Boys’ Wrap-up

Down the 

stretch – some

fading, some

making a run

By Ron P. Coderre

In a week that’s turned into a do-or-die situation for some, high school and prep schools played a full slate of games.  The results, for some determined whether they would move on to the post season, while others would be preparing to pack up the equipment and uniforms for the season.

Plainfield, with a pair of victories, is the only team that definitely knows it’s moving on to the CIAC Tournament.  On the other end of the spectrum, Tourtellotte and Ellis Tech are simply going through the motions, as the two teams are eliminated from postseason play.

Caught in the middle are Woodstock Academy, Putnam and Killingly.  The Centaurs, needing two wins in their final three games, are on the bubble.  Killingly needs three wins in its final five games, while Putnam is in a perilous situation, requiring four victories in its final five contests.

Putnam Science Academy lost its only game of the week.  The Mustangs at 21-4 should still be in contention for the National Prep Tournament but must play extraordinary basketball in its final five games.

Pomfret School, at 10-7, is poised to get into the NEPSAC-B tournament.  Marianapolis V1 has to be considered the biggest disappointment of the preps and is in jeopardy of moving on following the regular season.  The Little Golden Knights picked up a pair of wins this week, raising their record to 8-6.  Hyde-Woodstock despite going 1-1 on the week will most likely finish the season below the .500 week.

Plainfield on a Roll

The Plainfield Panthers picked up two wins last week, one of the nail biting variety and the other a laugher.  The Panthers, 12-4 overall and 5-3 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division, managed a satisfying 76-75 win over Montville to open the week.  Knotted at 61 apiece at the end of three quarters, Plainfield, which was led by the trio of Steve Jankowski (19), David Carpenter (18) and Liam Jacobs (16), managed to slip by, outscoring Montville 15-14 in the final stanza.

In its other contest Plainfield scored 15 points in each of the four quarters to easily beat Tourtellotte 60-29.  The J & J boys, Jankowski and Jacobs paced the win with 16 points apiece.  Hapless Tourtellotte fell to 0-17 and 0-10 in the ECC Small Division.  The Tigers were 0-3 on the week, also losing to St. Bernard 55-26 and Griswold 55-33.

Woodstock Academy, which a mere two years ago was the toast of the town following its Class L title, is struggling to make the tourney this season.  The Centaurs, who were handed one of the most rugged schedules in the history of the program, are 6-11 on the season and 3-6 in the ECC Large Division.  Last week the Centaurs were able to pick up one win in three contests, beating East Lyme 72-60.  The Acads had four players in double figures led by Luke Blodgett with 18 points and Adam Converse with 17.  Oliver Simon chipped in 15 and Bryce Jarrett added a dozen.

In its other two contests Woodstock was felled by Ledyard 82-38 and Waterford 79-42.  The losses left Centaurs coach Greg Smith and the Woodstock faithful scratching their heads, wondering where they can find two more wins to qualify for the postseason.

Killingly appears to be waking up from its season long snooze, as the Redmen posted two wins last week.  The Redmen unleashed an offensive barrage beating Stonington 81-68 before edging Montville 69-64 in overtime.  Freshman Chace Wood hit a pair of free throws at the end of regulation to force the overtime.  Brendan Turner with 15 points and Owen Guillot and Ben Desaulnier with 13 apiece were in double digits for Killingly.  The Redmen are 5-10 and 3-5 in the ECC Medium Division.

Putnam, which is 4-11 overall and 4-4 in the Constitution State Conference-East, picked up an 83-46 win over Windham Tech but fell to Amistad Academy on the road 64-52.  Freshman Dan Porcic poured in 21 big points to lead the Clippers to the win over the Techsters.  Shawn Audet (10), Jacob Guertin (14) and Matt Harmon (12) were also in double digits.  The Clippers trailed throughout in the loss to Amistad.  Audet (10) and Guertin (14) were the only players to hit double figures for Putnam.

Ellis Tech dropped to 3-14 and 1-8 in the CSC-East when it was beaten 78-57 by Norwich Tech.

PSA Suffers Unusual Loss

Putnam Science Academy, which was ranked 3rd in the Nation in prep school basketball, jeopardized its position when it was beaten by St. Andrew’s.  The loss dropped the Mustangs to 21-4, a record envied by most other teams; however the Scientists must play well down the stretch if they wish to be in the Nationals at Albertus Magnus College in March.

Pomfret School split a pair of games last week to go to 10-7 on the season and 6-2 in the NEPSAC-B.  The Golden Griffins opened with a convincing 88-64 victory over Westminster.  Cam Winston had a monster game as he tickled the twine for 29 points.  Maguire “Moose” Crouse also had a big game with 25 points and Obim Okeke added 15.  Later in the week Pomfret lost to Loomis Chaffee in a squeaker 61-59.

Marianapolis, which can’t seem to get untracked, lost to McDuffie School 75-71 in overtime.  Ryan Bernstein was solid in defeat, posting 23 points.  Tom Horwat contributed 15 and Dominique Senat added 18 for the 8-11 Golden Knights.

The Marianapolis V2 squad enjoyed a perfect week, beating the Putnam Science Academy junior varsity 52-36 and prevailing over Rocky Hill 64-44.  Ryan Hourihan paced the 8-6 Little Golden Knights with 15 points in the win over the PSA JV.  Justin Kunkel had 11 points in the win.

Hyde-Woodstock lost a heart breaker to The Wheeler School 61-59 before bouncing back to take the measure of Providence Country Day 76-65.  The Wolfpack is 6-11 on the year.

 

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