Valley Independent Sentinel

HYDE 78, ANSONIA 54

by Eliot Schickler | Mar 13, 2010 8:30 am

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Posted to: Ansonia, Sports

Despite playing tough for the first half, Ansonia couldn’t handle top-seeded Hyde’s third-quarter run which broke the game open, catapulting Hyde to a 78-54 victory over the Chargers in the Class S quarterfinals Friday at Woodland High School.

The Howling Wolves raised their record to 25-0 and will play fourth-seeded Valley Regional on Tuesday in the semifinals at a site and time to be determined. Ansonia ended its season at 15-8.

“We came out with a good game plan and played a good zone defense and but we had trouble with them when we played a man-to-man defense,” Chargers coach Billy LaRovera said. “We came out ready to play and we weren’t scared but getting the win didn’t happen.”

Ansonia trailed by only five after one quarter, 23-18 and by nine at the half, 41-32. Senior tri-captain Maurice Brown (six points, one steal) hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter to keep the Chargers in the game, and senior tri-captain Julian Sobon (10 points, three rebounds) scored eight of his points in the first half, four in each quarter, to keep it a single-digit game.

Hyde was impressed with its opponents and knew it had to step up their game and midway through the third quarter, it did.

“I thought Ansonia gave a herculean effort, but as long I lived, no basketball game was won in the first half,” Howling Wolves coach Steve Jefferson said. “We were poised and cerebral and eventually pulled away from them.”

Through the efforts of senior tri-captain Sheldon Clarke (nine points, one 3-pointer, three rebounds, one assist, one blocked shot) and junioe Reggie Finney (20 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots), Ansonia remained in the game and trailed 49-40 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Finney especially stepped it up with his drives to the basket and defense.

“I was just playing my game and I played hard because I wanted to win and didn’t hold back for nothing,” Finney said.

Once Hyde picked up its pace, it embarked on an 18-0 run to turn a single-digit game into a 67-40 lead after three quarters.

After hitting a free throw and an exchange of possessions, Howling Wolf senior Joe Lambert (19 points, two 3-pointers) grabbed the offensive rebound outside and then went outside the arc and swished a trey to make it 53-40.

Hyde’s defense dominated, with 6-9 senior Montel Walcott (nine points, six blocked shots) rejecting Charger shots, leading to transition layups for the Howling Wolves.

“We wanted to limit them to one shot and to limit our turnovers but that didn’t happen,” LaRovera said.

Finney ended the run with a layup in the fourth quarter.

Also contributing for Ansonia were juniors Tarrel Vargas (four points, three rebounds, two steals, one blocked shot), Christian Abdul-Akbar (three points on a trey, one rebound, one assist), Montrell Dobbs (two points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, one blocked shot) and Keshont Graham (one steal).

Mostly, it was Finney, drawing contact and hitting a three-point play, but the Chargers couldn’t beat Hyde, who is ranked third in the state in the Connecticut Sportswriters poll.

“They are a great team and they outhustled us,” Finney said. “We didn’t come out like we should have. We stayed with them for awhile but they pulled away in the end.”

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