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02/24/2018 11:00 PMThe Old Saybrook boys’ basketball team had a lot to celebrate last week. The Rams rallied for an exciting 60-59 overtime victory at North Branford in the Shoreline Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 24, a night that saw junior Shane Henderson score his 1,000th career point. With the win, Old Saybrook improved to 15-6 on the year as it gets ready to face top-seeded and undefeated East Hampton in the Shoreline semifinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
Henderson knew that he was closing in on 1,000 points coming into last week’s matchup, but he wasn’t exactly sure how far away he was. Old Saybrook Head Coach Patrick Quinn didn’t tell Henderson how many points he needed, and Henderson thought that was a wise strategy. When he saw the Rams’ fan contingent stand up and applaud after he hit a basket in the third quarter, Henderson knew that he had just reached his milestone mark. Henderson, who was also recently named to All-Shoreline Conference First Team this year, finished the night with 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists to help the 5th-seeded Rams defeat No. 4 seed North Branford.
“I knew I was close, but I didn’t know the exact number. I think it was smart of Coach Quinn not to tell me. He just wanted me to play,” said Henderson. “We brought a pretty big crowd with us. After I did it, they all stood up and clapped. Then it kind of hit me. Later, there was a timeout called, and they made an announcement over the loudspeaker. We have great fans, and it’s great that they came out to North Branford to support us. It was great to get the win and to score 1,000 in front of them.”
Old Saybrook had taken a 66-38 defeat against North Branford when the teams met in the regular season, but Coach Quinn made sure his squad focused on the game in front of them and not the one in the past. Quinn wanted his players to do their jobs to the best of their ability, and he focused on putting them in the best strategic position to defeat the T-Birds in the rematch.
“Before the game, I told the team to stick to the game-plan and forget about the first time we played them,” said Quinn. “If we make some mistakes, ignore them and just play basketball. If the game-plan isn’t working, we’ll readjust, and that’s on me.”
Old Saybrook’s strategy worked, and it helped keep the teams in a dead heat with 15-15 tie after the first quarter. North Branford went on a run in the second to take a 33-25 at the half, but the Rams punched back by outscoring the T-Birds 14-8 during a third quarter that saw Henderson score his 1,000th point. After reaching his grand moment during the third, Henderson hit a huge 3-pointer with just 3.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 56-56 and ultimately send it to overtime. Just before the end of regulation, Victor Pascoe fouled out after battling down low all game. The All-Shoreline Conference Second Team recipient finished the night six points and six boards.
Coach Quinn praised the perseverance of Henderson, who had been under the weather leading up to the game. Even so, Quinn knew that Henderson was the right guy to take the shot with the game one line as time ticked down in the fourth quarter.
“Shane had been battling flu-like symptoms all week, but he is such a tough kid that you would never know,” said Quinn. “Down the stretch, Shane hit a huge 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds in regulation to force overtime. The ball was in the right hands, and Shane got the job done.”
Henderson had to leave the game in the overtime period after a colliding with a teammate. As a result, the Rams needed other players to step up in the final minutes. Anthony Karg came up clutch by draining mid-range jumper that put the Rams up for good at 60-58 with 10 seconds left. Karg had eight points, four rebounds, and three assists in the victory. Coach Quinn felt proud to see his athletes step up in Henderson’s absence and secure Old Saybrook’s trip to semifinal round of the conference draw.
“During the injury timeout, we as a team said that we were going to get this one for Shane,” Quinn said. “The guys came together and Anthony Karg took over to hit the game-winning shot and help send us to the Shoreline semis.”
Another big contributor for Old Saybrook in the win was junior Dan Cote, who had a huge game by scoring 18 points and pulling down seven rebounds. One of those boards sealed the win after North Branford had a chance to tie up the game at the foul line and missed the second free throw.
“Junior Dan Cote had a breakout game, finishing with 18 points. Danny played with poise and confidence, and I was extremely proud of his all-around efforts,” said Quinn. “The kids came out with a chip on their shoulder after North Branford defeated us pretty handily in the regular season.”
Looking ahead, Coach Quinn and the Rams know that they need to continue doing what they’ve been doing all year if they want to succeed throughout the rest of the playoffs: play solid defense and press the issue on offense.
“We need to do what we do best, and that is total team, tough defense and transition quickly up the court,” Quinn said. “I like to call our break, controlled chaos. We’re so quick up and down the court, and we need to utilize that.”
Earlier in the week, the Rams finished up the regular season by posting a pair of wins. Old Saybrook defeated Westbrook 53-27 on Feb. 19 and earned a 60-57 victory versus Creed on Feb. 21.
Against Westbrook, Henderson led the team in scoring with 22 points to go with six rebounds. Pascoe scored 12 points and hauled in seven boards, while Karg had seven points and five rebounds.
In the Creed victory, Henderson had another huge night by scoring 25 points and grabbing five rebounds. Pascoe had 16 points and a big night on the glass with 13 boards, plus Karg scored 11 points to go with four rebounds.
From the Sidelines
If the Rams defeat East Hampton in the Shoreline semis, they will play the winner of No. 2 seed Cromwell and 6th-seeded Valley Regional for the conference title on Friday, March 2.
Old Saybrook’s victories this season have come against Haddam-Killingworth (61-35), Valley Regional (62-53), Portland (68-55 and 66-54), Creed (55-50), Westbrook (55-39 and 53-27), Coginchaug (51-44 and 47-43), Hale-Ray (58-42 and 61-51), Morgan (69-52), Amistad (62-55), and North Branford (60-59).