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02/18/2017 11:00 PMThe East Haven boys’ basketball team has battled through adversity all season, but after beating Platt Tech in its second-to-last game, the Yellowjackets are looking to finish the year strong. Head Coach Ricky Narracci’s squad closed out last week with a 63-48 non-conference victory at Platt Tech in Milford on Feb. 17, setting the stage for its season finale against a playoff-bound North Haven squad. The win pushed East Haven’s record to 3-16 for the season.
“Winning Friday at Platt was important to set the stage for North Haven. Had we lost, it really would’ve taken the win out of our sails. This gave us momentum,” Narracci said. “North Haven is a tournament team, so this game is important for them for seeding, so there’s a lot on the line for both teams, obviously for different reasons. For us, it’s about pride, continuing to try to get better every single day, and to send our seniors off on a positive note.”
The Easties had a one-point lead heading into the half against Platt Tech before a strong third quarter propelled them to the victory. Senior Jeremiah Cureton led the team with 15 points, while junior Ryan Spano scored 13, sophomore Nate Furino had 11, and junior Ed Popolizio added nine.
“We got contributions from a lot of different guys. A lot of guys played very well, in spots which was able to carry us throughout the night,” Narracci said. “We didn’t have that one quarter where everyone played poorly. When somebody was struggling, someone else stepped up, which is what propelled us.”
Earlier in the week, East Haven took defeats to Branford and Sheehan. Against Branford, the Easties lost 53-51 on Feb. 13. Facing Sheehan two days later, the Yellowjackets dropped a 76-53 contest.
In the loss to Branford, senior Brandon DePalma led the Yellowjackets with 16 points. Fellow senior Nick Guarino scored 13 and Cureton contributed 10 points. The story of the game was the third quarter, when the Easties were limited to just three points.
“It was similar to [East Haven’s 43-39 loss to Branford on Dec. 23], where we came out in the third and only scored a point. In this one, we had a late three with 30 seconds to go and that really hurt us,” Narracci said. “Branford is similar to us as a team, but they’re more physical, and have more size. They also had the best player on the court in Jake Sullivan. That’s our problem—when we get down and teams crank up the defense on us, we don’t have that one go-to guy. When you rely on the perimeter, it’s tough to score late in games.”
Popolizio scored a game-high 24 points in East Haven’s loss to Sheehan.
Even though his team has had a difficult season, Coach Narracci is pleased that the Yellowjackets have never quit, even after they were eliminated from postseason contention.
“When you go through a season like this where we’ve had so many injuries and you lose as much as we did, it’s tough to show up every day, but these kids had a great attitude despite our record,” he said. “Coming in every day and working hard, as a coach, I really appreciate that, and it makes the losing easier to take. I never had a problem with the kids not giving an effort on a daily basis and the credit goes to our seniors and our captains.”