This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
01/26/2020 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional boys’ basketball team is headed back to the Division V State Tournament after notching wins against Portland and Old Saybrook last week. The Warriors boosted their record to 9-3 on the season with the victories and are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Valley is also one of the top-two squads in the Shoreline Conference standings.
Last year, Valley had a fighting chance in states, but lost to top-seeded Innovation in the semifinal round. Featuring a roster laden with senior talent, Head Coach Kevin Woods’s team has its sights set on making its way deep into the state bracket and going even further this season.
The Warriors punched their postseason pass with a 51-43 home victory over Portland on Jan. 21. That marked Valley’s eighth win of the season giving the team the requisite number to make the state tourney cut. Coach Woods thought that his team looked a little flat and really had difficulty making shots. As always though, the Warriors defensive front didn’t take a day off, even if it seemed the offense did.
They are pretty good but they were missing their two best players. We didn’t play that well against Portland. Two of their better players were out that night,” Coach Woods said. “We had a rough night shooting the ball, but we played defense.”
Valley posted an 11-7 first quarter against Portland, and then extended the lead to eight points after a 12-8 second quarter. With a 23-15 lead coming out of halftime, the Warriors’ offensive woes hit their peak in the third quarter as Portland closed the lead a single point at 28-27 in Valley’s favor. The Warriors had a big fourth quarter and outscored the Highlanders 23-16 in the final frame.
Senior Gavin Grabowski had a solid effort with 18 points, five rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Coach Woods appreciated Grabowski getting the ball through the cylinder when his team needed it.
“Gavin had a good amount of points and layups. He found a way to get the ball into the basket when we needed some points,” said Woods. “Our defense came up big. Every time Portland had a chance to tie, we came up big with a steal or a stop.”
Senior captain Cade Ensinger also had another stat-stuffing kind of game with 12 points, 10 boards, seven assists, and five steals. As always, Ensinger found a way to have an impact on the game in a variety of ways, especially on defense.
“The biggest plays of the game were Cade’s steals and big finishes. Also, he hit his free throws,” Woods said. “When he shot poorly, it didn’t take away from the rest of his game. He had steals and rebounds. He didn’t let that affect him.”
Ultimately, the Warriors came away with the victory in a game where it seemed the ball just wouldn’t go through the hoop. Coach Woods found that fact encouraging, and a mark that his team is capable of something special.
“Our energy was there. We found a way to win. A game like that can turn into a loss, even for good teams. It was good to see that we had our worst stuff but we still refused to lose,” said Coach Woods. “That’s what highlighted that game. It was survive and advance. We found a way.”
On Jan. 24, the Warriors hosted Old Saybrook and ran roughshod all over the Rams in an 82-38 home win. Valley took an 18-13 lead after one quarter, and then went ballistic with a 25-12 second quarter. The Warriors had a comfortable 43-25 lead heading into the third and stifled the Rams the rest of the way scoring 39 points in the second half while only allowing 13 en route to the 82-38 win.
After a tough offensive night, Valley put up 82 points with a lot of different players getting into that mix. Jake Grow scored 20 points, while Grabowski added 17. Senior captain Chris Sparaco had 12 points and 10 rebounds in limited minutes. Ensinger provided four points along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
“Old Saybrook caught us on a night where we played really well offensively,” Woods said. “Cade didn’t score a lot, but he didn’t have to. We got 20 points from Jake. It was really balanced scoring. We had 14 guys score out of 16.”
With the postseason picture starting to crystallize for the Warriors, Coach Woods and his squad aren’t ready to celebrate just yet. The Warriors still have a long way to go, and the last few steps of that plotted journey are the toughest, as they know from a season ago.
“It’s wasn’t so much a celebration for making states for us this week. Once we had eight wins, we just remembered how close we were last year. It’s getting us to that march feeling,” Woods said. “It’s awesome, but it’s also sad. We have nine seniors, and that makes it that much closer to the end for them. It’s special to play high school basketball, and every second counts.”
In addition to states, the Warriors are also on a crash course for the Shoreline Conference Tournament. Valley currently sits in second place behind Old Lyme. Coach Woods wants to get in first and foremost, but he’d also love to get some home playoff games in the mix.
“We have a pretty tight grip on the second spot because we have a tie-breaker with Cromwell,” said Coach Woods. “It doesn’t matter where we finish in the Shoreline. If we have a top-two spot, we play in Deep River. We care about that. We’re a pretty good home team, and we love playing in front of our fans.”
From the Sidelines
The Valley Regional boys’ basketball team’s varsity roster features senior captains Cade Ensinger, Gavin Grabowski, Chris Sparaco, and Dylan Sparaco; seniors JT Dickson, Jake Grow, Macklin Miezejieski, Brian Rankin, and John Tibbets; juniors Marcus Santamaria and Keenan Pindar; sophomores James Marsden, Simon Partyka, and Saeger Patel; and freshman Jeremy Arnum.
Head Coach Kevin Woods’s coaching staff includes assistant coaches Anthony Pagano, Brad Pitman, and Lou Rolon, along with JV coach Scott Harger and freshman coach and David Bradbury.
For the rest of the season, the Warriors are playing home games versus Haddam-Killingworth, Coginchaug, and Morgan. Valley plays road games against Westbrook, Morgan, North Branford, Cromwell, and Amistad.