Casper’s younger sister Samantha scored all of her 15 points in the second half for the Lions (13-0). Shania Howard led Holy Cross (11-1) with 18 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Northwest won the Class MM championship last year and the Class S title two years ago. Holy Cross was the Class M champion in 2022 and the Class L runner-up last year.

Holy Cross led once, after Quinn Barry scored the first basket of the game, then Northwest took over and never trailed. The Lions led 13-6 after one quarter and 25-22 at halftime. Samantha Casper hit a 3-pointer and Abby back to back shots and Northwest led 32-24. Holy Cross cut the lead to 39-35 on a Mia Mattaboni fast break basket but Abby Casper had a putback and Maeve Staunton’s jumper closed out the quarter with Northwest leading 50-35. Staunton had 12 points for the Lions.

“This is huge,” Northwest Catholic coach Alison Connors said. “We needed this. You never know what’s going to happen at states – we got the whole package tonight, a long bus ride, a loud gym, not many people on our side. Holy Cross had a great showing, a great team. We needed the challenge to make sure we knew how to make the right plays at the right time.”

Northwest Catholic 64, Holy Cross 53

Northwest Catholic 13 12 25 14 – 64

Holy Cross 6 16 17 14 – 53

Northwest Catholic: Maeve Staunton 5 0 12, Lilyan Johnson 2 0 5, Zoey Canning 5 0 10, Samantha Casper 5 0 15, Abigail Casper 8 2 20, Lyla Diaz 1 0 2. Totals: 26 2 64.

Holy Cross: Shania Howard 5 8 18 Maddie Neibel 1 0 3, Julia Begvegnu 1 0 2, Isabella Lombardo 3 0 7, Amelia Mowad 1 0 2, Mia Mattabani 4 1 9, Cheyanne Little 1 0 2, Quinn Barry 5 0 10. Totals: 21 9 53.

Records: Northwest Catholic, 13-0; Holy Cross, 11-1.

“I was like, ‘Oh. My. Goodness,’” Innerarity said.

“I’ve never seen this in all my coaching years. I have two freshmen who are leading the team in scoring.”

They are both guards: Mireidys Cruz-DeJesus, who is averaging 15 points per game and Kailyn Grate (18 ppg) for Prince Tech (9-2).

“They are amazing,” Innerarity said. “It was a total surprise.”

Cruz-DeJesus is a 3-point specialist. Both can handle the ball. In a 60-33 win over Abbott Tech last Wednesday, Cruz-DeJesus had 26 points and Grate had 25.

The Falcons are beating teams they haven’t been able to beat in years. They beat Windham Tech in their first game, 51-28. Ellis Tech beat Prince three times last year; Prince Tech beat Ellis 46-43 on Jan. 7.

The freshmen, Innerarity said, are unselfish and play well together.

“They’re not trying to outdo each other and they’re not in competition with each other,” she said.

Last year, the Falcons were the 24th seed in Class MM and lost to Berlin 56-19 in the first round of the state tournament. This season, they’re ranked fourth in Class MM behind Tolland, Sheehan and East Catholic.

Top performances

Maddie Begnini, Mercy: Begnini hit nine 3-pointers and had 33 points as Mercy defeated Foran 61-38 Friday.

Yzabella Colon, Plainville: Colon scored 17 points in a 46-36 win over Hall Saturday and had 15 points in a 57-52 win over Innovation Wednesday.

Maddy Handrahan, Glastonbury: Handrahan had 24 points, six assists and six steals in a 47-44 overtime win over Acton-Boxboro (Mass.) at the Hoophall Classic and had 13 points, three assists and five steals in a 27-21 win over Simsbury Thursday and 18 points in a 68-32 win over Middletown Monday.

Aniya Jenkins, Windham: Jenkins, a senior, scored her 1,000th point and had 24 points in an 85-24 win over Montville Friday.

Kylie Lake, Old Saybrook: Lake had 24 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in Old Saybrook’s 57-51 win over Cromwell Friday.

Sybil Neary, Old Lyme: Neary had 20 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block in a 37-35 win over Montville Monday.

Megan Wresien, Sheehan: Wresien had three 3-pointers and 17 points on Tuesday against Sacred Heart but Sheehan lost in overtime.

Symber Sutton, Innovation: Sutton scored 31 points in a 67-35 win over Weaver Friday.

Sophie Tumulis, Stafford: Tumulis had 15 points and 14 rebounds, two steals and five blocks in a 40-38 win over Comp Sci Tuesday.

Bailey Winner, East Windsor/Bloomfield: Winner had 21 points in a 54-45 win over Canton.

Storylines

Conard senior Emily Knowles set or tied a slew of school records in Conard’s 68-45 win over Bristol Eastern Tuesday. Knowles scored 40 points, which broke her record from last year of 38 points) and tied the school record for 3-pointers (7), broke the record for points in a half (29) and tied the record for points in a quarter (19 in the first quarter).

Sheehan had its nine-game win streak broken when the Titans lost last Tuesday to Sacred Heart 48-45 in overtime. Megan Wreisen scored 17 points for Sheehan (10-2).

Windsor lost last year’s mid-season transfer from New Jersey, Kamaria Bowens (who helped Windsor’s run to the Class L quarterfinals) when Bowens moved to Bristol and is now playing for Bristol Central. But Windsor got revenge of sorts, beating Bristol Central, 67-60 in overtime Jan. 13.

Games to Watch

Plainville (8-3) at Tolland (8-1), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Tolland’s only loss came to Glastonbury and the Eagles, the top-ranked team in Class MM, have won four straight games.

Ledyard (7-3) at Windham (8-1), Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Windham’s only loss came Jan. 9 to New London, 40-35, while Ledyard has won its last three games.

East Catholic (9-2) at St. Paul (5-2), Thursday, 7 p.m.: St. Paul, last year’s Class M champion, has won its last two games after losing to WCA, while East Catholic has won six straight.

Coventry (10-1) at Granby (7-3), Friday, 6 p.m.: Coventry dropped its first loss to Woodstock Academy 47-41 Jan. 13 but bounced back to beat East Granby and Stafford.

The Eagles were headed to play then-unbeaten Manchester Friday. The game was sold out.

“We knew they were going to be coming out hard and they did,” Manchester coach John Reiser said.

East Catholic scored 27 points in the first quarter. Kahil Bell, who had five 3-pointers in the first half, had 11 points for the Eagles in the quarter.

Manchester regrouped, like the Red Hawks did in a win over Windsor, but couldn’t make it all the way back and East Catholic handed them their first loss, 72-66.

“It was a great high school game,” East Catholic coach Luke Reilly said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence and they’re really tough at home.

“We had come off a tough loss the day before, we were down 1 with 15 seconds left and we were unable to convert. That added a little sting for us going into the game.”

Brayden Jones had 28 points and 16 rebounds for East Catholic (9-2) and Bell had 18. Chance Clark led Manchester with 25 points.

Manchester had a one-point lead with about a minute left in the game but couldn’t hold on.

“Chance Clark hit a 3, just like Windsor,” Reiser said. “But there was too mujch time. We were right there. They’re a good team. to get down and battle back against such good teams says a lot about us. You take what you can from those games.”

And there will be a rematch Jan. 27, this time at East Catholic.

“It came down to the last minute and I thought we did a good job controlling the game,” Reilly said. “We executed where we had to and got a few critical stops.

“We’re getting there. we were unable to close the game out in Springfield but we were able to the next night, so that’s a good sign.”

Top performances

Jeff Akoff, Bloomfield: Akoff scored 28 points in a 67-43 win over Conard Monday.

Richard Chandler, Aerospace: Chandler had 24 points in a 51-50 win over Granby Friday and 18 points in a 76-42 win over Capital Prep Thursday.

Andrew Czerwinski, Somers: Czerwinski had 17 of his 26 points in the first half in a 60-46 win over Wheeler Thursday.

Tommy Dinunzio, Lewis Mills: Dinunzio had 33 points and 15 rebounds to lead Lewis Mills over Northwestern 64-40 on Saturday and 28 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in 66-58 win over Conard Friday.

Jack Grasso, Windsor Locks: Grasso scored 28 points in a 65-46 victory over Bolton Thursday.

Brady Marsh, Windham Tech: Marsh scored 33 points and had six steals, five assists, three rebounds and two blocks in a 69-52 win over Hartford Public Thursday.

Camden Mazerolle, E.O. Smith: Mazarolle had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a 53-41 win over South Windsor Friday.

Elijah Moore, Xavier: Moore scored 27 points in a 62-45 win over Fairfield Prep Wednesday.

Alex Weaver, Windsor: Weaver scored 25 points, six assists and three steals in a 76-66 win over Northwest Catholic Friday.

Avant Williams, Classical: Williams had 24 points in a 74-58 win over Bulkeley Thursday and 18 points in a 78-37 win over Capital Prep Tuesday.

Storylines

Aerospace stayed unbeaten at 11-0 last week when the Jets beat Granby 51-50 behind 24 points from Richard Chandler. Aerospace, which advanced to the Division V quarterfinals last year, is the top-ranked team in Div. IV.

Manchester senior Derrick Sheets scored his 1,000th point in a 68-58 win over New Britain Tuesday and that was not the only day this month he lit up the scoreboard. Sheets had 19 points in the loss to East Catholic, hitting five 3-pointers and on Jan. 10, in a 91-70 win over Tolland, Sheets hit 10 3-pointers and had 39 points.

Games to watch

 Ellington (9-0) at Granby (7-3), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Granby has dropped its last two games by close margins but this is usually a good NCCC game.

Innovation (8-1) at Comp Sci (9-2), Thursday, 5 p.m.: Innovation, last year’s Div. IV champion, has a seven-game win streak, while Comp Sci is 6-1 in its last seven games.

Glastonbury (10-1) at Hall (8-2), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: Glastonbury hasn’t lost since the Guardians dropped a game to Northwest Catholic Dec. 21.

East Catholic (9-2) at Northwest Catholic (9-2), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: East is in the middle of a tough stretch, with a game against perennial rival Northwest sandwiched in between two games against Manchester.

Senior guard David Smith is a big reason why.

“It’s not a secret that we’re only going to go as far as David Smith takes us,” Glastonbury coach Jim Vaughan said. “Other guys have stepped up, but we rely on him.”

Smith, who is 6-4, reached the 1,000-point milestone last year, believed to be the first in Glastonbury basketball history, and holds the boys school scoring record. He’s averaging 25 points per game. He had 36 in a 65-56 win over East Hartford last Wednesday and 24 in Glastonbury’s only loss, Dec. 21 to Northwest Catholic. He was the tournament MVP of the Artie Kohs Classic at Xavier Dec. 27.

“This year, he’s gotten stronger, he rebounds better, his decision-making is better,” Vaughan said. “But probably the two most important things: he’s a better leader and mentally understands the game and situations better and better by the day.”

Vaughan said that loss to Northwest Catholic instilled confidence in his team that the Guardians could play with higher level teams and said the East Hartford win was one of their better efforts.

“We were down in the second quarter then came back in the third then made the plays at the end,” he said. “We had been winning by some wider margins so it was nice to be in a close game to see how we would respond. I was thrilled with the way we responded.”

Top performances

Andrew Crayton, Haddam-Killingworth: Crayton had 27 points (including four 3-pointers), 11 rebounds, four steals and five assists in a 79-63 win over Old Saybrook Friday, had 25 points and seven rebounds in a Thursday loss to Shepaug Valley and 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a loss to Hale Ray Tuesday.

Tommy Dinunzio, Lewis Mills: Dinunzio had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 57-46 loss to Bloomfield Friday and 31 points in a 57-55 loss to Conard Monday.

Colby Dunnack, Windham Tech: Dunnack had 14 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and a block in a 71-66 win over Goodwin Tech Tuesday.

Eddie Fiske, Old Lyme: Fiske scored 20 points in a 53-50 win over Morgan Friday and 19 in a 75-60 win over East Hampton Monday.

Nyquawn Jefferson, Comp Sci: Jefferson scored 33 points in a 72-49 win over Capital Prep Friday.

Brady Marsh, Windham Tech: Marsh had 26 points, four rebounds and two assists in an 86-50 win over Wright Tech Friday night and 30 points and four rebounds, two assists and a block in a 71-66 win over Goodwin Tech Tuesday.

Cayden Smith, Bloomfield: Smith had 14 points and 12 assists, including the assist to Jeff Acoff on his game-winning layup in Bloomfield’s 64-63 win over Bristol Eastern Monday.

Derrick Sheets, Manchester: Sheets had 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a 101-43 win over E.O. Smith Monday.

Julian Surdyka, Aerospace: Surdyka scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds in a 70-55 win over Windsor Locks Friday.

Alex Weaver, Windsor: Weaver had 25 points, 11 assists and five steals in a 97-45 win over South Windsor Friday.

Storylines

Senior Joe Mugovero had 88 receptions for 1,297 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Manchester football team last fall. When football ended on Dec. 3 with a loss to Staples in the Class LL quarterfinals, Mugovero went to basketball practice not long after. Mugovero made some big plays in Manchester’s 95-94 win over Windsor Wednesday, including a drive at the end and an assist, which cut the lead to two. “He comes out the first day and he’s on,” Reiser said. “He didn’t missed a beat. He does the little things. He’s the receiver with the good hands.”… Windsor sophomore Missoni Brown suffered a concussion on a play in the third quarter in the loss to Manchester. He sat out Friday’s game against South Windsor.

Games to watch

Cromwell (5-2) at SMSA (7-0), Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.: SMSA will put its unbeaten record on the line with Cheney Tech Monday, and possibly Cromwell on Wednesday. Cromwell has two close losses, to North Branford and Coginchaug.

Windsor (5-3) at Northwest Catholic (7-1), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: Both teams have lost to Manchester; Windsor also has had a tough early schedule and has two losses to East Catholic.

East Catholic (7-1) at Manchester (10-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Manchester has knocked off Northwest Catholic and Windsor, can it keep it going against East Catholic? East Catholic’s only loss came to St. Bernard, last year’s Division I runner-up.

Cheney Tech (5-2) at Windham Tech (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Cheney Tech, last year’s Division IV runner-up, has been playing a tough non-conference schedule but this week, Cheney will face a solid tech school opponent in Windham Tech.

This season, Coventry played Somers in the season opener and won 52-36.

“That was very nice,” Coventry coach Kevin Clancy said.

The Patriots (8-0) haven’t lost since. They had a big win over Ellington Friday, 50-32, a team Coventry hadn’t beaten in at least four years.

Coventry, which advanced to the Class S final in 2022 but lost to Thomaston, has no seniors. Three key juniors – guards Ava Vieira, Jianna Foran and Ava Topliff – who lead the team and a strong freshman class, which includes 6-foot-1 center Hailey Mayo. Reese Jeamel is a 5-10 freshman and Danielle Wheeler is the third freshman contributor.

“Those three are the leaders on the court that a very skilled freshman group looks to,” Clancy said. “They have taught the freshmen how we run our program, how hard we work. The freshman have bought into it. They mesh well.”

Coventry will have a tough week coming up, with Woodstock Academy (7-1) on Monday and East Granby (7-1) Tuesday.

Top performances

Maddie Benigni, Mercy: Benigni had 30 points in a 56-30 win over Hand Tuesday and 19 in a loss to Sheehan Thursday.

Kamaria Bowens, Bristol Central: Bowens had 29 points in an 82-67 loss to Northwest Catholic Tuesday.

Abby Casper, Northwest Catholic: Casper scored 28 points in a win over Bristol Central Tuesday.

Zola Cudjoe, St. Paul: Cudjoe had 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 59-36 win over Kennedy Friday and 18 points and 10 rebounds and seven steals in a 57-49 win over Ansonia Tuesday.

Jazzy Garcia, New Britain: Garcia scored 22 points as New Britain knocked off previously-unbeaten Plainville 77-51 Monday.

Kylie Lake, Old Saybrook: Lake had 24 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in a 66-52 win over North Branford Thursday and had 10 rebounds and 10 blocks and five points in a loss to Haddam-Killingworth Monday.

Katelyn Novak, Bacon Academy: Novak had a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds) in Bacon’s 51-46 win over Ledyard Tuesday.

Skylynn Martell, International/Aerospace: Martell scored 17 points and had nine steals and eight rebounds in a 39-31 win over HMTCA Friday.

Emma Teuner, Morgan: Teuner scored 20 points in 75-26 win over Portland Tuesday.

Sophie Tumulis, Stafford: Tumulis had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 36-34 win over SMSA and 13 points in a 29-28 win over Bolton Tuesday.

Megan Wresien, Sheehan: Wresien led her team in scoring with 25 points, with five in overtime, as Sheehan beat Mercy 53-49 in overtime.

Storylines

Urielle Abrokwa had 24 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone Friday in an 84-44 win over RHAM. Abrokwa is only a junior. East Catholic is 7-2 and has won four straight.

Northwest Catholic knocked off Bristol Central 82-67 in a game of two of the top teams currently in the Class L rankings Tuesday. Northwest (10-0) is ranked No. 1 and Bristol Central (7-2) is No. 3. Abby Casper had 28 points and Maeve Staunton had 25 for the Lions.

Sheehan coach Mike Busillo hasn’t beaten SCC opponent Mercy that much over his 19-year career, but his team rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Tigers 53-49 in overtime Thursday. “I’ve lost to them, it seems like 100 times,” Busillo said. It doesn’t get easier – Sheehan will face Class LL runner-up Sacred Heart Tuesday.

Sophomore Zoee Robbins sealed Windham’s 42-38 win over Bacon Academy Saturday with a free throw with 3.8 seconds left, two days after Windham, last year’s Class M runner-up, had its first loss of the season to New London, 40-35. Bacon Academy and East Catholic are both 7-2 and Windham handed both teams one of their two losses.

Games to watch

Sacred Heart (8-1) at Sheehan (9-1), Tuesday, 6 p.m.: Sheehan has already knocked off Class LL champion Hamden and SCC nemesis Mercy and next up for the Titans is Sacred Heart, last year’s Class LL runner-up.

Coventry (8-0) at East Granby (7-1), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Coventry will have a tough game Monday against Woodstock Academy, which lost its first game Saturday, then head over to East Granby for a big NCCC game the next day.

East Catholic (7-2) at Rocky Hill (6-2), Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.: These two CCC teams are right next to each other in the Class MM rankings – East Catholic is ninth and Rocky Hill is 10th.

But one of the sophomores is Jack Curtis, younger brother of Matt Curtis, who holds the scoring record at Northwest Catholic and is now playing at Fairfield University.

The freshman, Reese Nicol, scored 25 points Friday night in Ellington’s 65-50 win over Coventry, last year’s Division V runner-up.

Curtis, who started as a freshman last year, had 22 points for the Knights (7-0). Ty Fieldhouse, the other sophomore starter, also started as a freshman for the team that advanced to the Division IV quarterfinals, where the Knights fell to eventual runner-up Cheney Tech, 66-60, in overtime last year.

“We’re young and we’re still learning,” Ellington coach Bob Freitas said. “They’re really good basketball players. We’re just trying to gel. They’ll be fine. We’ll continue to get better and hopefully at the end of the year, we’ll be where we want to be.”

The game Friday night was close in the first half and Ellington led 25-21 at halftime. Coventry, also a young team which starts three sophomores, hit nine 3-pointers in the game.

But Ellington switched up its defense in the second half and started to get steals and turnovers. Nicol had 13 points in the quarter, many off fast breaks.

“They’re all capable of having those kinds of nights, it just depends on the matchups,” Freitas said. “It was a good matchup for us with Reese.”

Still, Coventry hung around and Nicol answered a 3 by Eric Jordan with his own 3-pointer to put the Knights up 42-39. Curtis opened the fourth quarter with a steal and a layup and Ellington was off and running.

Nicol had nine rebounds and two blocks. Curtis had seven rebounds, two steals and three assists.

“Our leaders last year set a good example for us and this year, I’ve been stepping up and being a leader myself,” Curtis said. “I learned a lot from them. We’re off to a great start.”

Like his brother, Curtis can finish tough shots.

“He’s aggressive for sure,” Nicol said. “He had some clutch steals. Always finds a way to get a bucket.”

Jack learned a lot from Matt, playing one-on-one in their driveway growing up.

“His change of pace and his ability to hit tough shots” were Jack’s main takeaways from those sessions. “Hitting crazy shots. Playing against him was great for me.”

Ellington 65, Coventry 50

Coventry 11 10 18 11 – 50

Ellington 13 12 25 22 – 65

Coventry: Kristian Bici 4 3 13, Eric Jordan 3 2 10, Keanan Staples 1 0 3, Mather Spear 2 0 4, Justin Aloisa 6 1 17, Matteo Albano 1 0 3. Totals: 17 7 50.

Ellington: Reese Nicol 11 2 25, Ty Fieldhouse 1 1 3, Dylan McKee 3 0 7, Jack Curtis 11 0 22, Dylan Killoran 2 0 4, Jack Weigand 2 0 4. Totals: 30 3 65.

Records: Coventry, 4-4; Ellington, 7-0.

Jenna’s twin sister Megan moved to the top of the key.

“The chemistry is really there,” Megan said. “We know where each other is, we’re able to trust each other.”

Jenna found Megan. Megan hit the 3-pointer, her fifth of the game, with 28 seconds left to put Sheehan ahead for good and the Titans rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat Mercy 53-49 in an SCC game Thursday night.

It was three times before Thursday, now it’s four.

“Any time you beat Mercy is great,” Busillo said. “They’re tough to beat. I know because I’ve lost to them it seems like 100 times. We beat them last year but before that, we’d only beaten them twice.”

Megan Wresien, a junior, led Sheehan (9-1) with 25 points. Maddie Benigni had 19 for Mercy (5-3), 13 in the first half. Sheehan threw a different defense at her in the second half, with Jenna Wresien as her main defender and Gabby Busillo helping.

“We tried to get the ball out of Benigni’s hands the best we could,” Busillo said.

But in the early going, it didn’t look great for Sheehan. Mercy’s defense forced a lot of turnovers and Benigni was hitting shots all over the place. Megan Wresien hit a 3 at the buzzer in the first quarter and Sheehan trailed 13-8.

Mercy led 26-15 at halftime and expanded the lead to 34-21 midway through the third quarter before Sheehan started a run. Megan Wresien had two 3-pointers, her second starting a 15-3 run. Jenna hit four free throws; Susie Hotaling hit four free throws and Megan hit two and had a basket off a steal to put Sheehan up 36-34 with 45 seconds left in the quarter.

Jenna Wreisen to her twin sister Megan for the 3 with a little over a minute left in OT that put Sheehan up for good over Mercy. Sheehan won 53-49. pic.twitter.com/HdUSsS8voU

— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) January 10, 2025

Mercy came back but Julia Cassesse’s 3-pointer with 7:40 left in the fourth tied the score at 39. Hotaling had a basket to put Sheehan up 45-43 at the end of the quarter but Abi Weidman of Mercy made two free throws with 49.1 seconds left to tie the score at 45 before the game went into overtime.

“We were down earlier in the season against Fairfield Warde and in the locker room, Coach Busillo was saying to keep our composure,” Megan Wresien said. “When we weren’t off to such a great start, it was all about being calm and being able to keep up with them.”

That was the first game of the season. It was the last game Sheehan lost. The Titans have won nine straight.

“The difference is playing more games, getting comfortable with each other, trusting each other more so we can hit those big shots later in the game,” Megan Wresien said.

Sheehan lost in the Class MM championship game last year to Northwest Catholic, 43-37, but the Titans graduated their leading scorer and point guard Liv Cassesse, whom Busillo called “one of the best players I’ve ever coached” last year, and now there is one senior and a whole bunch of juniors who are figuring out how to gel and Thursday, they did it.

“They’re tough kids,” Busillo said. “At Sheehan, the culture we talk about all the time is play really hard and be tough. We don’t always have players of their caliber – Megan and Susie and Jenna – but we always try to play tough. And hard. And if you don’t do that against Mercy, you’re in trouble.”

Sheehan 53, Mercy 49 (OT)

Mercy 13 13 11 8 4 – 49

Sheehan 8 7 21 9 8 – 53

Mercy: Maddie Benigni 6 5 19, Jasmine Bryant 1 0 2, Sadie Lawrie 2 0 5, Mercedes Artaiz 2 2 7, Abi Weidman 5 3 13, Reagan Beelez 1 0 3. Totals: 17 10 49.

Sheehan: Megan Wresien 7 6 25, Gabby Busillo 1 0 3, Susie Hotaling 4 6 14, Jenna Wresien 1 4 7, Julia Cassesse 1 1 4. Totals: 14 17 53.

Records: Mercy, 5-3; Sheehan, 9-1.

The Red Hawks cut a little into the lead then went into the locker room at halftime Wednesday. They were undefeated coming into this CCC North boys basketball game. This was not what they expected. Sheets, who averages 23 points a game, hadn’t scored at all.

“I was a little down in the locker room,” Sheets said. “My teammates got me back in it, they made sure my head was in the game.”

Manchester coach John Reiser told them they were a good team. Just go out and play. Play hard defense.

“They’re looking at me,” Reiser said. “But they believed it.”

What followed was an improbable comeback. Manchester chipped away and chipped away. Sheets played the entire second half and did not get called for a foul.

With 27 seconds left, Joe Mugovero, a top receiver for the football team, drove down the court, almost lost the ball, collected it again then passed it to Kahari Hayes in the paint, who hit a layup to cut the lead to two.

Kahri Hayes cuts it to two 94-92 27.7 left #ctbb pic.twitter.com/vCBEGNYSLj

— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) January 9, 2025

Then Chance Clark hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left and somehow Manchester had rallied to win, 95-94.

Reiser couldn’t believe it. In his 10th season of coaching the boys team at Manchester, it was his first win over the Warriors.

“Oh man, what a win,” he said. “Holy cow.”

The players couldn’t believe it, either.

“As of right now, no,” said Mugovero, who had 11 points. “I’m going to go home, go to sleep, wake up the next morning and still not process it.”

Improbable? Hayes’ basket, the one that cut the lead to two, was his first of the season after missing time due to illness. He had just subbed in for Will Odin-Tan, who led the Red Hawks with 27 points Wednesday, but had fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Clark had nine points before his big 3. He’s more of an assist guy, averaging 8 per game. But he was open, and he took the shot.

“We were down 20, we were kind of upset,” Clark said. “All we had to do is work hard. play defense. That shot, as soon as I shot it, I knew it was going in. This is a big win.”

Manchester came in with a solid resume. The Red Hawks had beaten Conard to open the season, then last year’s Division IV runner-up Cheney Tech, then rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to score 37 points in the third quarter to beat East Lyme. Right before Christmas, they beat Northwest Catholic 71-45.

But this was Windsor at home. Windsor was 5-2 before Wednesday but both losses were to East Catholic, one of the state’s top teams.

Still, nobody from Manchester expected to be losing 51-26 with 2:24 left in the first half. With Sheets sitting on the bench.

“Yeah, I had three, four fouls the first few games,” Sheets said. “Horrible. I try to be more aggressive on defense. I get over-aggressive, and I get a lot of fouls.

“I didn’t think I was going to play much in the second half. I trusted my coaches, they put me in. I had to play a little bit passive but at the same time still be aggressive because I don’t want to let up nothing easy.”

Here comes Manchester, Derrick Sheets’ 3 cuts Windsor’s lead to 61-57 3:11 left 3Q #ctbb pic.twitter.com/zgZ4msnrw5

— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) January 9, 2025

Odin-Tan and Sheets went to work in the third quarter. Odin-Tan hit two 3s. They hit free throws. Sheets’ 3-pointer with 3:11 left cut the lead to 61-57. By the end of the third, it was 73-70.

“We hit shots,” Reiser said. “We just continued to play. That’s not easy. At halftime, we just said, ‘Let’s just stay with what we do.’ It’s easy to hear that. It’s another thing to come out and play like you know you’re capable of. I got to give them a lot of credit. They listened and they didn’t give up. It’s crazy.”

Manchester 95, Windsor 94

Manchester 19 15 36 25 – 95

Windsor 26 26 21 21 – 94

Manchester: Chance Clark 4 1 12, Cameron Major 9 0 20, Derrick Sheets 6 5 19, Will Oden-Tan 9 6 27, Joe Mugavero 5 0 11, Austin Coleman 2 0 4, Kahri Hayes 1 0 2. Totals: 30 12 95.

Windsor: Missoni Brown 6 1 13, Sean Evans 3 6 12, Myles Rush 5 0 10, Ji Gary 6 0 15, Eli Gordon 1 0 2, Adam Afolobi 2 0 5, Alex Weaver 8 6 24, Charles Lewis 6 1 13. Totals: 37 14 94.

Records: Manchester, 9-0; Windsor, 5-3.

With 27.7 seconds left and Manchester trailing by four, Joe Mugavero brought the ball downcourt and passed to Kahri Hayes, who was waiting in the paint. Hayes hit the layup. Manchester got the ball back and Chance Clark hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left for the game-winner.

“Oh man, that was unbelievable,” Manchester coach John Reiser. “To be down as much as we were down, in their gym….but we hit shots. And we just continued to play.”

Manchester (9-0) was led by Will Oden-Tan, who had 27 points and Cameron Major had 20, while Derrick Sheets, who sat out much of the first half due to foul trouble, had 19.

Kahri Hayes cuts it to two 94-92 27.7 left #ctbb pic.twitter.com/vCBEGNYSLj

— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) January 9, 2025

The Red Hawks trailed 26-19 after the first quarter but with 2:24 to go in the first half, fell behind 51-26. They went on a 8-1 run to end the half and Windsor led 52-34 at halftime. Manchester slowly came back in the third after Windsor’s Missoni Brown left the game with 5:10 left in the quarter after being injured on a play. By the end of the quarter, Manchester had scored 36 points and trailed 73-70.

After Alex Weaver hit a 3-pointer late in the fourth for the Warriors, Windsor once again was up by double digits, 90-78. But once again, Manchester came back. Mugavero hit a 3-pointer with 1:24 left to cut the lead to 92-87. Sheets hit a 3 to make it 94-90 with 52 seconds left. Then Hayes and Clark made their big shots.

Windsor (5-3) was led by Alex Weaver’s 24 points.

“They played well, we did too,” Windsor coach Ken Smith said. “We just got to get better.”

Manchester 95, Windsor 94

Manchester 19 15 36 25 – 95

Windsor 26 26 21 21 – 94

Manchester: Chance Clark 4 1 12, Cameron Major 9 0 20, Derrick Sheets 6 5 19, Will Oden-Tan 9 6 27, Joe Mugavero 5 0 11, Austin Coleman 2 0 4, Kahri Hayes 1 0 2. Totals: 30 12 95.

Windsor: Missoni Brown 6 1 13, Sean Evans 3 6 12, Myles Rush 5 0 10, Ji Gary 6 0 15, Eli Gordon 1 0 2, Adam Afolobi 2 0 5, Alex Weaver 8 6 24, Charles Lewis 6 1 13. Totals: 37 14 94.

Records: Manchester, 9-0; Windsor, 5-3.

And he named his son Maximus after Crowe’s character.

Steve, who grew up in West Hartford and graduated from Conard in 1994, was a football player and a wrestler. He played in the Arena Football League for – naturally – the Las Vegas Gladiators, among other teams. When he retired from playing, he wanted to be an example for his sons, so he continued to embrace a physically fit lifestyle, and opened a gym where high-level athletes trained, and his sons came, worked out, watched and learned.

Maximus Konopka is a football player and a wrestler (and a lacrosse player) for Simsbury High. Only a sophomore, he won the 2024 New England and State Open wrestling championships at 190 pounds, unusual as most of the wrestlers in that weight class are older. He also won the national freshman championship in his weight class last spring in Virginia Beach.

He went 49-1 last year and is 12-0 this season as of Wednesday. Simsbury coach T.J. Silva called him a “generational” athlete.

“I think a lot of it comes from his parents,” Silva said. “A lot of it comes from his goals, short-term and long-term, and what he’s looking to accomplish.

“He’s been brought up in a way where we plan out a system, we follow a plan and set a goal and we reach the goal, whether we’re successful or not, we’re going to do everything we can do to reach the goal.”

Maximus comes from a line of wrestlers. His grandfather, Steve Konopka Sr., was a long-time coach at East Hartford High. He brought Maximus to his first wrestling practice when he was 4.

“I remember he picked me up in this old truck and brought me to an old warehouse and gave me a pair of shoes he bought for me that day,” Maximus said. “Put me on the wrestling mat. I was wrestling middle schoolers. I was tall when I was a little kid. I loved it; it was fun.”

It took time to improve, but he embraced everything about the process.

“He looked like a 7- or 8-year-old,” his father said. “He got thrown to the wolves. He didn’t give up. He was athletic and determined.

“We were kind of like, ‘Oh my, what are we doing here.’ But it was something he fell in love with.”

Steve converted a room in their basement into a wrestling room and they would work on moves. Sometimes when they got home from practice, Maximus would want to practice a move on his father, but he wasn’t big enough to do it, so his mother Robin was recruited.

“My poor wife back then,” Steve said. “It was a family thing. It’s a way of life.”

When Maximus was younger and had a good practice, or did something well, his father would let him and his younger brother Jaxson eat dinner on the floor. It was what the gladiators did (Steve had seen it somewhere in another gladiator movie). Robin did not eat on the floor, but she indulged them.

“It was a reward for practicing hard,” Steve said. “People would say, ‘How was practice?’ He’d say, ‘Great. I got to eat on the floor last night. They’re like, ‘Wait, what are you talking about?’

“Hey, whatever it took.”

Maximus was winning national titles in middle school, so his success last year wasn’t all that surprising to those around him.

“I think the expectation was there last year to win, but now that he’s done it, he’s jumped up to another level,” Silva said.

Maximus won the Class L championship last year. He was the only freshman in his weight class at the State Open and had two pins and a technical fall to advance to the final, which he won 4-0 over East Lyme junior Brayden Soleau. He had the stomach flu the following week and Silva wasn’t sure if he was going to make it to the New England championships. But he did. His hardest match was against Spencer Fine of Cumberland, R.I., a three-time All-American who went on to wrestle at Columbia, in the quarterfinals and Maximus won, 7-5. He got a pin in the semis and won the championship with a pin over Elijah Josey of Portsmouth, N.H, who had a 42-2 record heading into New Englands.

Maximus practices with Silva and other former wrestlers Silva brings in. He wrestles with clubs in New Jersey and New York in the summer.

“I think my strength is being able to develop my skills better instead of trying to counter someone else’s moves,” Maximus said. “Just do my moves better. Focus on myself.

“I’ve been trying to work on (seeing what’s ahead) from positions I’m not as comfortable in. I always have to try to be a couple moves ahead.”

It’s hard sometimes to find competition for him.

“We try to set the schedule where we’re trying to find (him) a loss,” Silva said. “We’re trying to chase a loss. It’s the only way to get better.”

Maximus lost once last year, in his second high school match, at the Beast of the East tournament in New Jersey to a senior ranked in the top 20 in the country.

Besides winning the Open, New England and national titles again, Silva said another goal is for Maximus to try to make the world under-17 team in the summer.

But right now, he’s working hard and enjoying himself.

“He picks stuff up super quick,” Silva said. “He’s starting to develop a style where he wants to go out and score as many points as he can and dominate guys.

“He’s just gotten better and better and better.”