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01/01/2018 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
The North Haven boys’ basketball team has jumped out to a solid start in the 2017-’18 winter season by claiming victory in its first four games. The Indians notched wins against Law and Shelton in the first week of play and then competed in the second annual Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament, where they defeated Branford and then took the title with a victory versus Rocky Hill.
North Haven tipped off its third year with Head Coach Justin Falcon by posting a 63-55 home win over Law on Dec. 19. North Haven stormed out to a 16-5 first-quarter advantage and then the Lawmen won the second quarter 16-9 to draw within 25-21 at halftime. The Indians led 44-39 heading into the fourth quarter and then outscored Law 19-16 in the final frame to come away with the eight-point victory.
Senior guard Jake Lafond and sophomore guard Ethan Okwuosa both scored 21 points to lead North Haven. Senior forward Jarrod Sancho scored 11 points, and sophomore guard RJ Harger added eight points in the win.
Three nights later, the Indians were on the road to face Shelton and won big by the final margin of 77-56. North Haven led 16-10 after one, 39-17 at halftime, and 59-30 through three quarters in the victory versus the Gaels. Hager scored 20 points, and Okwuosa had 17 points to lead the scoring effort. Lafond scored 12 points, while Zach Pincince added 11 points for North Haven .
Last week, North Haven was on its home floor to play in the Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament. The Indians prevailed 47-45 versus Branford in the semifinals on Dec. 27 and defeated Rocky Hill 71-56 in the championship game the following night.
In the Branford win, the Indians led by 11 entering the fourth quarter, before the Hornets rallied to tie it up. However, Lafond drained a three-pointer in the final minute to give North Haven the lead for good. Okwuosa (14 points), Lafond (10), Sancho (9), and Hager (8) led the offensive effort for the Indians.
Against Rocky Hill, North Haven held a 23-17 lead after the first quarter, was up 54-44 through three, and then sealed the tourney title by outscoring the Terriers 17-12 in the final frame. Okwuosa scored 19 points, Lafond had 17 points, Hager delivered 15 points, and Sancho added 10 points for Head Coach Justin Falcon’s club.
Girls’ Basketball
The Indians picked up their first win of the year when they defeated Amistad 52-42 in the semifinals of the Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament at North Haven High School on Dec. 27, after which the Indians posted a 39-28 win over Montville in the final to win the tournament. North Haven now stands at 2-3 on the season.
In the Amistad contest, North Haven broke open a tie game by outscoring the opposition 33-18 between the second and third quarters. Laura Petrafesa scored 13 points, Mia Antonino had 10 points, Zoi Burns scored eight, and Kylie Brandt also had eight points for the Indians.
Facing Montville, North Haven trailed 10-4 after the opening quarter, but won the second quarter 13-3 to take a four-point lead into halftime. Leading by five entering the final frame, the Indians outscored Montville 7-1 to preserve the victory. Petrafesa had 14 points, Brandt scored 10 points, and Leah Zeisner added nine points in the victory.
Prior to playing in the tournament, North Haven hosted Guilford on Dec. 18 and took a 56-28 defeat. The visiting Indians came out strong and grabbed a 17-8 lead in the first quarter. North Haven Head Coach Ray Degnan shuffled the lineup, and the Indians closed the first half on a 6-0 run, but still trailed 33-19. Guilford outscored North Haven 23-9 in the second half to come away with the win. Burns (8 points), Antonino (7), and Kylie Brandt (6) led the scoring for Coach Degnan’s squad.
The following evening, the Indians traveled to Durham for a non-conference contest and lost by the final score of 51-38. It was an action-packed, back-and-forth contest that was filled with dramatic moments for both teams. The Blue Devils went up 10-6, but North Haven stormed back to take a five-point lead in the second quarter behind some nice shooting from Antonino and Zeisner. Coginchaug took advantage of some Indians’ turnovers and closed the half on a 12-0 run for a 27-18 advantage.
North Haven still trailed by nine entering the fourth quarter. The Indians dug in on defense, showed patience on offense, and Petrafesa went off by hitting three straight three-pointers to bring North Haven within six. Antonino then hit two at the free-throw line to cut it to four with 2:30 to play. In the end, the experienced Blue Devils converted their free throws down the stretch to seal the 51-38 win. Petrafesa scored 17 points, Antonino had 13 points, and Zeisner added seven points for North Haven.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
North Haven earned a recent win versus Newtown, before dropping a pair of contests to stand at 2-2 on the season.
The Indians picked up their second victory of the year when they posted a 4-1 home win over SCC/SWC Division III opponent Newtown at Northford Ice Pavilion on Dec. 20. Sophomore Jack Marotollo and freshman Mason Sullivan scored their first goals for North Haven, while goalie Jeremy Hickcox saved 16 of the 17 shots he faced. The Indians went up 1-0 in the first period on a goal from Alex Cianci. Newtown netted a goal to tie it up at 1-1 in the second. In the third, Marotollo put a low shot through the five-hole of the Newtown netminder to give North Haven a 2-1 lead. Shortly after that, Sullivan blasted one home on a quick turnaround shot for an insurance goal and a 3-1 advantage. Corey Reilly sealed the deal by scoring and empty-net goal for a 4-1 command.
Three days later, North Haven hosted Branford for a SCC/SWC Division II matchup and took a 7-2 loss against the Hornets. Seniors Jamie Montesi and Sam Pethick scored North Haven’s goals.
The Indians later had a home game versus non-conference foe Westhill-Stamford on Dec. 27. North Haven dropped a 1-0 decision when Westhill-Stamford scored the game’s lone goal in the third period. Hickcox manned the net for North Haven in the narrow defeat.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Blades were on the ice for a trio of recent matchups and won two of the three to stand at 5-1 for the year.
On Dec. 20, the Blades took a 2-1 home loss to Hamden at The Rinks of Shelton in a SCC South Division contest. The Blades trailed 1-0 in the first period before Tess Csejka scored from Melissa Montesi and Megan Spring to tie the game with 3:08 left in the frame. The game stayed knotted at 1 until Hamden scored the game-winning goal with 1:45 remaining in the third period. Julianna Daddio made 27 saves in net for the Blades.
Three days later, the team had another divisional duel with a game against Branford-East Haven-North Branford at DiLungo Rink in East Haven, and Head Coach John Peschell’s club prevailed 7-2 against the Wings.
After that, the Blades traveled north to face Suffield-Enfield-Housatonic-Ellington-Metropolitan Learning Center at Enfield Twin Rinks and won 3-2 in overtime when Cally Dixon scored from Montesi with 5:27 left in the extra session. Montesi also had the assist on Dixon’s goal that gave the Blades a 1-0 lead in the second period. Megan Spring scored an unassisted goal to put the Blades up 2-1 in the third, before the opposition tied it to force OT.
Boys’ and Girls’ Fencing
The North Haven fencing program began its third campaign with Head Coach Brian Mezzi by hosting Guilford on Dec. 21. The boys’ team edged out Guilford by the final score of 14-13, while the girls’ team took an 18-9 defeat.
Girls’ Indoor Track
On Dec. 18, North Haven competed at a SCC Developmental Meet at New Haven’s Floyd Little Athletic Center, where the Indians’ 4x200 relay broke its own school record that it had set last year. North Haven’s quartet of junior Erica Marriott, senior Ashley Brown, junior Katie Rogers, and sophomore Sammy Curcio ran a time of 1:52.05 to break their record and finish in third place at the meet.
Marriott also finished in first place for the long jump with a distance of 16 feet-2 inches and took second place in the 55-meter dash by clocking in at 7.53 seconds. Junior Giselle Zumerchik finished third in the long jump with a leap of 15-4.5 and was third in the 55 hurdles at 9.87 seconds. Junior Camille Sahirul finished fifth in the long jump at 15-2.5, while Rogers placed sixth in the high jump by clearing 4-6 for Head Coach Marc Celmer’s squad.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Indians kicked off their year by competing at an SCC Developmental Meet at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Dec. 19.
Senior Eric Milliard finished second in the shot put with a throw of 45 feet-8.5 inches for Head Coach Marc Celmer’s team. Fellow senior Brad Schweickert placed fifth in the 600 with a time of 1:31.16. Junior Robert Farley finished sixth in the 55 hurdles (8.87) and took seventh in the pole vault (9-6) for the Indians. Sophomore Kyle Maruca finished seventh (41-8.5) in the shot put, while senior Joe DePrimo placed eighth at 41-7.5.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
North Haven opened up its winter season by hosting a pair of recent meets at Gawrych Town Pool. On Dec. 19, the Indians dropped a 92-85 decision to Hand. Two days later, North Haven had a home meet with Xavier and lost by the final score of 102-74.
Despite the defeats, Head Coach Martha Phelan said she was encouraged by how fast her athletes swam so early in the season. The following swimmers recorded lifetime-best performances between the Hand and Xavier contests: junior JP Stoeefler in the 100 freestyle (51.43) and 200 freestyle (1:54.40), junior Tommy O’Connor in the 200 free (2:12.52) and 500 free (6:24.80), freshman Cameron Cargan in the 50 free (25.88) and 100 free (58.40), junior Will McCleery in the 50 free (23.52) and 500 free (5:09.85), freshman Tanner Powell in the 100 butterfly (1:08.22), sophomore Stephen Borrelli in the 50 free (26.53), 100 free (1:01.78), and 100 breaststroke (1:25.93); freshman Marco Criscola in the 50 free (30.59), and senior Albi Koleci in the 100 fly (1:10.99). Additionally, freshman Joe O’Connor, who just started diving a few weeks ago, posted a lifetime-best point total of 101.95 in the event for North Haven.