This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/28/2017 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
The Old Saybrook boys’ basketball team picked up its first two wins of the season to improve to 2-1 on the year. The Rams defeated Haddam-Killingworth and Valley Regional in two recent matchups.
On Dec. 19, Old Saybrook was home to face Shoreline Conference rival Haddam-Killingworth and prevailed by a 61-35 final. Old Saybrook went up huge early and the Cougars were never able to mount a threat. The Rams finished the first quarter with a 24-6 advantage and continued adding to it throughout the game.
Junior Shane Henderson led the offensive charge by pouring in 21 points to go with nine rebounds. Head Coach Patrick Quinn said that Henderson has stepped into the role of the Rams’ chief scorer just like his older brother Connel Henderson was last season—except with a little more size.
“Shane just stepped right into Connel’s role. He’s not playing the point like Connel did, but he’s handling the ball 60 percent of the time, along with Anthony Karg,” said Coach Quinn. “He’s in such great shape like all our guys; they were all in tremendous shape from the first day. With him being the cross country star he is, our philosophy on offense is to just run, run, run. We’re probably the quickest team in the Shoreline.”
Karg scored 15 points, grabbed two boards, and had two assists in the win. Between Karg and Henderson, Coach Quinn believes he has a tandem of guards who can be effective for the Rams.
“Shane and [Karg] are about the same size, and they both handle the ball on offense,” Quinn said. “They are interchangable really, but I put him at the one guard.”
Victor Pascoe led the Rams on the boards by snaring 10 rebounds to complement his 14 points. Coach Quinn said his squad came ready to play after taking a loss against another Shoreline rival in the first game of the season.
“Coming off the loss to Old Lyme, we came out confident and energized,” said Coach Quinn. “We took a 24-6 commanding lead in the first quarter and never looked back.”
Two days later, the Rams hosted Valley Regional and secured a 62-53 victory. Henderson went off for 30 points to go with three assists on the evening. Pascoe posted 13 points and corralled eight rebounds for Old Saybrook.
With Pascoe’s 18 rebounds between the two games, Coach Quinn said that he’s showing his value to the team as a presence in the paint, but adds that he’s also versatile on offense.
“He’s a rebounding for us a lot, and he scores in a lot of ways,” Quinn said of Pascoe. “We have a few plays that we run for him. He has a quick first step, and he can stay up in the air for a while and come away with layups.”
Karg had nine points and eight boards in the victory. Senior Keaton Roarick sank two threes for six points and also grabbed three boards. Coach Quinn has seen a big improvement in Roarick’s strength and shooting ability this year.
“Keaton, I couldn’t believe how strong he got over the summer. He’s running the wing and hitting threes for us,” said Quinn. “A lot of the kids on our team have quick first steps and are able to get to the rim. We encourage them to do that and get to the basket, and we’re getting better at penetrating and dishing.”
Girls’ Basketball
The Rams’ girls’ basketball squad had three recent contests and came away with one win to stand at 3-3 on the season.
On Dec. 19, Old Saybrook was on the road to face Haddam-Killingworth and the Rams grabbed a 35-32 victory against the Cougars. Two days later, the Rams headed to Valley Regional in Deep River, where they lost 46-42 decision to the Warriors in another Shoreline Conference matchup. Then on Dec. 27, the Rams had a non-conference game at Plainffield and took a 61-43 defeat.