Coaches never know what Senior Day may bring. Some teams get pumped up by it.  Others get distracted.
It’s even more difficult when eight seniors are being honored as was the case Feb. 16 for the Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball program.
Fortunately, it didn’t get in their way as the Centaurs posted a 58-46 win over Plainfield to raise their record to 9-9 on the season.
“I was hoping to get off to a good start. I think we battled. They knew us well and really matched up against us. The guys just stayed tough and our ability to handle pressure and our defense gave us the advantage,” said Woodstock Academy coach Marty Hart.
Prior to the game, the Centaurs honored seniors Aaron Johnson, Cole Hackett, Luke Mathewson, Eric Preston, John Rogers, Chase Anderson, Ethan Adams and Jake Marsalisi.
“It was a lot of posters, a lot of names on the wall. It’s bittersweet. I’m excited for them. They have been a great group. I’ve been lucky to have them for two years. We do graduate a lot so it will be interesting as we head into next season to bring guys up and fill spots,” Hart said.
The Centaurs didn’t fill the basket right away against the Panthers.
Plainfield (8-10), coming off a solid win over Griswold the night before, hit a couple of 3-pointers early and broke out to the 14-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Centaurs cut that in half at the break where Plainfield led only 22-20 going into the locker room.
Luke Mathewson scored all eight of his points in the game, five from the free throw line, in the third quarter.
The Centaurs also went into the final quarter with a little momentum on their side.
Preston launched a shot from halfcourt at the end of the third quarter that found the basket and increased the Centaurs lead to 38-30.
“Eric is the heart-and-soul of our team and he came in to help us out on defense. He goes out and hits a halfcourt shot at the end of the quarter really gave us a lift,” Hart said.
Anderson scored 12 of the Centaurs 20 fourth-quarter points and finished with a game-high 27 for Woodstock Academy.
The Centaurs were coming off a tough, 58-54, loss to Ellington Feb. 15. “We got off to a rough start,” Hart said.
Indeed, the Centaurs scored only three points in the opening quarter and trailed the Knights, 16-3.
“We were getting the shots we wanted. We just couldn’t get them to drop,” Hart said. Their fortunes changed in the second quarter when the Centaurs suddenly found the mark and scored 19 points to trail at the half, 30-22.
Ellington (16-4) edged it back up to 11, 45-34, at the end of the third quarter but made only two fourth quarter field goals. The Knights saved themselves by making 9 of 13 from the free throw line in the final quarter.
Anderson paced the Centaurs with 25 points while Hackett added 10.
Going into Monday, the Knights were ranked fourth in Division IV while the Centaurs are No. 21 and the game may have given the Centaurs an inkling of what the state tournament will be like.
“They are a very solid team. They have good length, good ballhandling and good shooters so when we played them, on their Senior Night on their home court, they had some good energy. I have to credit the guys to stick with it and keep chipping away. If we had played one more quarter, we would have been OK,” Hart said.
Hart said he is satisfied being at the .500 mark at this point of the season.
“We would like to have more (wins), a little lament over the few that got away, but by and large, we’ve competed, we’ve improved and found our identity as a team. Those things are going to be very important moving forward. I think we’re well positioned to make a run in the two tournaments we have in front of us,” Hart said.
It’s an interesting schedule for the Centaurs the remainder of the way.
They hosted Waterford on Tuesday in a game that ended too late for this edition and will likely host an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I quarterfinal game Feb. 21.If they succeed there, the Centaurs move on to the ECC semifinals Feb. 23 in Waterford.
But the regular season will not conclude until Monday night when they host E.O. Smith. Also, if the Centaurs happen to prevail in both the ECC quarter and semifinals, they would have an ECC Division I championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena next Tuesday.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

Putnam Science Academy Mustangs’ all-time leading scorer with 1,415 points Hamidou Diallo took home the title of 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Champion after winning this past weekend during the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Diallo was known for his athletic ability and vertical leap creating plenty of highlights during his time with the Putnam Science Academy Mustangs. Word even made its way out to Boston where Celtics GM Danny Ainge stopped by to get a look at the bouncy wing.
Diallo got a chance to show the entire world Feb. 16 on the national stage what many got to see first-hand right in Putnam, Hamidou Diallo can put on a show.
Diallo showed off his well-documented athleticism displaying three high-flying dunks on his way to outlasting New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. to take home the dunk contest crown. Diallo started the night with a one-handed windmill, using his non-dominant left hand, to throw down a dunk off an assist from All-Star guard Russell Westbrook. That dunk got Diallo 48 points out of 50 but it was the following dunk in the 2nd round that would steal the show.
Diallo displayed Superman’s famous “S” on his chest he wore under his Oklahoma City jersey that was ripped down the middle. Using NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal as a prop, Diallo leaped over the 7-footer and threw down a handed dunk, paying homage to Vince Carter’s “honey-dip” dunk he pulled off in the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest, with his elbow down in the rim. The arena erupted as Diallo swayed from the rim, peeling back the Thunder jersey to again show Superman’s logo, and judges rewarded Hamidou with a perfect 50.  The Thunder guard would use another prop; except this time, it was significantly shorter 5-9 Atlanta rapper “Quavo” of the “Migos” rap group. Quavo held the ball above his head and Diallo cleared him, grabbing the ball and stuffing it with two hands. Only needing 43 points in the final round, Hamidou scored a 45 clinching the win.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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Normally, Woodstock Academy girls’ basketball coach Will Fleeton wouldn’t be very happy about taking a week and a half off prior to state tournament play.
This year is different.
“I think it’s needed,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs played against and lost to Bacon Academy in an Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament quarterfinal game Feb. 14, 42-29, in Colchester.
They did so minus the likes of Heather Converse, who has led them in just about every category this season, and both Katie Papp and Peyton Saracina, each of went down during the game with injuries. Rachel Lambert also had to sit a spell after injuring her finger and Sierra Bedard was unavailable after being injured in the junior varsity game at Norwich Free Academy Feb. 11.
Fleeton said it was getting to the point where he almost had to ask if someone in the stands wanted to dress as most of his bench was unavailable.
In other words, the time off prior to the Class LL state tournament is welcome.
 “This is my first year where I’ve thought a long break in between was actually good. We made a long ECC tournament run one year (when the Centaurs won the ECC Division II championship in 2017). There was another year, however, where we had a long break and it was torture just practicing getting ready for the state game. I think it’s perfect now. We can heal some bumps and bruises and get ourselves back together for the state game,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs do not play until Feb. 26 when they travel to E. Hartford to play the Hornets (16-4) in a first round Class LL state tournament game. The pairings have not been made official yet by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, but every team in Class LL has completed its 20-game season.
“Nothing,” Fleeton said flatly when asked what he knew about E. Hartford. “I haven’t begun to try and research anything yet. We had to deal with Bacon Academy (Thursday) so that was on the plate. Now, that it’s over, we can turn the page and start to look at East Hartford.”
If there is one notable item in the E. Hartford record, it’s that the Hornets did lose to E. Lyme, a team the Centaurs split with this season.
“I feel we can compete with anyone, but we have to be on top of our game. The hidden factor is whether we can compete for four quarters at a high level and we need to do that just to be able to play some of these teams and have a chance. Can we match that level?” Fleeton said.
It’s the first year the Centaurs (10-11) will play in the Class LL tournament.
They reached the quarterfinals of the Class L tournament the past two seasons.
The Centaurs finished up the regular season at the .500 mark, 10-10, after a 60-35 loss Feb. 11 to Norwich Free Academy.
“The competitor in me says, coming into the season, our goal was higher than 10 (wins). Looking at reality, 10-10 is pretty good considering the schedule we played,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs were hampered by the absence of Converse against the Wildcats.
The senior averaged 12.2 points and 11 rebounds per game through the first 19 contests. She added 40 steals, 35 assists and 22 blocks.
But in the game against Stonington the Saturday before the NFA game, she collided with a member of the Bears and suffered a concussion which kept her out of both of last week’s contests.
“It’s extremely tough,” Fleeton said of playing minus Converse. “Missing her was an opportunity for other kids to show themselves, but there was also a lot of uncomfortable feelings among the group on the floor. Her just being on the floor calms the others. It was huge not to have her.”
The Centaurs struggled early against NFA.
The Wildcats broke out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter.
Woodstock Academy fought back a bit in the second and trailed only 27-20 at the half but were overwhelmed again in the third quarter when the Wildcats went on an 18-7 run.
Kayla Gaudreau paced the Centaurs with 15 points, all came in the form of five 3-pointers.
Papp added 11 points in the loss.
Things didn’t get much better against the Bobcats, significantly worse, in fact, when it came to the health report.
Converse was still on the bench and was joined by Bedard.
The Bobcats forged to a 20-9 lead in the first half and things seemingly also took a turn for the worse when the bodies started to mount on the sideline.
Papp was hit in the head early in the game and did not return. Lambert jammed a couple of fingers and Saracina injured her knee.
It left Fleeton with a lineup that featured 5-foot-4 Linda St. Laurent at center with Kaitlin Birlin up front. Aislin Tracey, Maria Monrabal and Kayla Gaudreau comprised the back court.
The Centaurs rallied.
Woodstock Academy closed to within 10 points in the fourth quarter and only lost the half by two points, 22-20.
“We were, somehow, making shots and getting boards. That unit brought us back into the game,” Fleeton said. “It was bad because we didn’t have anyone left to play but they didn’t do bad.”
Gaudreau and Tracey led the Centaurs with eight points apiece.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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