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01/14/2017 11:00 PMThe North Haven boys’ basketball team tipped off against Lyman Hall for a SCC Hammonasset Division road matchup on Jan. 13. When the final buzzer sounded, it was the Indians who finished on top by defeating the Trojans 64-54.
The Indians staked themselves to a lead in the first quarter and never relinquished it, outscoring Lyman Hall in every period except the fourth. The win stopped a five-game losing streak for North Haven, which improved to 3-5.
Head Coach Justin Falcon’s squad is now looking to go on a second-half surge reminiscent of last year, when the Indians started out 2-7, but finished strong en route to reaching the postseason.
“We needed it. We absolutely needed it,” said Coach Falcon. “And [Lyman Hall] needed it, too, so we appreciate it, and we’re going to enjoy it for now, but we know we have to keep working.”
After losing to Hillhouse and Hamden earlier in the week, North Haven came into the Lyman Hall game looking to slow down the Trojans’ offense. Senior guard Mike Gagliardi discussed the Indians’ approach.
“We got burnt our last few games,” said Gagliardi, who scored 10 points. “So we tried to get our hands up, make the lanes as small as possible, and make it harder to get passes through.”
With staunch defense on display right out of the gate, the Indians forced Lyman Hall into tough shots as the Trojans only scored five points in the first quarter. Leading 11-5 after one, North Haven stretched its advantage to 11 at halftime by winning the second quarter 20-15. The third quarter was essentially even with the Indians outscoring Lyman Hall 13-12 and, although the Trojans won the final frame 22-20, it wasn’t enough as North Haven emerged with the 10-point victory.
Even though North Haven’s lead was never in real jeopardy, the Trojans relentlessly pursued the ball and employed a full-court press through most of the second half in their attempt to come back. Senior Jack Steinman, who led the Indians with 13 points, knew that North Haven had to give its all in order to fend off Lyman Hall’s effort.
“It’s tough later in the game. It’s hard to keep that lead because the other team wants to come back so bad,” said Steinman, a guard. “Lyman Hall played tough, they fought hard at the end, and we had to fight just as hard.”
Lyman Hall’s fight was also no surprise to Coach Falcon.
“We knew it would be tough because we battle with these guys every year,” he said. “Last year, they beat us here and we beat them with five seconds left at home.”
North Haven was able to maintain its tremendous defensive effort from the first quarter throughout the rest of the game. The Indians were constantly bothering Lyman Hall’s shooters by extending their arms to close off passing lanes into the paint.
“That’s been a point of emphasis in practice: getting big, getting long, making sure we have weak-side help, and talking, talking, talking,” said Coach Falcon.
Steinman was one of the Indians’ most talkative players while patrolling the inside with fellow senior Preston Young. Both athletes proved a force by altering shot after shot and getting to several loose rebounds.
“When we’re not loud enough, we get into each other,” Steinman said. “We’ve got good chemistry down low and we like to talk to the guys up top to help get everybody in the right spots.”
All the chatter paid off for the Indians, whose repeated defensive stops turned into plenty of fast-break points, including a giant one-handed dunk by sophomore Jarrod Sancho that drew gasps from both sides of the gym.
Forceful defense translated to equally forceful offense for the Indians as Steinman and Gagliardi consistently worked their way inside and forced the Trojans’ defense to collapse. When the lane to the hoop closed, North Haven moved the ball fluidly around the court, often finding seniors Tom Myjak (10 points) and Anthony Beretta (6 points) for spot-up jumpers, while other times making a quick move to the basket.
“The game-plan was to move the ball around, play hard, rebound, get inside, and kick it out for open shots,” said Gagliardi.
North Haven’s effective ball movement resulted in some great looks as four Indians—Steinman (13), senior Tom Dodge (11), Gagliardi (10), and Myjak (10)—reached double digits in scoring. Coach Falcon emphasized the concept of his athletes playing for each other, and his team’s warm-ups and pregame huddle were centered around one word: family.
“We’ve grown together. I’ve known these guys since they were in 6th grade and I was their middle school coach,” said Falcon. “We know each other, we know our families, we are a big family. We’ve got to love and appreciate each other because that creates positive energy and that creates success.”
As North Haven aims to earn a second straight trip to postseason play, Steinman noted one of the most critical aspects for the Indians to attain that goal.
“Energy, energy, energy,” said Steinman.
From the Sidelines
North Haven faced two other Housatonic Division opponents prior to the Lyman Hall game. The Indians took a 108-49 loss at Hillhouse on Jan. 10 and then dropped an 84-46 home contest to Hamden on Jan. 12. Against Hillhouse, Jarrod Sancho scored 21 points for North Haven. Jack Steinman had 16 points, while Anthony Beretta and Tom Myjak scored eight apiece. In the Hamden game, Steinman netted 18 points, plus Sancho scored 10 for the Indians.
North Haven will face Lyman Hall again when the Indians host the Trojans at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3.
Additionally for the rest of the regular season, the Indians have two games against Sheehan, along with one versus Foran, Shelton, Hillhouse, Hamden, Hand, Law, Branford, and East Haven.