The Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball team put together a couple of strong efforts against local rivals, Killingly and Griswold, and raised its record to 4-1.
The Centaurs downed Killingly, 47-40, Jan. 5 thanks to a pair of strong efforts by Chase Anderson and Cole Hackett.
“Chase and Cole had great all-around games with rebounds, points and assists while Jake (Marsalisi) was strong in the backcourt and Aaron (Johnson) hit a couple of big 3’s,” said Centaurs coach Marty Hart.
The Centaurs (2-0 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II) trailed by two going into the final quarter, 36-34, but put together a strong defensive effort.
Anderson and Hackett kept the Centaurs in the game up to that point.
Anderson (14 3-pointers this season) had all three of his 3’s in the first three quarters and 17 of his game-high 19 points. Hackett added 10 of his 12 points in the first three quarters which left the fourth to the defense.
“Hats off to (Aidan) Morin, (Eric) Preston and (John) Rogers for playing outstanding defense especially in that fourth quarter,” Hart said.
The Centaurs limited the Redmen (2-3, 0-2) to just a pair of baskets in the final quarter by Luke Desaulnier (16 points) and Shayne Bigelow (10).
The Centaurs spread the wealth in the fourth quarter with six different players scoring, Johnson led the way with three points on his seventh 3-pointer of the season.
It was also the defense that led the Centaurs to a 59-41 win over Griswold at the Alumni Fieldhouse Jan. 2.
“It felt great getting off to a hot start, the team got off to an early lead,” Woodstock Academy senior Luke Mathewson said.
The Centaurs scored 18 points in the first quarter with Anderson getting seven.
Hart said the team cooled off a bit offensively in the second quarter when they only scored 11 points, but the defense hung in there.
After only allowing seven points in the first quarter, the Centaurs only yielded 10 points to Griswold in the second quarter.
“It was a great effort and I think what we did was we keyed in on their shooters, communicated where they were and guys pursued and located rebounds with a passion,” Hart said.
Three players scored in double figures led by Anderson with 18 points, Mathewson who added 11 and Hackett who finished with 10.
The balanced offensive effort also made Hart smile.
“It felt like we were going inside-out. Guys were passing, making the cuts, setting the screen and getting the ball back. I think that was good,” Hart said.
Anderson pulled down 17 rebounds in the game while adding three assists. Hackett had 10 rebounds and four dishes while Johnson led the team with five assists and Marsalisi had three steals. ”Griswold is a 4-1 team. They’re very strong, execute very well and I think our physicality and our defense kind of took away some of their strengths,” Hart said.
Nick Gileau was the only Wolverine in double figures with 11 points.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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