Branford Boys’ Hoops Improves to 13-2; Hockey Squad Drops Two Contests
Boys’ Basketball
The Branford boys’ basketball team added two more wins to its ledger last week and is now sporting a record of 13-2 on the season. The Hornets notched recent victories over Career and Amistad to keep their stellar season going.
On Jan. 31, Branford hosted Career and won the contest by a 55-33 final. Branford was up 11-9 after the first quarter and held a 25-20 halftime advantage against Career. The Hornets won the third quarter by a 15-5 margin and then put the game away by outscoring Career 15-8 during the fourth.
Sophomore Jake Palluzzi scored 19 points and had 4 assists for the Hornets in the victory. Senior David McDonald scored 14 points and had 7 rebounds, while fellow senior Dylan Sachs had 10 points with 6 assists and 3 steals for Branford.
Then on Feb. 2, the Hornets claimed a 51-49 victory versus Amistad in a non-conference road game. Branford trailed Amistad 39-35 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the Wolves 16-10 in the final frame to emerge victorious.
Palluzzi scored 25 points for Branford on the night, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with the Hornets down by one with 22 seconds remaining in the game. Sophomore Eric Zielinski scored 9 points for Branford in the win. Sachs scored 8 points, sophomore Nate Florio had 5 points, and McDonald had 4 points with 10 boards.
Girls’ Basketball
The Branford girls’ basketball team took three defeats last week to move to 5-12 on the season.
On Jan. 31, Branford took a 66-47 road loss against North Haven. The following day, the Hornets hosted Jonathan Law and lost the contest by a 42-35 score.
The day after that, the Hornets took a 45-40 defeat versus Foran in a home game at Branford High School. Freshman Shelby Burnham scored 16 points for Branford, and sophomore Lyra Clifford had 14 points in the contest. Junior captain Lauren Kendrick added 7 points for the Hornets.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Branford boys’ ice hockey team took defeats in two recent road games and is now 3-10 on the year.
The Hornets took a 5-1 road loss to Woodstock Academy at the Pomfret School on Feb. 3. Two days later, Branford played an away game versus Hand at Northford Ice Pavilion and lost a 2-1 contest against the Tigers.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Hand/H-K/Valley/Branford/Coginchaug/Old Lyme co-op girls’ hockey team played an away game against Trumbull-St. Joseph on Feb. 1. The team took a 3-1 loss in the contest at the Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton to move to 1-9 on the season.
Sophomore Jaimey DiNapoli scored the goal for the Tigers in the game. Senior goalie Megan Hart made 32 saves in net.