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01/12/2019 11:00 PMThe Westbrook boys’ basketball team is sporting a young roster that features some promising talent as the Knights try to put the pieces together and find their identity this season. Westbrook was on the floor for two games last week, grabbing a win over Hale-Ray to go with a loss against Tolland. With these results, Westbrook’s record moves to 3-6 on the year.
On Jan. 10, the Knights headed to Moodus to face Hale-Ray and claimed a 61-49 victory in a Shoreline Conference contest. The game started off as a tug-of-war with each team leading at different junctures in the early goings. Ultimately, Westbrook hunkered down on defense to secure the win.
The Knights received double-digit scoring efforts from three players for the first time this season when they beat Hale-Ray. Sophomore guard/forward Jack Naccarato recorded 27 points, shooting 10-for-21 from the field, to go along with 12 rebounds and four assists. Another top performer was junior guard Seth Caslin, who recorded a triple-double by totaling 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Sophomore guard Brenden Engles also reached double digits by netting 11 points for Westbrook.
Hale-Ray held a 16-12 lead after the first quarter, but the Knights battled back with some stingy defense to outscore the Noises 11-4 in the second. Holding a 23-20 lead at halftime, Westbrook received an offensive outburst from Naccarato in the third quarter and brought 42-34 advantage into the fourth. The Knights won the final frame by a 19-15 margin to secure the 12-point victory.
Head Coach Jeff Beeman felt proud of his team for coming away with a much-needed win on the road. Beeman said the Knights used their defensive prowess to create solid scoring opportunities on offense.
“Hale-Ray is a tough place to play. It’s a bit of a cracker box with the bleachers going four-high close to the court. We’ve never played well there. Both teams were struggling a bit coming in, and we were fortunate to come away with the win,” Beeman said. “We had three guys in double figures for the first time this year, and we had spurts of good, solid defense where we turned them over for easy baskets. That was the difference.”
Two days later, Westbrook hosted non-conference opponent Tolland and took a 78-27 defeat. The Eagles, who are a Division III program, got out to an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Coach Beeman knew the Knights would have their work cut out for them against Tolland, although he was happy that Westbrook came away with a win on the week. Beeman said the Knights are still trying to figure out their best path to victory on a nightly basis.
“Tolland was a good test for us, even though it was a tough loss. They are just a bigger, stronger, faster team that is playing the game better than us right now,” said Beeman. “I was happy with getting a win. We are still trying to get our identity. We’re still a work-in-progress trying to figure out the intensity required to win a varsity basketball game. Are we going to be a high-scoring team or a lockdown defensive team?”
Fortunately for Beeman, Westbrook features three quality seniors leading the team as its captains this year. The Knights’ captains are guard/forward Dave McCain, guard/forward Dan Perrault, and center Ben Schreck. Beeman said that all three captains are motivated to team in the right direction and, with some younger players on the rsquad learning the ropes, he’s hoping that Westbrook can have a strong second half to its campaign.
“My senior captains are all in the rotation and working hard at practice with these kids. We have some young guys that are some pretty darn good basketball players. It’s easy to forget that some of our most skilled players are underclassmen. Some of these kids are just getting their feet wet,” said Beeman, whose coaching staff includes junior varsity coach Torin Wood, freshman coach Dan Shapiro, and volunteer assistant Brett Cavilieri. “We’re finding a good rotation of players, and we’re figuring out our team concept. The kids have higher expectations this year than last year. Nobody likes to lose, but it’s hard to win. You have to play very hard to do that.”