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Another week, another 1, 2, 3 wins for PSA’s Prep basketball team.
The top-ranked Mustangs improved to 25-0 with a trio of convincing wins – 83-64 at South Kent, 101-64 over Vermont Academy, and 97-53 over Bridgton Academy – and continue to set their sights on national championship No. 3 next month.
“We did what we needed to do this week,” said coach Tom Espinosa. “South Kent is No. 14 in the country, a really good team that has been playing really well, and that is never an easy place to play. We’ve had trouble there before. They beat us twice down there last year, so we knew we had to be ready to go.”
In that game, DayDay Gittens did a little bit of everything, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists, two blocks, and he also drew a charge, in leading a balanced attack. And has been the case throughout the season, it was PSA’s defense that set the table for its offense.
“We played great defense,” Espinosa said. “They had 24 points at the 14-minute mark of the second half. Our defense really played an unbelievable game.”
Desmond Claude added 21 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Barry Evans had 16 points, eight rebounds, and three steals and Arturo Dean had 10 points, six boards, four assists, and three steals. Ugonna Kingsley ended up with 13 points, nine rebounds, and a blocked shot for the Mustangs.
Saturday against Vermont, Kingsley and Duane Thompson both had a team-high 13 points, followed by Claude with 12, and Sotirios Nafpliotis with 11.
Sunday it was Bridgton’s turn, and for the second straight day, the guys at the back of the bench got a lot of minutes and everyone who played scored. Arturo Dean made all eight of his field goals and finished with 21 points, Kingsley had 10 points, 10 boards, and seven blocks. Gittens, who always fills the stat sheet had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.
It was a tougher week for the Elite team, which came into action having lost its last three games by a combined four points. And after knocking off St. Thomas More 83-69 on the road Tuesday night behind a 31-point effort from Jalen Claude, the Mustangs felt like they were turning the corner.
“We were in familiar territory, tie game, back and forth game for most of the second half,” PSA coach John Cavaliere said. “We called a timeout with about four or five minutes left, up seven, and we said ‘Here we go again, we’re here, now what are we going to do?’
“And the guys played smart basketball, good team halfcourt defense. The difference between this one and some of those other games was we didn’t beat ourselves. Guys brought a lot of energy, got some big turnovers, and hit free throws. Guys just made plays to get the job done.”
But as good as that win felt, a 91-90 overtime loss the next night to Notre Dame-West Haven felt even worse.
“This is our toughest loss,” coach John Cavaliere said. “Another one-point loss...it’s a tough pill to swallow. We can play hard, and I think we’re giving everything we’ve got throughout these games. But we’re continuing to have mental lapses on the last few possessions, and that is not allowing us to reap the rewards and win the game.”
Lamar Watkins and Elio Phillips both had 15 points, and Ned Fitzpatrick and Jaiden Brown added 11 for PSA.
The Varsity team won its lone game of the week, handling St. Andrew’s easily, 66-31. Pau Amengual had a game-high 20 points in the road win. Taylan Cengiz added a dozen points, Joey Pezzano finished with 11, and Tomeu Pieras chipped in nine points for PSA.
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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