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01/07/2017 11:00 PMIf reaching 1,000 career points as a senior is a major milestone, then doing it as a junior is an absolutely incredible achievement. Well, that’s exactly what North Branford’s Brett Lequire did last week.
Lequire, a junior, scored his 1,000th point when the North Branford boys’ basketball team earned a 75-63 overtime win at home against Old Lyme on Jan. 3. Lequire and the T-Birds are out to a promising start to their season behind a record of 4-3.
“After I took the free throw that went in for my 1,000th point, I had this head rush that went to my head and it felt great hearing the fans be loud,” said Lequire, who accomplished the feat in less than 50 career games. “After winning the overtime game, it felt even better so our team can go in the locker room and celebrate. It’s important to me to keep all my teammate’s heads up during the game and not get frustrated, so I need to keep scoring and doing what I’m doing.”
Lequire, a 5-foot-9 guard, netted 38 points in the overtime victory with his final free throw putting him exactly at 1,000 for his career. Lequire also recorded 10 rebounds for Head Coach Dave Parness’s squad.
“Just to watch it is amazing. To come in and average over 20 points per game is an unbelievable accomplishment. He finds a way to get it done and to score, whether his shot is working or not. He knows if he hangs around, he’ll have a quarter where he finds a way to get hot,” Parness said. “I’m glad he got it because it means he’s scoring. If he’s struggling, we’re going to, as well. It was a great night for him and his family. We gave him a plaque on [Jan. 6] and it was nice he got to do it at home.”
Coach Parness said he’s happy with how North Branford has opened the year, although the Old Lyme win was hardly an easy one. The T-Birds had several leads throughout the game and so Parness felt like it shouldn’t have even gone into overtime. Still, he was glad that his club found a way to get the win. Jimmy Augur had 16 points and Jake Haeckel scored 13 for North Branford.
“I feel like we won it four different times. We had a lead in the first quarter, third quarter, and fourth quarter, but for whatever reason, we couldn’t hold on,” Parness said. “It was a good game and they played well. It was good to see our guys fight back and get the lead again. Those were games last year we didn’t get. If we lost a lead last year, we struggled to stay in the game and have another run in us.”
In its other recent games, North Branford lost close ones to East Hampton and Coginchaug. On Dec. 29, East Hampton defeated North Branford 63-56. Then three days after Lequire hit 1,000, the Thunderbirds were edged by Coginchaug, 59-55.
Lequire scored 28 and Augur added 10 in the East Hampton game. Against Coginchaug, Augur led the way with 21 and Lequire had 14. Each game featured one bad quarter for the T-Birds that led to the loss.
“It’s kind of a microcosm of our season. We show flashes for a quarter and then struggle on things I know we can do better. I’ve seen that we can do it on film and in practice. It’s just about executing it in the game,” Parness said. “We have to come out and play a full 32 minutes.”
One of North Branford’s biggest strengths so far this year is its depth. The T-Birds have also been in every game as their three losses have come by a combined total of 18 points. Those are both encouraging signs for Coach Parness.
“I truly think we can play with anyone in the league. The games we’ve lost, we’ve had one quarter where we really struggle,” Parness said. “Last year, we had a lot of guys thrown into the fire, but they’ve figured it out, and understand what is required to win at this level.”