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12/16/2018 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
The Valley Regional boys’ basketball team jumped out to a great start to the winter season by notching a pair of victories during the first week of play. The Warriors defeated Shoreline Conference opponents Morgan and Old Saybrook last week and are 2-0 to begin the year. Valley is coming off a campaign that saw the squad go 16-9 while advancing to the Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinals and the Division IV State Tournament quarterfinals
On Dec. 13, Valley hosted Morgan for its first game of season and defeated the Huskies 57-51. Defense was the name of the game for the Warriors, who established that theme by holding Morgan to just five points in the first quarter. Valley received big performances from senior captain Kevin Fasulo, who scored 15 points; junior Gavin Grabowski, who had 18 points with two steals; and fellow junior Cade Ensinger, who provided 12 points to go along with six rebounds and five steals.
Valley took a 12-5 lead after the first quarter and was up 30-21 at halftime versus Morgan. The Huskies rallied in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 44-42 entering the fourth. However, the Warriors’ defense tightened up in the final period as they outscored Morgan 13-9 to emerge victorious.
Head Coach Kevin Woods was pleased to see Valley’s defense come up huge at the campaign’s outset—and that was by design. Woods said his squad wants to be strong on defense this season, and the Warriors displayed that was going to be the case in their win against Morgan.
“We’re identifying ourselves as defense-first team,” said Coach Woods. “Setting the tone with just five points in the opening quarter of the season, that’s a good sign. That’s who we want to be.”
Two days later, the Warriors earned a 54-41 home versus Old Saybrook. Once again, defense loomed large for Valley Regional in its victory. Coach Woods credited his team’s ability to slow down the Rams’ star player, Shane Henderson.
“Shane Henderson, he’s probably the best player in the league, and he had to get 12 of his 24 points at the free throw line,” Woods said. “We were able to make things hard on him, and that had a lot to do with Ryan Shasha, Brian Rankin, Keenan Pindar, JT Dickson. That was big in our victory.”
The Warriors outscored Old Saybrook 8-6 in the first quarter and then added on with a 17-11 advantage in the second to take a 25-17 lead into halftime. Valley maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way en route to the 13-point win.
Chris Sparaco turned in a big performance by scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for the Warriors. Grabowski had 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals in the victory. Ensinger added 10 points, four steals, and six boards, while Fasulo had eight points, three assists, five rebounds, and a pair of steals.
Coach Woods is not only happy that Valley Regional opened its season with two wins, he feels especially proud considering the Warriors returned nobody from last year’s starting five. Woods believes that Valley’s two early wins serve as a great example that hard work and patience can pay off.
“Nobody that’s in our starting lineup started a game for us last year, so this is a nice surprise for us. Cade was one guy who got major minutes for us,” said Woods. “We don’t have a starter back. All these guys were JV players last year. It’s a testament to them, because they stuck with it and waited for their chance, and it’s paid off.
Girls’ Basketball
The Warriors dropped contests against defending Class S state champion Coginchaug and Morgan in Shoreline Conference action last week, before earning a non-conference win versus Amistad.
On Dec. 11, Valley played Coginchaug and lost a 52-49 heartbreaker when the Blue Devils hit 25-foot shot the buzzer, following an improbable comeback by the Warriors in the fourth quarter. Valley was down by 18 points with a little less than six minutes left to play in the game, but then went on a 21-3 run to tie the score at 49-49, before Coginchaug hit the winning basket. Senior captain Alexis Finnerty scored 17 points in the loss. Alena Crosby had 13 points, while Addison Marchese added 10 points for Valley Regional.
Coginchaug got out to an 8-4 lead after the first quarter and held a 23-15 advantage at halftime. The Blue Devils added to their lead in the third quarter and were ahead 42-28 heading into the fourth. Coginchaug scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, after which Valley went on its big run to tie the game. However, with five seconds remaining, the Blue Devils inbounded the ball and then hit the winning 3-pointer as time expired.
It was a tough loss to start the year, but Head Coach Geoff Konstan saw some encouraging signs from the Warriors’ new motion offense in the game. Valley has several good athletes, but not a lot of size on its roster, and so Konstan hopes this new approach will help the Warriors play to their strengths.
“We’re instituting a five-out motion offense. It’s perfect for a team without size, but good athletes. We expect some issues along the way. We know that once we get it, we’ll be effective this year, and it will really set us up well for the future, too,” said Konstan. “We saw it really start to work later in the Coginchaug game. I’m proud of the girls for what they did in that game. They gave everything that they had to come back from that far down. I’ve never been more proud of a team to not quit and to have that passion to come back.
Two days later, Valley was back at it with a road game against Morgan. The Warriors took a 55-39 defeat against the Huskies. Valley fell behind 22-10 after the first quarter and, despite clamping down in the second quarter, they were unable to make up the deficit. Morgan took a 28-21 lead into the fourth and then outscored Valley 27-18 in the final frame to come away with the win. Finnerty scored 12 points, and Crosby had 10 points in the game.
Coach Konstan believes that team will bounce back from these defeats as the Warriors settle into their season.
“The offense is working. It creates a lot of back-door cuts. We set a lot of off-ball screens, and players are getting open. I could see it was working, but it will take time to get the timing down,” Konstan said. “We now have to put those two games behind us, and I’m encouraged. The girls know it takes time.”
Then on Dec. 17, Valley hosted Amistad and earned a 60-35 victory for its first win of the year.
Wrestling
Valley Regional senior Ben Falivene hit the wrestling mat for the first time this season last week, when he competed as a one-man team on behalf of the Warriors at the Shelton Invitational on Dec. 15. Falivene claimed second place in the 285-pound division at the meet.
Following a first-round bye, Falivene wrestled Robert Lowe of Notre Dame-West Haven in the quarterfinals and won by pin at the 2:56 mark. In the semifinals, Falivene defeated Notre Dame’s Khorbin Kern by an 8-4 decision. Falivene ultimately lost to Matt Weiner of Shelton by pinfall at the 1:04 mark in the championship bout.