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01/27/2019 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
The North Branford boys’ basketball team earned its first victory of the season when the T-Birds defeated Hale-Ray by a 76-75 final in overtime in a home game on Jan. 23. The win also marked the first for Cliff Yerkes in his second tenure as North Branford’s head coach.
North Branford and Hale-Ray played neck-and-neck throughout the game and were knotted at 60 at the end of regulation. North Branford received solid contributions from senior captain Matt Cosgrove, junior Bret Fee, and junior Mike Sitro in the extra period to outscore Hale-Ray by a point and come away with the win. The T-Birds shot a season-high 68 percent from the free throw line in the victory, connecting on 23 foul shots. Cosgrove scored a team-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while Fee scored 13 and pulled down 10 rebounds for the T-Birds (1-11). Sitro scored 13 points, and senior Dylan Martnik added 10 points.
Coach Yerkes was proud of North Branford’s all-around defensive effort in the victory, saying that Martnik, junior Ronnie Longo, and senior Cameron DiPentima played outstanding on that end of the floor. Senior captain Gary Robinson also aided the T-Birds’ cause on the defense by recording six blocks in the game.
Prior to the victory, North Branford took an 83-43 defeat versus Morgan on Jan. 21. Sitro scored 14 points, and Robinson had eight points.
Girls’ Basketball
The Thunderbirds took three defeats last week to move to 5-10 this season. North Branford lost a decision against Shoreline Conference opponent Morgan, before dropping contests versus non-league foes Branford and Sheehan of the Southern Connecticut Conference.
North Branford visited Morgan on Jan. 21 and lost to the Huskies by a 45-40 final. Morgan fell behind 11-2 early, but rallied to get the win. Senior captain Jessie Kilburn scored 14 points to go with a game-high 19 rebounds for North Branford. Freshman Braeden Lebeau had 12 points and 13 rebounds on the night.
On Jan. 25, the Thunderbirds hosted Branford and lost by a 46-38 score. The T-Birds trailed 14-6 after the first quarter, but fought back to make it 20-18 at the break. North Branford took a 23-22 lead early in the third quarter, before Branford pulled away for the win. Lebeau had 16 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Erica Piercy and Kilburn each added seven points with three assists. Kilburn also grabbed 14 rebounds.
The next night, North Branford took a 70-37 home loss against Sheehan. Junior Julia Ricardo scored 13 points for the Thunderbirds. Kilburn finished with 10 points and eight boards.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
North Branford split a pair of recent matchups and now has a record of 3-7-1 on the year. The T-Birds took a loss against Branford, but bounced back by netting a victory over Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe last week.
On Jan. 23, North Branford took a 9-3 defeat to Branford at Northford Ice Pavilion. North Branford was up 4-3 entering the third period, but the Hornets scored five straight goals to take control of the game. Senior captain Sean McKee, sophomore Matt Pedersen, and junior Nick Vecchio scored goals for North Branford. Pedersen, senior captain Nick Mancini, and junior Joe Carbone each had an assist.
The T-Birds rebounded by earning a 4-1 win against Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe on their home ice at Northford Ice Pavilion on Jan. 26. Pedersen had a goal and an assist, while McKee, Carbone, and sophomore Nick Poulin also scored goals for North Branford. Vecchio and senior Brendan Stoner recorded assists for the Thunderbirds, who saw sophomore goalie Tyler DiNapoli make 35 saves in net to get the win.
Boys’ Indoor Track
Senior Alvin Chan claimed victory in the 1,000-meter run for North Branford at Shoreline Conference League Meet No. 2 at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 26. North Branford claimed eighth place as a team by scoring 22 points at the meet.
Chan’s time of 2:57.35 in the 1,000 earned him a first-place finish as he beat out Peter Halsey of Valley Regional (2:59.42). Sophomore Robert Didiano placed fourth in the 1,600 (5:12.10), senior Michael Rabuffo posted a fifth-place finish in the 300 (38.56 seconds), and junior Joe DeLucia finished fifth in the 600 (1:30.89). Senior Jeremy Conboy notched a pair of top-10 finishes by placing seventh in the 300 (40.37) and taking eighth in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet-3 inches.
In the 4x400 relay, North Branford’s team of Conboy, DeLucia, junior Freddie Little, and Rabuffo finished fourth with a time of 4:07.99.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Sophomore Riley Kendall won the 600-meter run, while junior Mackenzie Glenn took first place in the long jump for the Thunderbirds at the second Shoreline Conference League Meet of the season. North Branford scored 39 points and came in sixth place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 26.
Kendall recorded a time of 1:55.35 to win the 600, edging out Julia Cazassa of Hale-Ray (1.55:87) for first place. In the long jump, Glenn reeled off a distance of 15 feet-10 inches to finish ahead of Morgan’s Alyssa LeMay (15-2.50) for the top spot. Glenn also posted third-place finishes in both the 55-meter hurdles and 300-meter dash. In the 55 hurdles, Glenn ran a time of 9.84 seconds. In the 300, she crossed the finish in line in 46.01 seconds.
Sophomore Onna Gott earned fourth place in the 600 with a time of 1:56.51, while senior Ana Pavic earned top-1o finishes in both the 300 (6th, 47.15) and the 55-meter dash (8th, 8.07). Senior Gillian Pena finished ninth in the 55 hurdles (10.67), while freshman Regan Leete placed ninth for the 1,600 with a time of 6:30.65.
In the 4x200 relay, the T-Birds’ quartet of freshman Gianna DePino, Gott, sophomore Ashlee Amendola, and junior Erica Roof earned fifth place by timing in at 2:05.96.