This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/11/2017 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional boys’ basketball team put together a gutty effort while dealing with injuries to several key players this winter, but still finished one victory shy of qualifying for the playoffs in the 2016-’17 campaign. This breaks a streak of seven consecutive seasons in which the Warriors recorded the eight wins that are needed to make states.
Valley’s Head Coach Kevin Woods could tell that his team was running on fumes toward the end of the season due to a lack of healthy players. In a difficult situation, Woods got to see what his boys on the floor were made of, and he credits them for never making any excuses in the face of adversity.
“We were hampered by injuries that were behind the scenes,” said Coach Woods. “To credit the toughness of the team, it wasn’t used as an excuse as to why we were losing games.”
It was an up-and-down campaign for the Warriors, who scratched and clawed to remain in postseason contention and posted two big wins late in the year to stay in the mix. First, Valley recorded a 68-65 victory at Haddam-Killingworth that completed a season sweep of the Cougars. Three days later, Valley prevailed at Morgan 77-55 to avenge a previous loss to the Huskies on a buzzer-beater. The Warriors now needed to win one of their final three games to make states, but took defeats against Cromwell and North Branford in their next two contests. This set up a do-or-die matchup at Shoreline Conference opponent Coginchaug, which defeated Valley 63-44 as the Warriors finished the season with a record of 7-13.
Even with the disappointing finish, Coach Woods saw some positives in the way this season’s squad handled its difficult circumstances. Woods said that the Warriors worked as hard as they could to get wins wherever they could.
“We had some pretty big wins this season. A lot of teams that we won against are still out there competing in the tournament. It shows we can play against tough competition,” he said. “We challenge ourselves more than any other team in the league. Wherever we are, we’ll get out there and play.”
Valley is graduating three seniors from this season’s team: captain Jordan Moran, a guard; fellow guard Ryan Kelly, and forward Cory Craco. Moran led the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game and his offensive output will definitely be missed next year. In the end, Coach Woods was happy with the way all three of his seniors progressed during their time with the Warriors.
“We’re so grateful of the years that our seniors gave us,” said Coach Woods. “Jordan went out there and played so hard every year. Ryan and Cory came back this season after being injured last year. They showed a lot of grit, determination, and dedication to our program, and we’re grateful to them. We’re sad to see them go, but we’re also excited about the future of the program.”
Looking ahead to next season, Valley will be seeking further improvements from its juniors as they move up the ladder. Two of Valley’s captains are juniors in guard Ernest Jean-Pierre and guard/forward Colin Sparaco, and Coach Woods will once again rely on them to be leaders both on the floor and in the locker room next year. Sparaco emerged as an offensive threat this year and was the Warriors’ second-leading scorer by averaging 11.8 points per game.
“We have a nice junior class and there are some kids in the freshman and sophomore classes that look like they can be great players. I think we are going to get better in every aspect of the game and the guys we already have are only going to get better,” Coach Woods said. “It’s up to them to put in the work this offseason and come back strong and ready to play.”
From the Sidelines
The Warriors’ wins the season came against Old Saybrook (66-59), Hale-Ray (46-30), Portland (80-66), Haddam-Killingworth (86-65 and 68-65), North Branford (44-39), and Morgan (77-55).
Valley also took losses to Coginchaug (62-61 and 63-44), East Hampton (61-53), Waterford (89-66), Cromwell (65-49 and 53-46), Morgan (59-57), Old Lyme (67-51), Westbrook (62-51), East Lyme (63-49), Ledyard (66-49), Creed (71-41), and North Branford (52-31).
Senior captain guard Jordan Moran led the Warriors in scoring with 15.3 points per game, as well as assists with 4.2 per game. Junior forward Ben Weinstein led the team in rebounding by averaging 7.9 boards a contest. Senior guard Ryan Kelly averaged the most steals with 1.2 per night.