rolled over Trinity 57-35 on Thursday night on Walsh Court.

Hunte of Norwalk pulls up from 3 #ctgb pic.twitter.com/yngZmjIkvQ

— Scott Ericson (@EricsonSports) January 10, 2019

“We hit them with multiple defenses. The girls know in order to beat teams like Trinity or other upper-echelon teams, you can’t come out slow and you can’t come out soft. You have to play an intense four quarters of basketball,” Fuller said.

“The more people who score, the harder we’re going to be to defend. If we can hold teams under 40, we have a great chance to win and we’ve been doing that the last few games. Defense travels.”

Wilson did not score after the second quarter but finished with 10 points, as did Jakara Murray-Leach and Anaijah Morgan, while Carsyn Langhorn led the Bears with 14 points.

Hunte of Norwalk pulls up from 3 #ctgb pic.twitter.com/yngZmjIkvQ

— Scott Ericson (@EricsonSports) January 10, 2019

Norwalk was up 20-11 after one quarter, using a 14-0 run to expand that lead in the second.

The Bears never relented on defense, creating turnovers and transition baskets all night, never letting Trinity even sniff a comeback.

Norwalk (9-0, 7-0 FCIAC) showed why it is ranked so high in the GametimeCT poll.

Trinity (7-2, 5-2) was not close on this night but Mike Walsh thinks his team can learn a ton from playing one of the state’s best.

“They have a lot of weapons and are a very talented team. I think this was a good measure for us to see where we stand and what we have to do to get better,” Walsh said. “I think we got caught up in their tempo and we need to be able to play at our tempo. Hopefully we can get in the FCIACs and get another shot at them.”

Kyah Nowlin had 14 points for Trinity while Iyanna Lops added 13.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Carsyn Langhorn, Norwalk. Langhorn not only paced the scoring for the Bears but distributed the ball all night and played smothering defense, creating turnovers.

QUOTABLE

“We just took them out of their game. We kept playing man-to-man defense and we kept being aggressive and getting in their faces,” Langhorn said. “We played a spectacular first half and we got the W. It feels good to come in here and win in their house.”

NORWALK 57, TRINITY CATHOLIC 35

NORWALK 20 17 10 10—57
TRINITY 11 9 5 10—35

NORWALK (9-0, 7-0 FCIAC) Carsyn Langhorn 6 2-3 14; Sanaa Boyd 0 0-0 0; Ashley Wilson 4 0-0 10; Jakara Murray-Leach 4 1-2 10; Naeva Rene 2 1-2 5; Belinda Hunte 2 3-8 8; Anaijah Morgan 5 0-0 10; Serenity Mayhew 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 7-15 57

TRINITY (7-2, 5-2) Emma Garner 1 2-3 4; Kyah Nowlin 5 4-6 14; Caitlyn Scott 1 0-3 2; Iyanna Lops 5 0-0 13; Kiera Fenske 1 0-0 2; Sarah Jablonsky 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 6-11 35

3-point field goals: N—Wilson 2, Murray-Leach, Hunte; TC—Lops 3

It was a busy weekend for all of the state’s top squads, who thrived participating in competitive invitationals across the region.

No. 1 Danbury took home the biggest title by winning the Sanford (Maine) Invitational last Saturday more than four hours from home. Unable to participate in the tournament last year due to bad weather, Danbury led a field of several outstanding programs the Hatters will be battling for New England supremacy later in the season.

The Hatters gained early bragging rights by scoring 243 points, 26.5 more than Timberlane (N.H.). Cumberland (Rhode Island) finished third with 169 while Xavier finished fourth with 152. The Falcons had a pair of champions in standout sophomore Michael Rapuano (106) and junior James Lunt (145).

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Danbury — which finished third in New England last year — placed seven finalists in the competitive field, coming home with a pair of champions in Tyler Johnson (120) and Ryan Jack (126). Each scored quick pins in their final matches. The tournament starts a grueling second-half schedule for the Hatters, which includes trips to Trumbull, Mount Anthony (Vermont) and another showdown against Timberlane.

The Bristol Central invitational featured 24 teams and was taken down by Bristol Eastern, who edged Southington for the team title. The Lancers scored 207 points, just ahead of the Knights’ 199. Avon, Ledyard and Wethersfield rounded out the top five.

Eastern’s big guns — Trent Thompson (106), Dylan Garcia (182) and Trinidad Gonzalez (220) took down their weight classes.

Southington had just one individual champion — Caleb Chesanow at 195 — but had 10 others notch top-five finishes to accumulate points. Caleb Brick (120), Dawsen Welch (138) and Jacob Cardozo (145) reached the final round. Cardozo fell in a tight 4-2 decision to Berlin’s Daniel Veleas, who has won Class M titles in each of the past two years in different classes.

Fairfield Warde’s only blemish so far this season is a defeat to Danbury in a dual meet, and that continued as the Mustangs won the Warde Invite last Saturday. Will Ebert (126), Cole Shaughnessy (145), Noah Zuckerman (152), Hunter Rasmussen (170) and Joe Gjinaj (195) all won their brackets. Montville — which is 14-2 in meets this winter — was second in the competition as Blake Chapman won at 106.

The Lawless Invite at Nonnewaug was captured by Guilford, which is off to an 8-3 start this season. Canton was second while the hosts finished third. New Canaan’s Tyler Sung (145) and Christian Sibbett (160) captured wins to send the Rams to a fourth-place finish.

Canton (9-2) finished just 10.5 points off the top spot with three champions: Ethan Titus (106), Brian Connolly (138) and Austin Kilduff (170).

STILL ON TOP

Danbury is still the undisputed No. 1 team in the state in the second edition of the ctwrestling.com Top 10 Poll with fellow undefeated Bristol Eastern right behind. Warde moved up to third while Trumbull stayed in the No. 5 spot, leaving three FCIAC and two CCC teams in top five.

MEETS TO WATCH

John Gorman Invite, Saturday at Cumberland, Rhode Island: Bristol Eastern, Newtown and New Milford head across the border to challenge the hosts. The Lancers won the title with 221 points last season.

Greater Hartford Invite. Saturday at Hall High School: Southington leads a field that also includes Killingly and Greenwich.

Danbury at Trumbull, Wednesday, 6 p.m.: A matchup between two top-five squads in the state; the Hatters haven’t lost a dual meet against an FCIAC squad since 1986.

New Canaan at Warde, Wednesday, 6 p.m.: Mustangs coming off a commanding performance in their own invitational.

FAIRFIELD PREP 98, BRANFORD/GUILFORD 61

(at Fairfield University, all distances in meters): 200 medley relay: Fairfield Prep (Liam Colleran, Alec Keblish, Danny Duffy, Brody Biebel) 1:55.22; 200 freestyle: Richard Nolan (FP) 1:59.58; 200 IM: Aidan Henry (BG) 2:15.93; 50 freestyle: Biebel (FP) 25.91; diving: Thomas Kehno (FP) 237.55; 100 butterfly: Ben Short (FP) 1:05.33; 100 freestyle: Biebel (FP) 56.12; 400 freestyle: Henry (FP) 4:07.91; 200 freestyle relay: Fairfield Prep (Biebel, Keblish, Duffy, Nolan) 1:45.65; 100 backstroke: David Zhang (BG) 1:13.96; 100 breaststroke: Andrew Orce (BG) 1:27.93; 400 freestyle relay: Branford/Guilford (Horten, Henry, Kamen, Henry) 4:02.70. Records: Fairfield Prep 3-1, Branford/Guilford 0-4.

Trumbull’s Krystina Schueler goes up for a shot in traffic. — David G. Whitham photos

TRUMBULL — Chicken or the Egg? Which comes first?

The question posed by Trumbull High and Staples of Westport was similar in nature when the FCIAC contenders met in Trumbull on Thursday night.

Is it important when your offense is lacking to retain your defensive principles to stay in the game?

Or are those plans of action on defense the reason a team holds its opponent far below its scoring average?

“We had to grind it out on defense,” Trumbull coach Steve Tobitsch said after his Eagles turned back the Wreckers, 36-25. “We had to tighten up our rotation to get those defensive stops.”

Trumbull improved to 10-0 overall and is 7-0 in the FCIAC.

Staples is now 6-4 and 4-3 in the conference.

“We had a big game with Trinity Catholic and the defense didn’t show up,” Staples coach Paco Fabian said of a 58-49 loss on Jan. 3. “We’ve been focusing on defense. We knew we’d need it against Trumbull, which is one of the top teams in the state.”

The Wreckers bounced back from that loss to the Crusaders with a 47-26 victory over Wilton on Monday. They were scoring at a 48.5 per game clip coming into the matchup with the high-powered Eagles (59 points per game).

Trumbull took an 8-6 lead into the second period. Neither team shot well. The Eagles were 2 for 15 from the floor; Staples was 1-10.

With the game tied at 11-all after the Wreckers’ Olivia Troy buried a three-pointer in the second quarter, Trumbull’s Allie Palmieri poked the ball free and turned the steal into a three-point play with 2:54 left in the half.

Krystina Schueler (13 points) forced a turnover that led to a Cassi Barbato three-pointer off a pass from Maeve Hampford and the Eagles had a 17-12 lead at the break.

The teams looked to get the offense right, not quick, in the third quarter.

Palmieri knocked home a jumper off a Kelly O’Leary feed after running the offense for one minute to open the period.

Staples’ Elle Fair countered with a basket and Nicole Holmes scored from the block off dribble penetration by Fair.

O’Leary found Barbato open on the wing in transition for another trey for the sophomore and a 22-16 lead.

Marley Lopez-Paul followed her own miss after a great entry pass from Isabella Didio and it was 22-20 at the one-minute mark of the third.

Hampford scored inside, with Palmieri getting the assist, and Trumbull took a 24-20 lead into the final quarter.

Staples’ Alva Norden tallied on a great drop-step to the basket to make it 24-22.

Down 27-22, the Wreckers ran a great give-and-go with Lopez-Paul getting the ball to a cutting Fair only to have the Eagles’ Meghan Lesko tip the ball out of bounds.

Instead of a layup and a one-possession game, Trumbull forced a missed shot and came back down court to score on back-to-back baskets by Schueler.

A senior forward, Schueler had five points in the opening frame and never let down from there.

She scored after a pass from O’Leary at the 3:26 mark and followed that up with a give-and-go basket against the Staples’ trap to take the score to 31-22.

Staples stayed close at 31-25 on Amanda Troelstra’s long-range jumper with 1:47 to play.

Staples had to foul four times to get Trumbull to the line with 1:17 left.

After a missed free throw, the Wreckers had a chance to cut the deficit to three but Schueler blocked an entry pass and was off to the races.

She scored on the breakaway, was fouled, and completed the three-point play for a 34-25 lead.

“Krystina is one of our seniors that we count on and she was especially good in that fourth quarter,” Tobitsch said. “Maeve Hampford and Sarah Stolze (nine rebounds) gave up great minutes off the bench when he had two players in foul trouble.

“Staples has a great program and we knew coming in it was going to be a battle. We need to improve in a lot of areas.”

TRUMBULL 36, STAPLES 25

Trumbull

Emma Gentry 0 0-0 0; Meghan Lesko 0 0-1 0; Bella McCain 0 0-0 0; Emi Roberto 0 0-0 0; Maeve Hampford 1 0-2 2; Kelly O’Leary 1 0-1 3; Krystina Schueler 5 2-3 13; Jenna DeSabella 0 0-0 0; Sarah Stolze 0 0-0 0; Cassi Barbato 3 0-0 9; Gianna Ghitsa 0 0-0 0; Allie Palmieri 2 5-5 9. Totals:  12 7-12 36

Staples

Nicole Holmes 1 1-4 3; Maddie Phelps 0 0-0 0; Ellie Fair 3 0-0 6; Alva Nordin 1 0-0 2; Lexi Mogkouit 0 0-0 0; Marissa Shorrock 2 0-0 5; Abby Carter 1 0-0 3; Marley Lopez-Paul 2 2-2 6; Jenn Westphal 0 0-0 0. Totals:  10 3-6 25

STAPLES    6 6 8 5 -25
TRUMBULL  8 9 7 12 – 36

3-Pointers Made: Trumbull: Kelly O’leary-1, Krystina Schueler-1; Cassi Barbato-3; Staples: Marissa Shorrock-1; Abby Carter-1

Liz Wilson finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Ansonia girls basketball team, which defeated Derby 53-34 Thursday night in a Naugatuck Valley League home win.

JoJo Sanchez had a game-high 20 points, along with three assists and three steals, for the Chargers (8-2), which qualified for the CIAC state tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Lucy Lane scored nine point to lead the Red Raiders (2-7).

Seymour 50, Woodland 40: Kolby Sirowich posted a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) for Seymour in a NVL win at Beacon Falls.

Sydnie Drezek added 11 points and Morgan Teodosio grabbed 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (7-3). Riley Kene scored 10 points to lead the Hawks (2-6).

Boys basketball

Morgan 50, Amistad
47: Chris Nuzzo led all scorers with 17 points for Morgan in a non-league win at Clinton. Eli Blackwell had 16 points to lead Amistad.

Valley Regional 54, Haddam-Killingworth
31: Gavin Grabowski and Cade Ensinger had 21 and 19 points, respectively, for Valley Regional in a Shoreline Conference win at Deep River. Chris Sparaco added 11 rebounds for the Warriors.

BOYS BASKETBALL

WARDE 90, CENTRAL 64

FAIRFIELD — The Warde boys basketball team made 15 three-pointers in a 90-64 win over Central Thursday evening.

Matt Becker (23 points) and Brendan McMahon (20) hit four three-pointers apiece and Matt Houghton (15) made three threes to lead the way for the Mustangs (5-2, 3-1 FCIAC). Rajeeve Walker scored a game-high 34 points in the third straight loss for the Hilltoppers (2-6).

CENTRAL (2-6)

Rivera 2 2-2 8 TyQuan Fleming 1 0-0 2 Jamir Sanders 4 0-0 11 Travis Griffins 1 0-0 3 Reniel Smith 0 1-6 1 Rajeeve Walker 14 6-8 34 Marco Acevedo 2 0-0 5. Totals: 24 9-16 64.

WARDE (5-2, 3-1 FCIAC)

Christian Homa 1 0-0 3 Joey Gulbin 1 1-2 4 Matt Becker 9 1-3 23 Brendan McMahon 7 2-3 20 Matt Houghton 6 0-0 15 Tom McTague 1 0-0 2 Ben Steele 2 0-0 6 Noah Seawright 1 0-2 2 Eli Feay 4 0-0 8 Evan Defonce 0 1-2 1 Jack McKenna 3 0-0 6. Totals: 35 5-10 90.

CENTRAL18 12 18 16—64
WARDE17 34 28 11—90

3-pointers: C—Sanders 3, Rivera 2, Griffith, Acevedo; W—McMahon 4, Becker 4, Houghton 3, Steele 2, Homa, Gulbin.

Highlights: W—Becker had 11 rebounds. Gulbin had 10 rebounds.

WOODLAND 62, SEYMOUR 45

WOODLAND (4-5)

Zach Bedryczuk 5 4-4 17 Justin Marks 3 5-6 11 Mike Meier 5 4-4 14 Jason Palmieri 0 2-4 2 Tyler Bulinski 3 0-0 7 Trey Mastopietro 1 1-3 3 Nick DeLuca 0 0-0 0 Nathanel Smith 0 4-5 4 Nate Bodnar 2 0-2 4. Totals: 19 20-28 62.

SEYMOUR (1-7)

Max Gayle 2 1-2 5 Dion Perkins 5 6-10 19 DJ Miller 1 0-0 2 Daniel Manente 0 2-2 2 Markel McKnight 1 1-1 3 Matt Oczkowski 2 2-3 7 Dhruv Kapadia 1 0-0 2 James Riley 0 0-0 0 Kyle Harmeling 1 0-0 3 Joe Orlando 0 0-0 0 Kevin Harmeling 0 2-2 2. Totals: 13 14-20 45.

WOODLAND    17 11 14 20—62
SEYMOUR       16 11 6 12—45

3-pointers: W—Bedryczuk 3, Bulinski; S—Perkins 3, Oczkowski, Ky. Harmeling.

Fouled out: S—Perkins.

Highlights: S—Perkins and Gayle each had 10 rebounds. Manente had nine rebounds.

TRUMBULL 63, STAPLES 45

TRUMBULL

Mileeq Green 2 0-0 4 Dylan Palinkas 0 0-0 0 Isaiah Johnson 2 2-2 6 JP Fromageot 1 0-0 2 James O’Brien 0 0-0 0 Jack Therriault 3 2-3 8 Timmand Williams 5 6-7 16 Andrew Cutter 0 0-0 0 Evan Gutkowski 7 1-3 15 Jack Gruttadauria 0 0-0 0 Quentar Taylor 4 3-6 12. Totals: 24 14-21 66.

STAPLES

Jake Thaw 4 0-0 9 Benjamin Feuer 3 2-2 9 Dylan Ward 2 2-2 6 Eleftherios Pendarakis 1 0-0 2 A.J. Konstanty 5 1-1 11 Teddy Dienst 0 0-2 0 Evan Vishno 1 0-0 3 Lucas Basich 1 2-2 5. Totals: 16 8-10 45.

TRUMBULL     14 15 18 16—63
STAPLES       12 17 6 12—45

3-pointers: T—Taylor; S—Thaw, Feuer, Vishno, Basich.

Highlights: T—Gutkowski had 11 rebounds. Williams had 10 rebounds.

ST. JOSEPH 65, GREENWICH 42

GREENWICH (4-3, 2-3 FCIAC)

Chris Genaro 4 0-0 10 Gavin Muir 1 0-0 3 Greg Altemere 0 2-2 2 Bill Nail 1 0-0 3 Oliver Milledge 5 1-2 11 Brenden Friel 0 0-0 0 Max Steinman 1 2-2 4 Chris Mark 3 1-3 7 AJ Barber 0 2-2 2 Luis Mercado 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 8-11 42.

ST. JOSEPH (6-1, 5-0)

Dan Tobin 4 0-0 8 Stephen Paolini 9 0-2 18 Paul Fabbri 4 2-2 10 Brendan Kade 4 2-2 12 Jason James 4 1-2 11 Glen Manigault 0 0-0 0 Tyler DuBose 1 0-0 2 Kyren Jones 0 1-2 1 Hadyn Gourley 0 0-0 0 Brian Robertson 0 0-0 0 Anthony Rainey 1 0-0 3 Tom Shannon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 6-10 65.

GREENWICH     9 10 11 12—42
ST. JOSEPH     25 9 13 18—65

3-pointers: G—Genaro 2, Muir, Nail; SJ—James 2, Kade 2, Rainey.

Highlights: SJ—Paolini had six rebounds and six steals. Tobin had seven rebounds. Fabbri had six rebounds and four steals.

TRINITY CATHOLIC 57, NORWALK 44

TRINITY CATHOLIC

Akim Joseph 5 0-0 10 Xavier Ruilliano 5 1-8 11 Rashen Fisher 8 4-7 20 Anthony Anderson 2 0-1 4 Rassoul Abakar 5 0-2 10 Brian Ceballos 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 5-18 57.

NORWALK

Jamal Boyd 1 0-0 2 Aaron Epps 0 1-2 1 Jammei Green 4 0-0 10 Camryn Edwards 0 0-2 0 Zyaire Sellers 7 3-5 18 Rudy Roberts 3 0-0 7 Mysonne Pollard 3 0-1 6. Totals: 18 4-10 44.

TRINITY CATHOLIC    12 12 20 13—57
NORWALK              13 19 5 7—44

3-pointers: N—Green.

RIDGEFIELD 61, LUDLOWE 53

LUDLOWE

James Bourque 4 5-5 13 Patrick Kilbride 2 0-0 4 Ian Bentley 3 0-0 6 Christian Peterson 1 0-0 2 Jeff Meyers 7 0-0 17 Jadyn Tabois 3 0-0 7 Rowan Keesser 1 0-0 2 Chris Carlucci 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 5-5 53.

RIDGEFIELD

Matthew Misurelli 2 3-5 7 James St. Pierre 5 12-13 24 Christopher Knachel 3 0-3 6 Cameron Andry 1 0-0 3 Derek Szpakowski 1 0-0 2 Weston Carpenter 1 0-0 2 Ryan Garson 0 0-2 0 John Briody 1 2-2 5 Matthew DeLuca 5 2-4 12. Totals: 19 19-29 61.

LUDLOWE          6 13 18 16—53
RIDGEFIELD        8 14 18 21—61

3-pointers: L—Meyers 3, Tabois; R—St. Pierre 2, Andry, Briody.

Valley Regional 54, Haddam-Killingworth 31

Gavin Grabowski and Cade Ensinger had 21 and 19 points, respectively, for Valley Regional in a Shoreline Conference win at Deep River. Chris Sparaco added 11 rebounds for the Warriors.

H. KILL8 8 9 6—31
V. REG.9 18 15 12—54

HADDAM-KILLINGWORTH (31)

Darren Hiller 1 1-2 3, Matt Wills 2 5-6 9, Jimmy McGoey 3 3-5 9, Andrew Kuehn 0 2-2 2, Sam Erskine 0 0-1 0, Trey Callendar 3 0-0 6, Evan Fleis 0 2-2 2.

VALLEY REGIONAL (54)

Gavin Grabowski 8 4-4 21, Chris Sparaco 2 0-0 4, Cade Ensinger 6 6-8 19, Kevin Fasulo 4 0-0 8, Keenan Pindar 0 2-2 2, Macklin Miezeleki 0 0-2 0, JT Dickson 0 0-2 0.

3-point FG: VR—Grabowski. Highlights: VR Chris Sparaco 11 reb 5 steals and Cade Ensinger 5 steals.

Woodland 62, Seymour 45

WOODLAND    17 11 14 20—62
SEYMOUR     16 11 6 12—45

WOODLAND (62)

Zach Bedryczuk 5 4-4 17 Justin Marks 3 5-6 11 Mike Meier 5 4-4 14 Jason Palmieri 0 2-4 2 Tyler Bulinski 3 0-0 7 Trey Mastropietro 1 1-3 3 Nick DeLucia 0 0-0 0 Nathanel Smith 0 4-5 4 Nate Bodnar 2 0-2 4. Totals: 19 20-28 62.

SEYMOUR (45)

Max Gayle 2 1-2 5 Dion Perkins 5 6-10 19 DJ Miller 1 0-0 2 Daniel Manente 0 2-2 2 Markel McKnight 1 1-1 3 Matt Oczkowski 2 2-3 7 Dhruv Kapadia 1 0-0 2 James Riley 0 0-0 0 Kyle Harmeling 1 0-0 3 Joe Orlando 0 0-0 0 Kevin Harmeling 0 2-2 2. Totals: 13 14-20 45.

3-point FG: W- Bedryczuk 3, Bulinski; S- Perkins 3, Oczkowski, Kyle Harmeling . Fouled out: Perkins

Highlights: Perkins and Gayle had 10 rebounds, while Manente had 9 for Seymour.

Morgan 50, Amistad 47

Chris Nuzzo led all scorers with 17 points for Morgan in a non-league win at Clinton. Eli Blackwell had 16 points to lead Amistad.

AMISTAD    8 16 10 13—47
MORGAN   10 19 12 9—50

AMISTAD (47)

Eli Blackwell 4 7-7 16, Jaden Ratliff 2 3-4 7, Arthur Brown 2 0-1 4, Aumarion Bordeaux 0 1-2 1, Justin White 4 0-1 9, Cyprien Joseph 4 2-6 10.

MORGAN (50)

Zach Johnson 1 2-3 4, A.J. Fritz 1 2-4 4, Rob Zirlis 3 2-3 8, Jason Cohen 3 0-0 9, Garrett Johnson 2 2-2 8, Chris Nuzzo 5 5-7 17.

3-point FG: A: Blackwell, White; M: Cohen 3, G. Johnson 2, Nuzzo 2.

ND-FAIRFIELD 68, STRATFORD 61

Wednesday’s result

STRATFORD (3-5)

Zack Fedak 2 1-3 5 Jack Ryan 8 5-5 23 Mike August 2 2-2 6 Joe August 6 1-2 16 John Bike 3 0-0 7 Jayquan Kirkland 2 0-0 4. Totals: 23 9-12 61.

ND-FAIRFIELD (5-3)

Cape Holden 2 0-0 6 Jon Despeignes 1 0-0 3 Jaden Palmer 2 1-2 7 Blake Macklin 2 0-0 4 Rodney Medor 4 1-4 9 Max Mitchell 6 4-4 21 Chase Johnson 2 0-0 4 Phil Conner 7 0-0 14. Totals: 26 6-10 68.

STRATFORD      16 14 13 18—61
ND-FAIRFIELD  16 18 12 22—68

3-pointers: S—J. August 3, Ryan 2, Bike; NDF—Mitchell 5, Holden 2, Palmer 2, Despeignes.

Highlights: NDF—Conner had seven rebounds and seven assists. Macklin had five assists.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Ansonia 53, Derby 34

Liz Wilson finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Ansonia girls basketball team, which defeated Derby 53-34 Thursday night in a Naugatuck Valley League home win.

JoJo Sanchez had a game-high 20 points, along with three assists and three steals, for the Chargers (8-2), which qualified for the CIAC state tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Lucy Lane scored nine point to lead the Red Raiders (2-7).

DERBY       8 5 13 8—34
ANSONIA  21 15 9 8—53

DERBY (34)

Christina Carloni 2 0-1 4, Madison Koval 1 3-8 5, Kiara Swilling 2 1-4 6, Lucy Lane 3 1-2 9, Isabella Chevarella 0 0-0 0, Emily Borowski 2 0-0 4, Precious Perez 0 0-0 0, Devine Lopez 0 0-0 0, Taylor Seno 2 0-0 6, Laney O’Hara 0 0-0 0. 12 5-15 34.

ANSONIA (53)

Liz Wilson 5 8-10 19, Larissa Rodriguez 1 0-0 3, JoJo Sanchez 7 2-4 20, Jayda Sanchez 1 1-3 3, Lilly Romanowski 3 0-4 6, Hailey Bellido 1 0-1 2, Ari Blackwell 0 0-0 0, Tatianna Shuler 0 0-0 0, Isra Hanaif 0 0-0 0, Julissa Kelly 0 0-0 0. 18 11-22 53.

3-point FG: A( JoJo Sanchez 4, Wilson 1, Rodriguez 1) D( Seno 2, Lane 2, Swilling 1). Of note. Wilson has 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals. JoJo Sanchez 3 assists 3 steals. Ansonia qualifies for the state tournament for the 1st time since 2012-13.

WARDE 67, CENTRAL 36

WARDE (5-5)

Caroline Aufiero 3 8-9 14 Kristina Krasniqi 3 2-2 8 Ava Fitzpatrick 2 2-2 6 Toni Lamparski 2 1-2 7 Aleysha Henry 5 0-0 11 Nhyria Assante 1 0-0 2 Teagan Tully 2 0-0 4 Kirsten Rodriguez 2 1-2 5 Maya Henry 1 0-0 2 Carolyn Mills 4 0-0 8. Totals: 25 14-17 67.

CENTRAL (0-8)

Ishmar Ruiz 1 0-0 2 Rebecca Vilsaint 1 0-0 2 Jenisiz Miller 4 0-0 8 Brianna Smith 4 0-0 10 Jayda Edmonds 5 1-3 12 Rohanna Edwards 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 1-3 36.

3-pointers: W—Lamparski 2, Edmund, A. Henry; C—Smith 2.

Highlights: W—M. Henry had five steals. Aufiero had seven rebounds and four steals.

TRUMBULL 36, STAPLES 25

STAPLES

Nicole Holmes 1 1-4 3 Maddie Phelps 0 0-0 0 Ellie Fair 3 0-0 6 Alva Nordin 1 0-0 2 Lexi Mogkouit 0 0-0 0 Marissa Shorrock 2 0-0 5 Abby Carter 1 0-0 3 Merley Lopez-Paul 2 2-2 6 Jenn Westphal 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 3-6 25.

TRUMBULL (10-0, 7-0 FCIAC)

Emma Gentry 0 0-0 0 Meghan Lesko 0 0-1 0 Bella McCain 0 0-0 0 Emi Roberto 0 0-0 0 Maeve Hampford 1 0-2 2 Kelly O’Leary 1 0-1 3 Krystina Schueler 5 2-3 13 Jenna DeSabella 0 0-0 0 Sarah Stolze 0 0-0 0 Cassi Barbato 3 0-0 9 Gianna Ghitsa 0 0-0 0 Allie Palmieri 2 5-5 9. Totals: 12 7-12 36.

STAPLES6 6 8 5—25
TRUMBULL8 9 7 12—36

3-pointers: S—Shorrock, Carter; T—Barbato 3, O’Leary, Schueler.

Highlights: T—Stolze had nine rebounds.

SEYMOUR 50, WOODLAND 40

Kolby Sirowich posted a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) for Seymour in a NVL win at Beacon Falls.

Sydnie Drezek added 11 points and Morgan Teodosio grabbed 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (7-3). Riley Kene scored 10 points to lead the Hawks (2-6).

SEYMOUR (7-3)

Kolby Sirowich 8 0 18 Alyssa Johnson 2 2 8 Alyssa Cosciello 0 0 0 Megan Condo 1 0 2 Sydnie Drezek 4 1 11 Morgan Teodosio 2 5 9 Caty Ragaini 0 2 2 Jacey Cosciello 0 0 0 Izzy Calabro 0 0 0 Kiley Drezek 0 0 0. Totals: 17 10 50.

WOODLAND (2-6)

Gabby Mastopietro 3 0 7 Kylie Bolinski 3 0 6 Paige Resnick 0 0 0 Hana Bojka 2 2 4 Andra Bojka 1 5 8 Ave Delveia 0 0 0 Riley Kene 4 1 10 Jillian Barbarito 0 3 3. Totals: 13 11 40.

SEYMOUR       12 11 18 9—50
WOODLAND    6 6 13 15—40

3-pointers: S—Sirowich 2, Johnson 2, S. Drezek 2; W—Mastopietro, A. Bojka; Kene.

Highlights: S—Teodosio had 13 rebounds and five steals. Sirowich had 10 rebounds and three blocks. S. Drezek had four steals and four assists.

ST. JOSEPH 55, GREENWICH 39

ST. JOSEPH (6-5, 5-2 FCIAC)

Veronica Lubas 0 0-0 0 Elizabeth Adzima 0 0-0 0 Kathryn Zito 2 4-4 10 Kate Rudini 0 2-2 2 Becca Kery 1 2-3 4 Kaitlin Capobianco 2 2-4 7 McKenna Hedman 1 0-0 3 Rahmia Johnston 3 3-5 9 Maddie Johnson 1 0-0 2 Emily Haverl 0 0-0 0 Dennaye Hinds 1 0-0 2 Emma Elrod 6 3-5 16. Totals: 17 16-23 55.

GREENWICH (3-7, 1-5)

Julia Conforti 4 0-0 9 Jordan Moses 5 0-0 11 Michelle Morganti 0 0-0 0 Kristin Riggs 0 0-0 0 Marielle Povinelli 0 1-2 1 Violet Mikalopas 0 0-0 0 Ciara Munnliey 1 0-0 2 Kate Loughran 1 0-0 2 Kelly Martyanov 5 0-0 10 Taylor Stamos 2 0-0 4 Olivia McLlammy 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 1-2 39.

ST. JOSEPH     12 11 14 12—55
GREENWICH     4 11 18 6—39

3-pointers: SJ—Zito 2, Capobianco, Elrod, Hedman; G—Conforti, Moses.

Highlights: SJ—Elrod had 10 rebounds and four blocks. Capobianco had five assists and five steals. Hinds had seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

Branford 41, North Haven 39

BRANFORD     7 8 7 19—41
NO. HAVEN    5 14 11 9—39

BRANFORD (41)

Gabriella Lucertina 6 2 0 16, Karly King 1 2-2 4, Sophia Araneo 6 5-10 19, Izzy Mannle 1 0 0 2, Nicole Pagliaro 0 0-2 0, Totals 15 7-14 41.

NORTH HAVEN (39)

Leah Zeisner 2 2-2 6, Mia Antonino 1 0-0 2, Carly Fresher 4 2-2 12, Julia Bogen 3 2-6 8, Giuliana Ciarleglio 1 0-2 2, Laura Petrafesa 2 1-2 5, Colleen Lucey 1 0-0 2, Olivia Stefanik 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 7-14 39.

3-point FG: Branford-Lucertina 2, Araneo 2; North Haven-Fresher 2.

MASTERS 64, GREENS FARMS ACADEMY 35

GREENS FARMS ACADEMY (7-4)

MaryGrace DelliSanti 1 0-0 2 Menna Delva 3 0-0 7 Madison Gordon 0 0-0 0 Georgia Grabowski 2 0-2 4 Elyse Kimball 1 0-0 2 Katherine Marcus 2 0-0 4 Caroline McCall 1 0-0 2 Lilah McCormick 0 0-0 0 Kristina Modzelewski 2 0-0 4 Lane Murphy 0 0-0 0 Sarah Peltier 2 1-2 6 Emma Smith 0 0-0 0 Kelly Van Hoesen 2 0-0 4. Totals: 16 1-4 35.

MASTERS (6-4)

Kendra Cooper-Smith 5 0-0 10 Brooke Tatarian 7 2-2 17 Gwenn Sabato 7 3-4 20 Allie Koziarz 2 1-2 5 Emily Brieant 1 0-0 2 Dakota Daniella 3 2-2 8 Ava Ledderman 1 0-0 2 Sabine Godwin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 8-10 64.

GREENS FARMS ACADEMY   18 17—35
MASTERS                      36 28—64

3-pointers: GFA—Delva, Peltier; M—Sabato 3, Tatarian.

Highlights: GFA—Grabowski had five rebounds, four steals and one assist. Marcus had four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

GYMNASTICS

WILTON 134.1, TRUMBULL 127.25

(at Wilton): vault: 1. Jessica Olin (W) 9.4; 2. Merritt Stevenson (T) 9.0; 3. Schuyler Tomey (St. Joseph) 8.8; bars: 1. Stevenson (T) 8.85; 2. Tomey (SJ) 8.4; 3. Olin (W) 8.0; beam: 1. Lindsay Capobianco (St. Joseph) 9.2; 2. Tomey (SJ) 9.0; 3. Kate Ginsburg (W) 8.7; floor: 1. Olin (W) 9.55; 2. Lilly Byrnes (W) 9.2; 3. Stevenson (T) 8.75; all-around: 1. Olin (W) 34.35; 2. Tomey (SJ) 34.9; 3. Stevenson (T) 34.5.

BOYS SWIMMING

BARLOW/BETHEL 94, FORAN/LAW 80

(at Foran): 200 medley relay: Barlow/Bethel (Matt Canfield, Andrew Yu, Jorge Velasquez, Jake Bernard) 1:49.00; 200 freestyle: Edward Platonov (FL) 1:46.77; 200 IM: Yu (BB) 2:06.00; 50 freestyle: Michael Renda (BU) 24.58; diving: Leland Bacas (BB) 138.15; 100 butterfly: Platonov (FL) 55.67; 100 freestyle: Tim Joyce (BB) 50.86; 500 freestyle: Justin Goglia (BB) 5:01.46; 200 freestyle relay: Barlow/Bethel (Canfield, Bernard, Michael Renda, Joyce) 1:39.14; 100 backstroke: Bruno Sequera (FL) 1:10.19; 100 breaststroke: Casey Coon (FL) 1:23.22; 400 freestyle relay: Foran/Law (Goglia, Lucas Burgard, Sequera, Platonov) 3:41.03.

FAIRFIELD PREP 98, BRANFORD/GUILFORD 61

(at Fairfield University, all distances in meters): 200 medley relay: Fairfield Prep (Liam Colleran, Alec Keblish, Danny Duffy, Brody Biebel) 1:55.22; 200 freestyle: Richard Nolan (FP) 1:59.58; 200 IM: Aidan Henry (BG) 2:15.93; 50 freestyle: Biebel (FP) 25.91; diving: Thomas Kehno (FP) 237.55; 100 butterfly: Ben Short (FP) 1:05.33; 100 freestyle: Biebel (FP) 56.12; 400 freestyle: Henry (FP) 4:07.91; 200 freestyle relay: Fairfield Prep (Biebel, Keblish, Duffy, Nolan) 1:45.65; 100 backstroke: David Zhang (BG) 1:13.96; 100 breaststroke: Andrew Orce (BG) 1:27.93; 400 freestyle relay: Branford/Guilford (Horten, Henry, Kamen, Henry) 4:02.70. Records: Fairfield Prep 3-1, Branford/Guilford 0-4.

WRESTLING

FORAN 68, BROOKFIELD 12

(at Foran): 106: Matty Carrozza (B) pinned Anthony Giordano 2:44; 113: Tanish Joshi (F) won by forfeit; 120: Kyle Pokornowski (F) pinned Aidan Fitton 2:47; 126: Jordan Lang (F) won by forfeit; 132: Mike Melillo (F) pinned Richie Stabile 21 seconds; 138: Tyler Stanko (F) won by forfeit; 145: Ethan Edmondson (F) pinned Ryan Scribner 1:55; 152: Mike Giordano (F) dec. Zahir McLean-Felix 10-6; 160: KJ Pokornowski (F) pinned Colton Nakano 1:08; 170: Umer Khan (F) won by forfeit; 182: Pat Brogan (F) won by forfeit; 195: Billy Ives (F) won by forfeit; 220: Nolan Bannon (F) pinned Adam Frame 24 seconds; 285: Richard Mitchell (B) pinned Pat Rescanski 5:26.

GIRLS HOCKEY

New Canaan 4, Hamden 0

HAMDEN0 0 0 — 0
N. CANAAN 0 2 2 — 4

Second Period – 2:24 NC Angelica Megdanis (Jess Eccleston) 1:49 NC Angelica Megdanis (Kayleigh Harden, Sarah Murphy) Third Period 5:00 NC Angelica Megdanis (Caitlyn Tully) 4:40 NC McKenna Harden (Sadie Frame). Records Hamden: 4-5

Brunswick School ran its record to 5-0, swimming past host Hackley School, 87-60, in a meet held on Wednesday.

The Bruins won 10 of 11 events en route to registering their latest win.

The meet began with Brunswick winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1:38.14. In the 200-yard freestyle, Christian Farricker posted a winning time of 1:44.68. Teammate Nicolas Apostolides took third in 1:51.41.

The 200 individual medley saw Cole Pierce of Brunswick touch the wall first in 2:02.22. Keegan Drew

won the 50 freestyle (22.52), while Bruins teammate

Marcus Hodgson placed first in the 100 butterfly (53.07).

Michael O’Malley gave Brunswick a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle (50.73). Apostolides was the runner-up in the event (51.55). In the 500 freestyle, Farricker touched the wall first in 4:49.52.

Lucas Hodgson took first in the 100 backstroke for Brunswick in 54.77, while teammate Max Meissner was second in 55.22. Alexander Hazlett was the 100 breaststroke winner for the Bruins. The meet concluded with the Bruins’ 400 freestyle relay team of Marcus Hodgson, Drew, Apostolides and Hazlett registering a winning time of 3:22.20.

BRUNSWICK WRESTLING

The Bruins continued their standout season, upending Suffield Academy in a meet held at Trinity-Pawling School on Wednesday.

Will Donovan won his 132-pound match for Brunswick, defeating Connor Smith by technical fall, 17-2. Luca Errico of Brunswick pinned Jack Kent in the 138-pound match in 1:22.

Nadjingar Ngbokoli (152) of Brunswick won by pinfall against David Towers in 1:31, while the Bruins’ Clayton Ostrover pinned Luca Pirondini in 49 seconds.

Timothy Saunders of Brunswick won his 192-pound match by injury timeout and teammates William MacGillivray (106), Luke Schlank (120) and Harry Fett (160) each won their matches by forfeit.

Seven different players scored goals for the Greenwich High School girls ice hockey team, which put the brakes on a two-game losing streak with an 8-0 victory over Stamford-Westhill-Staples in an FCIAC matchup held on Wednesday.

Grace Fahey opened the scoring at the 5:16 mark of the first period. Hayley Duffy and Lexi Danielson each assisted on the goal.

Jennifer Kelly gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead 2:22 into the second period. Fahey and Tess Marciano set up the tally.

Katie Piotrzkowski made it 3-0, tallying with 11:21 to go in the second period off assists from Sydney Orszulak and Kelly.

Paige Finneran and Lexi Danielson capped the second-period scoring for the Cardinals.

Wingrove, Lily Bates and Piotrzkowski each tallied in the third period for the Cardinals (5-2). Morgan Dall got the win in goal.

BRUNSWICK HOCKEY

The Bruins earned a road win at Millbrook School on Wednesday, topping the Mustangs 4-2. Charles Shaffer’s second hat trick of the season powered Brunswick. Brunswick (6-6-4) is back in action against visiting Hoosac School on Saturday.

Shaffer opened the scoring just under four minutes into the first period, finishing a Ryan St. Louis pass to give Brunswick a 1-0 lead. The hosts tied the game with a goal just past the midway point of the first period.

In the second period, St. Louis set up another Shaffer goal with 7:17 remaining.

The duo struck again nearly three minutes later with Shaffer setting up St. Louis for a goal, giving the Bruins a 3-1 advantage.

After Millbrook made it a one-goal game in the opening minute of the third period, Shaffer, who currently leads the team in scoring (12 goals, 14 assists), completed his hat trick.

SACRED HEART BASKETBALL

The Tigers continued their perfect season, posting a 40-28 win over Hopkins School in an FAA game played on the road on Wednesday.

Senior center Sarah Eckerson propelled 9-0 Sacred Heart recording 10 points and 18 rebounds. It marked her fifth double-double of the season.

Sacred Heart held a 14-13 halftime lead, before extending their edge in the second half.

GREENWICH ACADEMY BASKETBALL

The Gators began play in the new year by beating host Canterbury School, 56-46, in a game held on Wednesday.

Junior guard Francesca Sileo scored a game-high 24 points with six 3-pointers to lead Greenwich Academy.

Complementing Sileo was senior forward Olivia Davis, who poured in 18 points.

Greenwich Academy plays again at Cheshire Academy on Friday.

The New Canaan Rams and some of their fans celebrate on the court after beating Stamford 52-49 at New Canaan High School on Thursday, Jan. 10. — Dave Stewart/Hearst Connecticut Media photo

NEW CANAAN — Danny Melzer typically doesn’t celebrate at the end of basketball games. However, following the latest victory for his New Canaan, Melzer made an exception.

Junior Ryan McAleer intercepted a long inbounds pass and then banked in a 3-point shot from halfcourt to give New Canaan a wild 52-49 victory over the Stamford Black Knights in front of a packed house Thursday night at NCHS.

“I celebrated — I never celebrate,” Melzer, the Rams’ head coach, said. “I’ve never done that in my life, but I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t expecting it to go in. I was thinking we’ve got overtime and then the ball went in. What a great moment.”

It was indeed a remarkable comeback for the Rams, who scored the game’s final eight points, including six points in the final 0.9 seconds. Junior Aaron Fishman nailed three free throws to tie the game before McAleer’s dramatic basket ended it.

McAleer called the winning shot “surreal.”

Ok, this just happened…New Canaan wins on stolen pass & half court buzzer beater! @NCTV78 @ncramsathletics @NCHS_CT #SCTop10 @CoachMelzer @mrmcateer pic.twitter.com/p086ra1KSL

— Roman Cebulski (@mrcebulski) January 11, 2019

“I just lofted it up; I saw it and took it,” McAleer said. “As soon it left my hand, it felt good, and then I saw it go in and it was so surreal. It feels so weird right now. I’m just glad it went in.”

“He was in the right place at the right time,” Melzer said. “We were prepared for them to run baseline and try to pick up a foul, so Mac was prepared for that. He caught the ball, shot it, and the rest is history.”

The victory pushed the Rams’ record to 6-2 and put them two wins away from qualifying for the state tournament for the first time since 2009. It was also the first win in three tries for Melzer against his former team.

Stamford, which fell to 3-4, seemed to have the game in hand with a less than two minutes to play, but a pair of missed free throws in the final minute helped keep the door open for New Canaan.

“We did everything we were supposed to do,” Stamford head coach Zach Smith said. “I thought we played as hard or harder than them; we played our best defensive game of the year; we just gave them the game in the last two minutes.”

The Rams has featured a deep lineup this season, and that proved true again on Thursday, as three seniors scored in double digits: Matt Brand had 14 points, co-captain Jack Richardson had 12, and Ben Sarda had 10. Including his game-winning three, McAleer scored nine.

For Stamford, senior Manny Azolin had a game-high 16 points, while junior Jaden Bell and sophomore Jose Oliva scored nine apiece.

With their defense leading the way, the Knights outscored New Canaan 23-14 in the second quarter and led 33-24 at halftime.

“Stamford High played us really tough,” Melzer said. “We couldn’t get anything going on offense and that’s a total credit to them. But we got a few stops down the stretch when we needed them and we caught a couple of breaks and took advantage of them.”

“It was all about our defense,” Smith said. “It was our best defensive game of the year. That half was great. Everything we had worked on for a week worked for us. I’m very happy with the effort we gave. I hope that this can be a turning point for us. It’s obviously a tough loss, but they made plays down down the stretch and we didn’t. That was the difference in the game.”

The Rams closed the gap in the third quarter, getting as close as two points before ending the frame down 42-38.

New Canaan tied the score at 44-44 on two buckets by Brand, but Stamford scored the next five, including four from Azolin, to take a 49-44 lead with two minutes remaining.

A Richardson jump shot reduced the deficit to three, but New Canaan missed a couple of three-point attempts and the Knights were within sight of the win.

With the clock ticking down, Fishman grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed three, stepped back behind the arc, threw up an off-balance attempt, and drew a foul. He then calmly sank all three free throws with 0.9 on the clock to tie the score 49-49.

“In practice we have a situation where if they make a free throw, practice is over, if they don’t, they’ve got to run,” Melzer said. “We let the kids choose who to pick, and they always pick Fish and he always makes them. So when he got fouled, we all had confidence that he was going to make them. He barely played in the game, so for him to step up and make those three free throws is as clutch as it gets.”

Azolin threw the ensuing inbounds pass from under the Stamford basket, but McAleer read the play, picked it off, and made the shot, resulting in a pile-up of players and fans on the court.

For the Rams, it was the latest celebration in what has become their best season in more than a decade.

“There’s more energy,” McAleer said. “Last year, we had a losing record early and everybody got down on themselves. Now, we have some early wins and we’re playing with energy and passion and it’s helping us so much.

Players of the game

Ryan McAleer and Aaron Fishman, New Canaan. There were plenty of top-notch performances for the Rams, but the clutch performances by McAleer and Fishman in the final second made the difference. Fishman went 3-for-3 on free throws to tie the game, and McAleer then made a big defensive play to intercept a pass and hit the half-court three to win it.

Quotable

“This is awesome. Our kids feed off the energy from their peers being here, just like any high school kids do. We’re really appreciative of these kids coming to these games to support the team. I told the kids, as we win more games, more kids will come and we’re doing our part. They did such a good job cheering us on and it was great atmosphere. There’s a lot of buzz around basketball, both for the boys and the girls, and that’s a credit to how much time the kids are putting in.” — New Canaan head coach Danny Melzer

NEW CANAAN 52, STAMFORD 49

Stamford 10 23 9 7 – 49
New Canaan 10 14 14 14 – 52

Stamford: Manny Azolin 7 2-4 16, Jaden Bell 4 0-0 9, Jose Oliva 3 0-0 9, Jay Jaudon 3 1-1 7, Josh Thervill 1 0-0 3, Tyheim Burgess 1 1-2 3, Danny Simms 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 4-7 49

New Canaan: Matt Brand 7 0-0 14, Ben Sarda 3 2-3 10, Jack Richardson 6 0-0 12, Ryan McAleer 3 2-4 9, Aaron Fishman 0 3-3 3, Stephen Wronski 1 0-0 2, Alex Gibbens 1 0-0 2, Luke Rwambuya 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-10 52

3-pointers: S – Oliva 3, Thervill, Bell; NC – Sarda 2, McAleer

Welcome to the fifth episode of the Inside of the Box high school hockey podcast.

Former Calder Cup champion, USA U-20 Bronze Medalist, Hamden player and current Hamden coach Todd Hall joins the show to talk about his illustrious career that started in Hamden.

It was a sad week in the high hockey community as former EO Smith/Tolland standout Nick Mayer died this week at the age of 19. Mike talks about his memories of covering Nick and his team that won the Division III State Championship. 

Pete also asks Mike a very important question regarding why teams dress three or more goalies.  

Remember, if the embed to listen doesn’t show, you can always listen by clicking here.

As always, you can subscribe to GameTimeCT podcasts on iTunes.

We are also now on Spotify, so you can listen to us there now. 

Rundown

• 1 – Remembering Nick Mayer
• 3:30 – Dressing three or more goalies, why?
• 12:30 – Hamden’s Todd Hall interview  
• 34:40 – Look ahead to this weekend

The Hillhouse girls indoor and outdoor track and field team has enjoyed its share of success over the years, including winning CIAC Class M team titles last season in the indoor and outdoor seasons.

If the Academics’ success in the recent regular-season events are any indication, the trend of postseason success looks like it will continue.

Hillhouse standout Ayesha Nelson won the 55 meters at the Elm City Invitational in 7.38 seconds and won the 55 at Tuesday’s Southern Connecticut Conference developmental meet in 7.30. She also won the 55 hurdles (8.68) at the developmental meet. Jada Boyd won the 300 (42.45) at the SCC developmental meet and the 600 (1:39.84) at the Elm City Invitational. Leah Moore won the shot put (38-41/2) at the developmental meet and the Hillhouse 4×400 relay won the event in 4:14.86 at the developmental meet.

Hillhouse boys and girls indoor track coach Gary Moore believes the recent success is providing momentum for the Academics as the postseason meets approach.

“I do think the recent success is providing some momentum for us,” Moore said. “But I think after winning last year’s indoor and outdoor team titles after finishing second two years in a row in indoors, there is a understanding by our girls of what they need to do if they are going to repeat as class M champions.”

The Academics have depth and talent, and it all starts with Nelson and Boyd.

“I would say that Ayesha Nelson and Jada Boyd are the heart and soul and the leaders of the girls team,” Moore said. “They have been with me since they were freshmen. I believe that they both possess natural ability, but had to learn that hard work is key to achieve team and individual success.

“They understand the responsibility that they have on the team in setting an example for the other girls.”

While individual success is important, depth has a large impact on track and field success.

Other top competitors for the Academics are Nyia White, who competes in the 55 hurdles, 300 and 600, Leah Moore in the shot put and Nyimah Ambrose in the 55 dash and long jump.

New Canaan deep, talented

The New Canaan boys and girls indoor track teams have had their share of success early this season.

At the FCIAC developmental meet on Jan. 5, the New Canaan boys were among the dominant teams with five wins.

In the boys competition, Dylan Imbruce won the 100 (2:48.74), Allessandro Malagoli won the 1,600 (4:50.85), Cem Geray won the 3,200 (11:14.81), Jack Conley won the shot put (51-2) and John Peiser won the high jump (5-10).

“Our recent success has given us the momentum to push through and generate all around performances in all events,” New Canaan boys indoor track coach Bill martin said. “We have qualifiers for almost every event for our county championship. Our success has come from a long standing philosophy of developing young athletes.

“Our current group of athletes are dominated by sophomores with a sprinkling of senior leadership. Our depth is contributing to this success.”

Other top athletes on the team include Andrew Malling, the FCIAC cross country champion, who is focusing on the ,1600 and 3,200 this season. He hasn’t run in the FCIAC meets yet.

Martin said junior Griffen Dayton and senior Andrew Jordan in the 600 are just outside the qualifying time for the state meets. Sophomore Allesandro Malagoli and junior Ryan Lytle are close to the state qualifying time in the 1,000 and Malagoli has qualified for the 3,200. Sophomore Luca Palamenti also has qualified for the FCIAC 3,200.

The New Canaan girls indoor track and field team also had its share of success in the recent FCIAC developmental meet. Tyler Towers won the 300 (46.49), Ella Gibb won the 600 (1:54.47), Imogen Rawlings-Green won the 1,000 (3:30.60), Elaina Tiller won the 1600 (5:43.42) and Naomi Cimino won the shot put (31-5.5).

BOYS

Jack Myers, Wilton: Won the 45 dash (5.96) and 300 (39.22) at a FCIAC Developmental Meet on Jan. 5.

Christopher Pigatt, Hamden: Won the 55 dash in 6.55 at the SCC Boys Developmental Meet on Monday.

Justin Forde, McMahon: Won the long jump (22-2.5) and the triple jump (49-5) at the Elm City Coaches Meet on Jan. 5.

Caleb Owen, Wilbur Cross: Won the 300 in 37.49 at the Elm City Coaches Meet on Jan. 5.

GIRLS

Ayesha Nelson, Hillhouse: Won the 55 dash (7.30) and 55 hurdles (8.68) at the SCC Girls Developmental Meet on Tuesday and she won the 55 (7.38) at the Elm City Coaches Meet on Jan. 5.

Selina Soule, Glastonbury: Won the long jump (17-6) at the Elm CIty Coaches Meet on Jan. 5.

Kyra Connolly, Sheehan: Won the pole vault (9-0) at the SCC Girls Developmental Meet on Tuesday.

Gwynn Sullivan, Wilton: Won the 45 dash in 6.74 at the FCIAC Developmental Meet on Jan. 5.

Jada Boyd, Hillhouse: Won the 300 (42.45) at the SCC Girls Developmental Meet on Tuesday and won the 600 (1:39.84) at the Elm City Coaches Meet on Jan. 45

SATURDAY

Yale Invitational, 9 a.m.: Boys and girls teams from around the state gather for one of the top regular-season indoor meets.

FCIAC Qualifier, Wilton High, 9:30 a.m.: One of several Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference boys and girls qualifying meets.

Shoreline Conference Invitational, Floyd Little Athletic Center (New Haven), 9 a.m.: Boys and girls event.

TUESDAY

Snowflake Invitational, Wesleyan University’s Freeman Center in Middletown: Boys and girls teams from central and northern Connecticut gather.

THURSDAY

Wesleyan Developmental Meet, Wesleyan’s Freeman Center (Middletown), 4 p.m.: Boys and girls event.

FRIDAY

Haddam-Killingworth Invitational, Floyd Little Athletic Center, 5:30 p.m.: Boys and girls event.

JAN. 19

New Balance Games, Armory Track and Field Center (New York, New York), 8:30 a.m.: Boys and girls event

SCC Coaches Invitational, Floyd Little Athletic Center, start time TBA: Boys and girls event.

NCCC Invitational, Hartford Public High, 1 p.m.: Boys and girls event.

FCIAC Qualifier, Staples High, 10 a.m.: Boys and girls event.

With the calendar turning to 2019, the girls gymnastics season has picked up speed.

Woodstock Academy, which saw Greenwich end its streak of sixth consecutive State Open Championships last season, has come flying out of the gate thus far.

The Centaurs are 4-0 following a 139.8-121.45 triumph over Old Lyme-East Lyme Co-op last Monday.

One big reason for the fast start is the return of senior Lydia Taft. Against Old Lyme-East Lyme, Taft took first place on bars (9.05), beam (9.3), floor exercise (9.1) and all-around 36.25.

Last year, Taft only competed in the New England Championships as she took time off to allow her back problems to heal fully.

Fellow Woodstock Academy senior Ali Crescimanno, who will be a gymnast at Winona State University in Minnesota in the fall, won vault (9.1) and was runnerup in the all-around (35.55) against Old Lyme-East Lyme.

The Centaurs return to action on Jan. 16 at Norwich Free Academy.

Ludlowe impresses

A team sending a message early in the southern corner of the state is Fairfield Ludlowe.

On Jan. 3, Ludlowe (130) conquered Oxford (129.15), Warde (126) and Darien (119). On Jan. 5, the Falcons captured the team title at the Pomperaug Invitational with 133.70 to top nine other schools.

At the Pomperaug Invitational, Ludlowe sophomore Ava Mancini took first place on bars and in the all-around.

Greenwich unbeaten

Greenwich showed it is ready to defend its State Open title as well as being three-time defending FCIAC champ as the Cardinals edged Wilton, 129.8-129.55 back on Jan. 4 to stay unbeaten at 2-0.

Greenwich saw its top gymnast Adnerys DeJesus (State Open vault, bars, all-around champion) graduate.

The Cardinals are in good hands led by Kelsey Fedorko and Gianna Cardini. GHS has room to grow as Ellie Marino is working her way back to peak form after some injuries.

Mystery team

A mystery team to keep an eye on is Trumbull High School.

The Eagles had their season-opening meet Thursday but fell 134.1-127.25 at Wilton. Trumbull, which was third in the State Open team standings last year, will have four meets between January 10 and Jan. 21.

FINE PERFORMANCES

Hannah Laskey, Stonington: She won beam (8.75), floor exercise (8.8) and all-around 34.55 in a meet against Daniel Hand, Guilford and Branford.

Allyson Kenny, Newtown: She took first place on bars (8.55), floor exercise (8.60) and all-around (34.2) in a meet against New Milford and Oxford on Jan. 8.

Nicole Bobbie, Oxford: She won vault (8.65) against Newtown and New Milford.

MEETS TO WATCH

Friday, Jan. 11, 2019: Jonathan Law at Foran, 5:30 p.m.: Round 1 in the battle for girls gymnastics supremacy in the city of Milford.

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019: Mercy at Daniel Hand, 6 p.m.: Must See gymnastics in the Southern Connecticut Conference. Rematch set for February 14, 2019.

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019: Greenwich at Trumbull, 6:30 p.m. (at Next Dimension Gymnastics): Trumbull probably tired of being the hunter in this gymnastics relationship.

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019: Southington at Glastonbury, 7 p.m. (at Gymnastics Express Too): Upstate rivals can send a message before the postseason.

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019: Pomperaug, Newtown at New Milford, 5 p.m.: South West Conference rivals do battle.

Saturday Feb. 9, 2019: Glastonbury at Norwich Free Academy:, 5 p.m. (at Thames Valley Gymnastics): Always an interesting contest when these teams get together.

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019: Pomperaug at Daniel Hand, 6 p.m.: An intriguing non-league get together before the postseason meets.