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Knight Gedas Bertasius
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
WOODSTOCK — One game stands between Woodstock and the States.
And it won’t be easy. The three teams standing between Woodstock and that magic number one are all tough, according to boys’ varsity basketball coach, Greg Smith.
The Centaurs will be playing Waterford, which beat Woodstock earlier, followed by Ledyard and then in a home game Feb. 22, East Lyme.
The game that got the team one step closer last week was against Griswold, with the Centaurs tallying 58 points to Griswold’s 54.
The tight-looking score belies the fact that Woodstock was winning handily through most of the second half. Smith said Griswold put in a three-pointer at the buzzer to move the score a mere 4 points apart.
And gosh, didn’t that coach across the gym look familiar: The Griswold team is coached by Rob Mileski, who was Woodstock’s coach for nine years.
Smith said the Centaurs put all aspects of the game together to craft the win. “We played very good team basketball,” he said.
Senior Cody Semmelrock came in with 14 points, two of them treys. Sophomore Greg Pike scored 13 points. Matt Senick contributed nine points, including two three-pointers. Langston Stokes, a senior, tossed in two points and just as importantly, Smith said, the co-captain played “great defense”. It was Stokes who was tasked with guarding the Wolverines’ best player.
Mike Magee scored two three-pointers and Ryan Willis pitched in one three-pointer.
Hyde Hammers Wheeler
By Sean Kelly
Hyde 85 --- Wheeler 40
Ryan Giebel ‘10 (20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Jumah Sutton ‘11 (17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) notched 12 points apiece in the opening half as Hyde jumped out to a commanding 52-21 advantage against visiting Wheeler last week.
Shooting a scorching 21-34 from the floor in the first half, and assisting on 15 of those field goals, the Wolf Pack offense looked as good as it has all season long.
Their defensive efforts were even stronger as they collected 13 steals (17 for the game) and scored numerous baskets as a result.
Ending the contest with an 85-40 victory, Hyde continues its hold on sole possession of first place in the SENE at 8-0. Other key contributors on the afternoon were - Craig Levine ‘10 and Nas Ibrahim ‘12 with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ewart Guinier ‘10 also amassed a team-high 8 rebounds off the bench.
Knights Overtake PSA
By Colin Griggs
Marianapolis 82 --- PSA 53
The Marianapolis varsity boys’ basketball team entered their own gymnasium Feb. 9 to find a loud and rambunctious crowd from Putnam Science Academy waiting to liven up Marianapolis’ Athletic Complex. It seemed to simply give MPS the energy it needed to win its fourth straight game.
The Golden Knights (16-4) took a 5-2 lead early in the game after sophomore Kristian Medina nailed a three-pointer. MPS led the rest of the way as they beat neighbors PSA 82-53.
After just five minutes of play, post-graduate Gedas Bertasius drained a three and then classmate Ike Azotam scored to put the Knights up 12-4. MPS doubled their lead with 7:10 on the clock when sophomore Mike Neal tipped in his own rebound and gave MPS a 26-10 lead. On that 14-6 run, post-graduate Matt Barboza stripped the ball at midcourt and dunked to quiet the away fans.
The rest of the half would continue to go in Marianapolis’ favor, and Azotam’s shot at the buzzer gave MPS a 39-24 halftime lead. Azotam was on his way to a 19-point effort as he looks to finish the season strong before heading to Quinnipiac next fall.
The second half belonged to MPS again as they outscored their opponents 43-19 after the break. Junior Zach Chionuma had a strong second half finishing with a game-high 20 points. Throughout the second half, strong defense and quick baskets were the formula for the Knights with the high lights being Bertasius’ dunk to put MPS ahead 67-40.
At the end of the game, juniors Ivan He, Colin Duethorn and Tyler Brown all added their name to the scorebook with baskets in the last 65 seconds. Medina and Barboza finished the game with 12 points apiece.
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TaQuan Zimmerman paced Putnam Science Academy with 17 points and Michael Gittens added 16 points and 8 rebounds. Junior Han Burhan chipped in 10 points.