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By Ron P. Coderre
The top three teams in the girls’ RPC Super Conference standings experienced something that hasn’t happened too often this year as Pomfret, Putnam and Marianapolis all went down to defeat during the past week of play. The Lady Griffs suffered only their second loss of the season as they were beaten by Rivers School in a game played in Weston, Mass. Meanwhile, Putnam let potential victory slip through its fingers when it couldn’t hold on to a four-point lead with five minutes to play against visiting Cheney Tech. The Clippers of coach Willie Bousquet suffered a 40-37 loss at the hands of the Techsters.
In the boys’ race, Woodstock rebounded nicely from its loss at the hands of Windham picking up three victories. In a rematch with New London in Woodstock the Centaurs withstood a final three point attempt by the Whalers to escape with a 30-28 win, in a game described as “ugly.” They also had two wins on the road, over East Lyme and Tourtellotte.
Marianapolis continues to impress, elevating its play and its record to a stellar 13-4. In a big matchup against perennial power Tilton Academy on the road in New Hampshire, Mike Mallory and Greg Senat provided the fire power in the 84-78 victory for the Golden Knights.
Putnam Science Academy upped its record to 10-7 using a big performance by Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith and a balanced scoring attack to defeat McDuffie School of Springfield in a game played in the Mustangs’ cozy confines in Putnam.
Plainfield is the only local team to qualify for the CIAC Tournament, boasting an 8-5 log. Tourtellotte with improved play from Nick Houle and Mike Benkowsi is two victories shy of qualifying, while Killingly at 5-8 is three wins shy of the magic number of eight. Putnam and Ellis Tech need divine intervention if they are to make the postseason.
Like their male counterparts, the Plainfield women have qualified for the States. Woodstock Academy needs two wins in its next four games to get into the postseason tourney. Tourtellotte, Killingly and Ellis Tech are running out the string and can only look forward to next season.
Scoring Races
The boys’ scoring race remained the same as the previous week with Ian Converse of Woodstock, Kaevon Safford of Tourtellotte, Dayshon Smith of PSA and Ryan Pambuku of Plainfield occupying the top four spots in that order. Woodstock’s Converse widened his lead in the boys’ race despite dropping to 21.8 points per game average. Tourtellotte’s Safford dropped down to 19.6 points per game but maintained his hold on second place. He is being seriously threatened for the second spot by University of Dayton bound Dayshon Smith of Putnam Science Academy who upped his average to 19.3 ppg. Ryan Pambuku of Plainfield remains in the fourth spot at an even 18 points per contest.
Jonte Rutty of Putnam Science Academy extended his lead in the three-point field goal race raising his season total to 53 well ahead of
his teammate Dayshon Smith who has 35 treys. Plainfield’s Pambuku with 34 from beyond the arc is tied with Killingly’s Devon Willard. They are trailed by a pair of Marianapolis long range shooters Eric D’Aguanno (31) and Stephon Edmonds (28).
Janicha Diaz of Hyde-Woodstock has quietly slipped into the second slot in the female scoring race with 17.3 points per game. She trails her teammate Cashmir Sulcher who is the top scorer with an 18.3 average. Plainfield’s Morgan Griffin dropped into third place at 17.1. Ashley Espinosa (15.7) of Putnam and Pomfret’s Morgan Olander (13.8) round out the Top Five.
Putnam’s Monica Phongsa is maintaining her position as the top three-point shooter, recording 23 from beyond the arc. Jill Bodreau of Marianapolis has come out of nowhere to challenge Phongsa. Bodreau trails by two with 21.
Boys Scoring Leaders: Ian Converse, Woodstock 21.8; Kaevon Stafford, Tourtellotte 19.6; Dayshon Smith, PSA 19.3; Ryan Pambuku, Plainfield 18.0. Three-Point Leaders: Jonte Rutty, PSA 53; Dayshon Smith, PSA 35; Ryan Pambuku, Plainfield 34; Devon Willard, Killingly 34; Eric D’Aguanno, Marianapolis 31; Stephon Edmonds, Marianapolis 28. Girls Scoring Leaders: Cashmir Sulcher, Hyde-Woodstock 18.3; Janicha Diaz, Hyde-Woodstock 17.3; Morgan Griffin, Plainfield 17.1; Ashley Espinosa, Putnam 15.7; Morgan Olander, Pomfret 13.8. Three-Point Leaders: Monica Phongsa, Putnam 23; Jill Bodreau 21
Notes
The injury bug that hit Woodstock Academy when starter Will Bourgeois went down with a season-ending knee injury has struck the Centaurs once again. Point guard Chris Lowry, the guy who makes the Woodstock machine hum, is out with a thumb injury, which has his right hand in a cast. Despite losing two starters the Acads boast a 12-1 log with recent wins over East Lyme, Tourtellotte and New London. Beginning Feb. 1, the team from zip code 06281 faces three tough road games. They play Bacon Academy, Norwich Free Academy and Killingly before concluding the regular season home schedule on Feb. 12 against Plainfield…Bourgeois underwent knee surgery Jan. 24. He’s under the care of noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Joyce …Tourtellotte’s Mike “Big Ben” Benkowski has recently become a force for the Tigers of coach Tony Falzarano. Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Benkowski has been a behemoth off the boards and has elevated his offensive game substantially …As predicted here last week, Woodstock’s loss to Windham dropped the Centaurs out of the New Haven Register Media Poll Top Ten. They fell from #8 to #11. They are #10 however, in the Hartford Courant poll …Spotted in the noisy crowd at the Putnam Science Academy vs. McDuffie contest was Quinnipiac University head coach Tom Moore …Two familiar faces at every Tourtellotte home game are Mike and Elaine Bernier. Their son is Neil Bernier, Tourtellotte’s assistant coach to Tony Falzarano. The Tigers also boast former Putnam standout Colin Purdon and ex-Tourtellotte great Scott Coderre as assistants …Spotted at Victoria Station in Putnam enjoying a latte was the Marianapolis senior quartet of Lady Knights 1000-point scorer Sydney Latour and Cathleen Cosillo, MPS Varsity II standout David Ford and soccer star Eric Bordua.
RPC’s Super Conference Standings
Boys: Marianapolis 13-4; Woodstock 12-1; PSA 10-7; Plainfield 8-5; Pomfret 7-6 ; Hyde-Woodstock 7-7; Tourtellotte 6-7; Killingly 5-8; Ellis Tech 4-9; Putnam 2-10.
Girls: Pomfret School 13-2; Putnam 11-4; Marianapolis 11-6; Plainfield 10-5; Hyde-Woodstock 8-3; Woodstock Academy 6-10; Tourtellotte 3-11; Killingly 2-14; Ellis Tech 1-13.