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01/19/2020 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
The North Haven boys’ basketball team played two games on its home floor last week and came away with a split of the set. The Indians earned a 59-53 win versus Cheshire and then took a 52-34 defeat to Hand during last week’s action. North Haven now stands with a record of 6-3 as it enters the second half of the regular season.
The Indians started off last week by notching a 59-53 victory over Cheshire at Fred Kelly Gymnasium on Jan. 13. North Haven grabbed a 14-10 advantage after the first quarter and then outscored the Rams 22-10 during the second quarter to increase its lead to 36-20 at halftime. Cheshire rallied in the second half and trimmed the deficit to six, but the Indians hit a few key free throws down the stretch to solidify the win.
North Haven was bolstered by a balanced offensive effort that saw seven athletes score at least six points. Seniors RJ Hager and Jaden Watson both scored 11 points for the Indians, while fellow senior Bryce Charney had 10 points in the victory. Senior Dave Christoforo netted nine points for North Haven. Seniors Joe Vitale and Justin White each scored six points, as did sophomore Chris Hager.
On Jan. 16, North Haven had a home game against Hand and lost to the Tigers by a 52-34 final. Hand got out to a fast start by taking a 17-5 lead after the first quarter and then held off the Indians the rest of the way to get the win. Chris Hager scored 11 points, Charney had eight points, and Christoforo and White scored four points apiece for the Indians.
Girls’ Basketball
The Indians moved to 6-4 on the year after winning one of their three contests last week. North Haven took defeats against East Haven and Shelton and then bounced back to beat Sacred Heart Academy in recent action.
On Jan. 13, the Indians lost to East Haven by the final of 52-36 in a road game. North Haven was only down 18-16 at halftime, but the Yellowjackets outscored the Indians in both the third (16-10) and fourth (18-10) quarters on their way to the win.
Freshman Emma Liedke scored 14 points and had five rebounds for North Haven. Sophomore Eveani Okwuosa had eight points with seven rebounds, while junior Sarah Puzone scored seven points to go with five steals. Senior Colleen Lucey had three steals and scored two points.
Two nights later, North Haven took a 41-40 home loss against Shelton. Trailing 34-28, Shelton outscored the Indians 13-6 during the fourth quarter to come away with the victory.
Okwuosa scored 15 points and had six steals with five rebounds and two blocks on the night. Puzone scored nine points, and senior Laura Petrafesa had six points for North Haven. Senior Zoi Burns, Lucey, and junior Carly Fresher each had three steals with Lucey and Burns adding four points apiece.
Then on Jan. 17, the Indians hosted Sacred Heart Academy and prevailed by the final score of 40-34. North Haven was down 21-15 at halftime before outscoring the Sharks 15-4 during the third quarter to bring a 30-25 lead into the fourth.
Okwuosa had another nice game with 10 points, nine rebounds, and three steals for North Haven. Puzone also scored 10 points to go with five steals in the victory. Liedke scored eight points, while Petrafesa and Burns each had five points.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
North Haven picked up a big point in the standings by earning a tie versus Branford last week. The Indians moved to 5-3-2 on the year with the tie.
On Jan. 15, North Haven hosted Branford and battled the defending Division II state champion Hornets to a 2-2 draw at Northford Ice Pavilion. North Haven struck first when junior Mason Sullivan scored from the slot on an assist from freshman Alex Petersen for a 1-0 lead with 4:02 left in the first period. Branford netted the equalizer later in the frame to knot the contest at 1-1 after one period of play. The score remained that way through a scoreless second period thanks to some stellar goaltending from junior Andrew Sacco, who turned away shots from all areas of the ice.
The Hornets scored the go-ahead goal to take a 2-1 lead with 12:37 to play in regulation. However, with just 1:23 on the clock, junior Eli Brubacher tied the game by scoring an unassisted goal to send the contest into overtime. Despite having a 5-on-3 power play, the Indians were unable to break through for winning goal, and the game ended in a 2-2 stalemate. Sacco finished with 32 saves in net to help North Haven preserve the tie.
Girls’ Ice HockeyThe Amity-North Haven-Cheshire (A-NH-C) girls’ ice hockey team improved to 8-2-1 after defeating Guilford in a recent contest.
On Jan. 16, the Blades were on the road to face Guilford and earned a 6-4 win at Patsy DiLungo Ice Rink. The game was tied 3-3 entering the third period, where the Blades outscored Guilford by a 3-1 margin to emerge triumphant. Tess Csejka, Nadia DiNatale, and Haley Cable all scored a pair of goals to help A-NH-C prevail.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
The Greater New Haven Warriors (GNH) boys’ swimming and diving team earned a huge win by posting a 96-89 road victory against Amity at the High Plains Community Center on Jan. 14. GNH took first place in all but two events in its win versus Amity. The Warriors secured the victory by winning the 400 freestyle relay in the final event of the meet.
Sophomore Kyle Borrelli recorded a lifetime-best time of 1:16.16 in the 100 breaststroke and also swam a season-best time of 25.83 in the 50 freestyle for GNH versus Amity. Junior Ahmed Anwar swam a lifetime best of 34.22 in the 50 freestyle and did a season best 1:17.18 in the 100 freestyle.
Cameron Cargan turned in a season best of 23.59 in the 50 freestyle with fellow junior Tanner Powell swimming a season-best time of 24.48. Also recording season-best times for the Warriors were senior Stephen Borrelli in the 500 freestyle (5:54.08), junior Alan Penna in the 200 freestyle (2:10.30), freshman Patrick Cucchiarelli in the 200 freestyle (2:17.05) and the 100 butterfly (1:12.14), freshman Lucas Espinosa in the 200 individual medley (2:23.64), freshman Aiden Cohen in the 50 freestyle (24.68), freshman Joey Gould in the 500 freestyle (5:44.71), and freshman RT Trotter in the 100 backstroke (1:17.46).