The good news is that the season isn’t even 10 games old. Because PSA’s Prep basketball has some things to figure out after a difficult week.
After suffering just three losses over the last two seasons on their way to national titles, the Mustangs lost two games last week alone.
It started on Tuesday when Hoosac hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer – including one with 1.2 seconds left in the game – and handed PSA its first loss, 103-102.
It ended Sunday night, when the Newman School likewise hit a final-second shot in overtime, knocking off the Mustangs, 76-75.
But doubters beware, the sky is not falling at 18 Maple St. “We have been spoiled with our success,” coach Tom Espinosa said. “Losing is not something we’re used to, it’s not something we like. But I still like this group. We need more of a chip on our shoulders and a little more swagger. But we’re going to get better. I have no doubts about that.
“Sometimes you have to give the other teams credit too. Both teams hit a lot of shots. We weren’t great, we made some costly turnovers or we didn’t shoot it well from the free throw line, whatever it may be. And then both teams made shots. Give them credit.”
As a point of reference, Alex Pachuki hit 14 3’s for Hoosac en route to 48 points. That loss ended PSA’s 26-game winning streak dating back to last season.
Justin Johnson had 22 points and Dame Givner finished with 21 points, seven assists, four rebounds and, and four steals in that game. Ben Ahmed added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Mekhi Conner chipped in with 12 points, six assists, and two steals.
Sunday night, Johnson went for 27 points, Ahmed had 15 points and 21 rebounds, and Que Duncan finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and three steals. PSA had the ball with nine seconds to go in regulation, but its final shot was off the mark and sent the game to overtime.
“We had a shot, didn’t make it. They had a shot in overtime and made it,” Espinosa said. “It is what it is. Give our guys credit too, I thought the effort was there. We were down at halftime and they really could have buried us. But our guys showed fight and got back into it. Like I said, we’ll be all right.”
In between the losses were a pair of wins – 118-86 over We Believe Academy and 85-75 over Brewster.
Duncan, Johnson and Ahmed led the attack in those games as well. Duncan had 20 points and seven rebounds against We Believe, then scored 15 points against Brewster; Johnson, a high-volume scorer, finished with 15 against We Believe and 22 against Brewster; and Ahmed had his way against We Believe, finishing with 17 and nine, then following up with a career-high 27 points against Brewster to go along with nine rebounds.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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Signed
From left: Ponte, Heselton, Roy and Mihalopoulos. Photo by Heather Stewart.

Cody Heselton remembers being maybe 10 years old and playing a Little League All-Start game against a rival town and taking a fastball off the kneecap, forcing him out of the game.
Harry Roy’s first memory goes further back, to the time when he turned a double play in a T-ball game.
There have been a lot of years and has been a lot of growth since those early baseball days for Heselton and Roy, and their Putnam Science Academy teammates Ryan Ponte and Ian Mihalopoulos, all four of whom took a momentous step in their baseball lives Wednesday afternoon when they each signed their National Letter of Intent to play next year in college.
Heselton, a lefty pitcher/first baseman/outfielder signed with Marist College; Roy, a right-handed pitcher, with Southern Connecticut; and the right-handed Ponte, a pitcher/first baseman/outfielder himself, and Mihalopoulos, a righty pitcher, both signed with Central Connecticut.
The four were feted at a ceremony at the school with family, teammates, and fellow students.
“It was great,” said the charismatic Heselton, who is from Glastonbury and in his first year at PSA. “Very nerve-wracking with so many people. That was definitely a sight to see but it was fun. I was very, very nervous. But more excited than anything, really. I’m excited for this next chapter.
“It’s been a very long process, very complicated. But signing today with Marist, it all feels complete.”
Ponte, also in his first year at PSA, was likewise nervous to speak in front of so many of his peers. And he too was happy to make it official, especially considering he hasn’t pitched in nearly a year because of Tommy John elbow surgery.
“It’s been hard with my injury,” he said. “There were times I wanted to quit, but I was really encouraged not to by my parents. I decided to do a postgrad year this year, and that’s when everything changed for me. That’s when I verbally committed and I knew then that everything was going to be OK.”
Mihalopoulos was the first player to commit to PSA in the spring of 2022, but he has yet to throw a pitch for the Mustangs because, like Ponte, he underwent Tommy John surgery. A setback in the spring kept him off the mound then, but he had a big summer, which turned into a commitment to Central.
“For me, it was just getting back onto the field,” he said. “My process was much easier than other people’s has been. It wasn’t like coaches were ghosting me or anything like that. For me, it was more just staying healthy. Once I was able to do that and get back out and pitch again, Central liked what they saw.
“When I first committed, it was kind of a surreal feeling and it is now that I’ve signed. But now that I’m actually signed to a college, it feels like my younger self is really proud of me.”
This is Roy’s second year with PSA after putting together a standout first season. He was a bulldog of an ace on last year’s staff, going 6-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 43 1/3 innings.
“It’s just exciting just to know that this is the next chapter of my life that I’m going to be starting next fall,” he said. “There were a lot of ups and downs in the recruiting process, but Southern is the perfect fit for me. They have what I was looking for, including coaches who I trust.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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Even. That’s pretty much how Woodstock Academy volleyball coach Adam Bottone looked at the match between his fourth-seeded Centaurs and No. 12 St. Joseph in a Class L quarterfinal Saturday.
It turned out to be just that as the two teams split the first four sets.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the Cadets got the momentum at the end of the fourth set and never lost it in the fifth, scoring a 15-6 win to come away with the 3-2 victory overall to move into the Class L semifinals.
“The loss stinks for sure, especially when you are up two sets to one, but, at least, we lost to a good team that played hard and got after it,” Adam Bottone said.
St. Joseph (16-6) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the decisive fifth set but two kills by Izzy Mojica, who finished with 13 overall, and a kill for setter Sophie Gronski helped the Centaurs get back within two at 7-5.
A Liliana Bottone kill kept the Centaurs close at 8-6 but it would be the last point Woodstock would score as the Cadets put up the next seven for the win.
Woodstock won the first set 25-13 and seemingly had things going on all cylinders, getting nice kills from the outside from Liliana Bottone (18 kills) and Mojica with Reegan Reynolds (11 kills) also getting into the act from the middle.
St. Joseph won that second set, 25-23, but Woodstock rallied in the third, 25-17, only to see the Cadets force the fifth set with a 25-20 win in the fourth.
Gronski had 45 assists against St. Joseph with Cassidy Ladd getting 16 digs.
The Centaurs finished with a 17-8 record.
Woodstock advanced to the quarterfinal with a 3-0 victory over Brookfield  earlier in the week. The Centaurs handled the Bobcats with wins of 25-14, 25-17, and 25-18.
Mojica led the way with 10 kills. Liliana Bottone added eight kills and Mia Sorrentino five as the Centaurs again spread the wealth. Ladd finished with eight aces. Gronski had 23 assists.
In the first-round state tournament match the  Centaurs send 29th-seeded Torrington home with a 3-0 loss.  Liliana Bottone and Sorrentino each contributed four kills and Mojica had six service points in a 25-12 first set victory.
Gronski had eight of her 12 service points and all three of her aces and Emma Kerr added seven of her 14 points in the second set. The two long service runs helped produce a one-sided, 25-4, result.
Kerr got the Centaurs out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and Mojica (15 service points) put together an eight-point run with four of her five aces on the night to extend the lead to 13-1. Woodstock walked away with the 25-10 victory. Liliana Bottone and Mojica had nine kills each while Sorrentino added eight and a block. Gronski finished with 29 assists.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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