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01/12/2018 11:00 PMThe North Branford boys’ basketball team defeated Shoreline Conference opponent Cromwell in comeback fashion, 56-54, in a home game on Jan. 8. With the victory, the Thunderbirds improved their record to 5-3 as near the midway point of the regular season.
Head Coach Dave Parness said that he’s emphasized being consistent and playing with effort to his athletes, and he felt they did that to get the victory versus the Panthers.
“We’ve stressed being more consistent, and it’s been kind of tough with the combination of it being early on and dealing with the Christmas break and having days off with the snow. We talked about the way to fix that is to play hard and give effort every time we step in the gym,” said Parness. “We struggled early against Cromwell, but you could tell we were playing with effort and doing things that allowed us to get back in the game. It was nice to see the guys play hard, with passion, and pride. That was really the first time this year we’ve seen them do it with their backs against the wall.”
Cromwell started the game quick, taking an early 9-0 lead in the first quarter, and then went into the half with a 31-24 advantage. However, the T-Birds came out with energy in the second half and battled back for the win after outscoring Cromwell 17-9 in the fourth quarter. Senior captain Brett Lequire, who finished with a game-high 33 points, scored 21 points in the final 16 minutes of play as the reinvigorated Thunderbirds rallied for the victory.
“I thought we were playing hard in the second half. I knew we had to play well in the first three to four minutes to get momentum, and we were doing all the right things and missing easy shots, while they were coming down and making shots,” Parness said. “They kept playing hard, though, and a play that jumps out in my mind—Cromwell hit a shot and instead of us putting our heads down, we quickly took the ball out and scored within five seconds on a layup to cancel out their shots. They kept competing, and that allowed us to get breaks later.”
North Branford opened the game in a zone defense, but switched to man-to-man defense late in the first half. The switch gave the T-Birds a big boost that they carried through the rest of the game.
“We talked about switching to man in the second and it created some energy,” Parness said. “The big thing for us is going forward we want to develop that personality as a team. It was nice to see that energy and physicality that we brought.”
North Branford’s offense is running through Lequire this season, and he showed up once again with a big night on the offensive end of the floor against Cromwell. Parness can tell that Lequire put in a lot of work to build up during the offseason.
“He’s bigger, stronger, and faster than last year. You can tell he’s spent time in the weight room. I think him playing football this year and the physicality of it helped him out,” Parness said of Lequire. “He was a great scorer over the last year, and he has guys around him that know where he likes to get the ball. I think the familiarity and continuity of playing with these guys has helped.”
Senior captain Jake Haeckel scored nine points in the victory, while sophomore Charles Walcott scored five points. Senior Connor Pollick and junior Matt Cosgrove both added four points apiece for the T-Birds, whose other senior captain is Sydney Franklin.
“I think the opportunity is there this year to get more guys into games. We played nine against Cromwell, and that’s not something we typically do. I think that goes back to we have guys putting in the effort to get better,” Parness said. “Having those guys get into games gives them incentive and drive to work harder. It makes practices more competitive, which is something we’ve stressed.”
The win versus Cromwell was a nice step in the right direction for North Branford. Still, Coach Parness knows that the Thunderbirds can’t rest on their laurels and must continue pushing hard throughout the season.
“Cromwell was a great win...but my comment is to not be satisfied and content. We have to come back and compete, find a way to improve upon something down the road,” Parness said. “We need to show up every day. We know our capabilities. That’s the bar that they set, and that they’ll be held to going forward.”