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02/28/2023 08:06 AMThe Old Saybrook boys’ basketball team has had a season full of ups and downs but with a lot more ups. Finishing with a regular season mark of 12-8 heading into the Shoreline Conference tournament, the Rams are primed and ready to make a deep run in both conference and state tournament play.
For Head Coach Chris Perras and Old Saybrook, there have been a lot of bright spots this year that led them to the success of having an over .500 campaign. Captains Aaron Tolve (senior, forward), Bradley Kulmann (senior, forward), and Brayden Cody (junior, point guard) have been major factors in that, serving as strong leaders for the squad this winter.
“Aaron has been our guy that we can depend on throughout games because of his ability to score and the experience that he has had. He has been playing at the varsity level since he was a sophomore,” said Perras. “Bradley is a very cerebral player, always thinking about what is going on and is in the right spot when something good happens defensively, that can help us turn it to offense. Brayden is our motor, our vocal guy,the one with all the energy. He compliments what we want in terms of an energy level of what we want during a game and is a great leader in that regard.”
The Rams finished off their regular season on Feb. 20, where they took a 67-66 overtime loss vs. Montville. In this contest, Tolve had
31 points and seven rebounds, Kulmann had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Lech (senior, guard) had 10 points and six rebounds. Cody also added six points, and Drew Kulmann (junior, forward) had five points.
Throughout the winter, the Rams were faced with a variety of illnesses and injuries but still found a way to keep winning important games and maintain a positive attitude, all while giving the younger players the opportunity to step up.
“What those injuries taught us is that someone had to step up, whether that was two or three sophomores starting in a game at one point,” said Perras. “This was great because we were able to expand their knowledge, get them used to the varsity level and speed, expand their skill set and how they can contribute to the team.”
Three sophomores that stepped up and helped fill those shoes included Brendan Casella (guard), Noah Hubbard (guard), and Wes Percival (forward), all of which were able to hold down the fort on the floor while continuing to grow as players.
“Those guys were able to step up and fill in the gaps. They held their own without having a ton of varsity experience under their belt,” said Perras. “They went out there, played to the best of their abilities; they provided a spark for us throughout the season at times. They have done some things really well and showed that they can grow upon and build upon what they have done.”
Drew Kulmann, Lech, and London Sweeney (junior, forward) have also put up solid minutes for the Rams and showed their grit and competitiveness on the court.
“Drew is a feisty type of player; he kind of gets on the other team’s nerves when he plays. He is the kid on defense that brings a lot of knowledge and awareness to us,” said Perras. “He has grown a lot as a player and as a person. Josh had a huge impact and stayed healthy all year — a consistent presence for us and someone we could count on when we needed to score, to put us ahead, or for an energy boost. He’s a great shooter, and how well he shoots improves our chances of continuing in the tournaments. London held a huge part of our success early on. He has great skills and a positive attitude but got injured in our 13th game of the season. We are looking forward to his return.”
Perras also added that Lech started in all 17 games during the regular season, averaging just short of nine points while collecting an average of five rebounds per game.
Old Saybrook played in the first round of the Shoreline Athletic Conference (SLC) tournament on Feb. 25, in which they defeated the Valley Regional Warriors by a final score of 49-40.
Tolve had 22 points and four rebounds, Auggie Albert (junior, forward) had 13 points and six rebounds, and Kulmann had seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
As they move deeper into the postseason portion of the campaign, Perras hopes to see his team continue to work together and put the strongest product that they can out there in every game.
“I think the most challenging thing will be staying consistent, to see what team shows up. We are very capable of doing some great things, but we also saw the other side of that throughout the season,” said Perras. “It’s that coupled with our health and staying healthy, being able to compete not only for one game but for multiple games where we can make a little run. We certainly have the talent, knowledge, and the mental capacity to do some really nice things, but it’s just the matter of where we have the bodies that can allow us to do that.”
Perras, who is in his third season as the head coach, is assisted on the sidelines by Kurt Larson (varsity assistant coach and junior varsity (JV) coach), Alan Stekloff (freshman coach/varsity assistant), and Tim Payne (varsity assistant coach).
The Rams’ full roster consists of Tolve, Mitchell LeGeyt (senior, forward), Lech, Bradley Kulmann, Sweeney, Cody, Casella, Drew Kulmann, Albert, Jacob Speed (junior, guard), Cole Lawson (sophomore, guard), Hubbard, Percival, and Greyson Richards (freshman, forward).