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East Haven Grabs First Win by Defeating Lyman Hall

The East Haven boys’ basketball team entered the season as one of the younger clubs in the Southern Connecticut Conference. With just one senior on the roster, Head Coach Ricky Narracci understood that the Yellowjackets could face some growing pains this winter. Nevertheless, Narracci loves the fact that everyone on his squad shows up at the court ready to learn and improve their game on a daily basis.

“In a lot of ways, when you struggle as far as wins and losses are concerned, but you have a young team, it’s easier to sell them on staying the course and working hard, because good things will come. They have to see the big picture down the road,” Coach Narracci said. “They come in with a good attitude, practice hard, and they’re learning we have to play a certain style to have a chance to win. Despite struggling with wins and losses, it’s still been fun to go into the gym and work every day.”

East Haven has a record of 1-5 through its six games this season. On Jan. 7, the Yellowjackets went on the road and defeated the Trojans by the final score of 35-32 to earn their first victory of the campaign. Junior guard Alias Ford scored a game-high 19 points, while fellow junior Ian Reynolds had 11 points in the win.

East Haven built an early lead and was up by 14 points at one point during the first half. Lyman Hall clawed its way back throughout the game, but the Yellowjackets were able to hang on for the win.

“We had some opportunities to put them away, but we’re just a little too young, and our depth hurt us a bit. Lyman Hall made some plays to get back in it and get within striking distance at the end,” said Narracci. “We were fortunate to have the lead we did, because we missed some free throws and layups down the stretch. Lyman Hall had some good looks to tie it at the end of regulation, but we did just enough to win, which was nice—to get the first one under our belts.”

East Haven’s starting lineup features Ford, Reynolds, senior captain Shane Franklin, junior Nick Furino, and sophomore Shea Carasone. All five players are less than six feet tall, so Narracci knows that the Yellowjackets have to spread the floor in order to be successful.

“We do have the ability to spread some people out, and that’s how we ended up winning the Lyman Hall game. We took time off the clock in the second half to shorten the game a bit,” he said. “Alias is tough when he has space to operate. We just don’t score consistently enough to play a fast-paced game.”

With a young group, Narracci said that he can see improvement out of his bunch with each practice and every game. The biggest challenge has been getting everyone up to game speed.

“Our shot selection needs to get better and has gotten better. We’re not the type of team that’s going to score a lot of points, so we have to be sound defensively. We’re also very undersized, so it’s important for us to not give us second-chance points,” said Narracci. “Despite our schedule and not having a consistent go-to guy, they continue to work hard and support each other.”

Three days beating Lyman Hall, East Haven dropped a 56-49 decision versus Foran in a home game. It was a tight contest that featured many lead changes, but the Lions used their experience to walk away with the win. Ford finished the game with 19 points for East Haven. Furino and Reynolds scored nine points apiece.

“I thought, overall, we executed well when we needed to,” Narracci said. “We just couldn’t make a shot when we needed to.”

Right now, the Yellowjackets’ five starters are playing the majority of the minutes every night. Coach Narracci is hoping to get more players some minutes on the floor as the season unfolds.

“Our lack of depth is a concern right now. We’re trying to develop kids faster than normal, but I don’t want to put guys in a position where they can’t be successful, so it’s a delicate balance,” Narracci said. “Guys will come along, and there’s a lot of opportunity for younger guys to step in and get minutes. We just have to develop them quicker than we would have liked.”

From the Sidelines

The East Haven boys’ basketball team’s roster consists of senior captain Shane Franklin; juniors Alias Ford, Nick Furino, Jayden Salgado, Ian Reynolds, Jayden Ortiz, and Jeremy Perez; sophomores Timothy Case, Joe Conte-Verderame, Chris Bagnoli, Kyle Cusano, Michael Capozzo, Shea Carasone, and Hassan Ali; and freshmen Giovanni Caputo, Radames Roberts, Joe Chevere, Dominic Salato, Angelo D’Amato, Theo Rawls, Jaysir Troutman, and Gavin Wheeler.

Ricky Narracci is in his seventh season as the Yellowjackets’ head coach. East Haven’s assistant coaches are Ed Crisafi, Mark Stout, and Ruddie Montalvo.

East Haven is competing in the SCC Housatonic Division with Notre Dame-West Haven, Xavier, Fairfield Prep, and Sheehan this winter.