Archive for February, 2009
February 28, 2009 at 11:09 pm by Dave Ruden
As we reported before, the FCIAC has officially moved the site and dates of the semifinal and final rounds of the boys basketball playoffs, which were originally scheduled for Monday and Wednesday at Sacred Heart University.
Because of the forecast for snow on Monday, the semifinals will now be played Tuesday and the final Thursday, all at Fairfield Warde.
Stamford will play Bridgeport Central at 6 p.m. in the first semifinal. Trinity Catholic will take on St. Joseph in the second game.
The move was universally applauded, and not because of the weather. Parking at Sacred Heart has always been a nightmare, and Dave Schulz and his staff for years have done an outstanding job of running the tournament at Warde. Today was no different.
The league will also be saving significant money by not playing at Sacred Heart. Consider this a win-win-win.
February 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm by Dave Ruden
The Trinity Catholic High School boys basketball team’s tradition of sloppy first-round performances in the FCIAC Tournament is nearly as long as its number of titles.
Tonight was no different as the Crusaders played an uneven game before pulling away for a 64-51 win over Staples.
Tevin Baskin, held without a field goal for the first 20 1/2 minutes, finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Remy Pinson, in his first game back from an ankle injury, added 16 points and Eric Jean-Guillaume had 13.
Andrei Oztemel had 18 points for a Staples team that trailed by just six points with 5 1/2 minutes left due to a fundamentally sound game.
Trinity will now face St. Joseph, a winner over Warren Harding, for the third time this season in Tuesday’s semifinals. Stamford will play Bridgeport Central, which eliminated Danbury, in the other game.
February 28, 2009 at 4:02 pm by Dave Ruden
Because of the forecast for snow on Monday, FCIAC officials are currently looking into moving the semifinals and finals to Fairfield Warde on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Right now they are currently scheduled for Monday and Wednesday at Sacred Heart University.
The league would like to make a final decision today. We’ll have word as soon as a change is confirmed.
February 28, 2009 at 3:59 pm by Dave Ruden
Mark Ellis finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, including a putback with 15 seconds left, as the third-seeded Black Knights held on for a 59-58 win over Greenwich this afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the FCIAC Tournament.
The Cardinals, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, had two chances to win in the closing seconds, but Jonathan Herzog missed a pair of shots, including one at the buzzer.
Jethro Anilus came off the bench and led the Black Knights with 18 points. Chris Evans made just 4 of 14 shots and was held to 12 points, but had 10 assists.
Clay Graham had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Cardinals, who took their first lead since the opening minutes on a short hook by Aminu Tedla with 33 seconds left. Ellis then scored off a miss by Evans.
February 27, 2009 at 1:40 pm by Dave Ruden
I’m not a believer in predicting the outcome of high school games, but here is a brief analysis of the FCIAC Boys Basketball Tournament, which begins tomorrow at Fairfield Warde with four quarterfinal games.
It is hard to see the champion coming anywhere except from the top three seeds — Trinity Catholic, Bridgeport Central and Stamford are 1-3 in that order — with Warren Harding being a possible wild card.
It is also difficult to see any first-round upsets tomorrow, with the possible exception of St. Joseph against Harding, though on a large court the Cadets lack of speed is going to really be a handicap.
The unbeaten Crusaders, the state’s top-ranked team, are clearly the favorites. Tevin Baskin is playing the best ball of his career, as evidenced by the 32 points he put up on the Cadets and 35 against Central this week. Eric Jean-Guillaume is the perfect complement on the perimeter, while sophomore forward Takari Smalls is among the league’s most underrated players.
The one question mark is the status of guard Remy Pinson’s ankle injury. Without him, Trinity is without a valuable ballhandler. The Crusaders turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter against Central’s pressure Wednesday night, one reason their 25-point lead got whittled down to eight.
The Hilltoppers have been consistent throughout the year, and their defensive intensity rivals Trinity’s for the league’s best. And Jerome Parkins is capable of taking over: after being shut out he scored 23 points in the final 11 1/2 minutes against Trinity to fuel the really. No one will be surprised if Central is cutting down the nets Wednesday night at Sacred Heart.
The same is true for Stamford, whose only two losses have been to Trinity and Central. Nothing happened in either game to think the Black Knights could win a rematch against either team. Chris Evans and Baskin have been the league’s most valuable players this season, while Michael Tiscia is a heady point guard. From there, the Black Knights have five or six role players and two or three have stepped up each game. They will need that again to win the title.
Harding is the asterisk team in all of this. It was inconsistent during the regular season, but as with any Charlie Bentley-coached team, no one doubts the Presidents have the capability to get hot over the next four days and go all the way.
Expect few surprises tomorrow at Warde. If, as expected, form holds, it will set up three great games at Sacred Heart to follow.
February 25, 2009 at 12:09 am by Dave Ruden
Writing a sports column is different than a game story. You are either looking to express an opinion or find a compelling angle as opposed to just describing what transpires during a game.
After Stamford defeated Trinity Catholic tonight, 45-41, in the semifinal round of the FCIAC Girls Basketball Tournament, I wrote for tomorrow’s paper about Fiona O’Dwyer, Lauren Beluk, Katie Pape and Theresa Britt — four Black Knight starters who first were teammates on a fifth-grade travel team.
It became a relevant storyline after Stamford rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit to return to the championship game for the first time since 1979, when it won the title.
Had the game ended at halftime, my column would have been about Cayleigh Griffin, Mackenzie Griffin and Eileen Ornousky, the Crusaders’ three inside players, who were a major reason the team peaked at the end of the season, earned a trip to the semifinals and almost a fourth straight appearance in the title game.
In the first game of the season, against St. Joseph, all three first-year starters looked tentative and uncertain.
Tonight they played with poise and polish and gave their coach, Tom Kriz, reason to feel good about his team for the state tournament and next year.
Ornousky, a junior, had 7 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter, when the Crusaders used a 14-2 run to take a 14-5 lead. Cayleigh Griffin, also a junior, had 8 rebounds and has been coming on strong over the last few weeks.
The real revelation has been Cayleigh’s sister, Mackenzie, a freshman who ended up with 12 points and 8 rebounds. She had three baskets in the paint in the fourth quarter as Trinity tried to rally.
Mackenzie showed spurts where she looked like a freshman — she missed a layup off a great look by Jeana Trimboli with 18 seconds left that would have brought the Crusaders within a point — but the assets far outweighed the debits on the final balance sheet. She has the potential to develop into a real impact player the next three years.
And with the Crusaders faced with losing star guard Jeana Trimboli a year after the graduation of Da’Shena Stevens, if the Griffins and Ornousky continue to build on their recent play, the program will remain a factor in the FCIAC — next year and beyond.
February 22, 2009 at 2:26 pm by Dave Ruden
A school from Stamford has played in the FCIAC girls basketball final for four straight years, and seven of the last eight. Trinity Catholic and Westhill played for the title the last three years, with the Crusaders winning each time.
That streak will be extended on Thursday night. Trinity and Stamford will meet in the semifinals Tuesday night, with the winner playing either Fairfield Warde or Danbury, who will face off in the second game of the doubleheader.
Many people have asked me which Stamford school I think will be playing on Thursday. I think it is foolish to make predictions on high school sports. There is nothing to be gained by it.
I also truly believe the game can go either way. Stamford is 16-3 and though it has made a habit of winning ugly at times, it still has been the league’s most consistent team outside of Warde.
The second-seeded Black Knights play gritty defense and have a strong 1-2 punch in Fiona O’Dwyer and outside shooter Lauren Beluk. Katie Pape is versatile and a true leader — she is a captain in three sports.
No. 6 Trinity Catholic has been peaking of late. Senior guard Jeana Trimboli is having another great season, while Liz Roemmele has been a good second option on offense. What has pushed Trinity back into a viable contender has been the improved inside play of Cayleigh Griffin, Mackenzie Griffin and Eileen Ornousky, and the unsung defense of Clare O’Leary, who has shut down an opposing team’s best scorer the past two games.
Few thought either team would reach the final. Most predicted the other semifinal between Warde and Danbury would be the championship game.
Stamford was supposed to be a much improved team, while Trinity was supposed to take a big step back after the graduation of Da’Shena Stevens.
Both teams have exceeded expectations with their grit and hard play.
And Thursday night, one of them will be playing for the FCIAC championship.
February 20, 2009 at 8:35 pm by Dave Ruden
Laura Dembofsky, who was a key part of Stamford High School’s back-to-back state championship field hockey teams, decided she will continue her career next year at Southern Connecticut State University.
Dembofsky said she made the decision this week after visiting Plymouth State, which along with Manhattanville and Eastern Connecticut were her final choices.
“I just liked Southern more,” Dembofsky said. “I liked the school, I liked the coach and my parents will be able to catch my games. That was a big factor.”
Dembofsky finished with 18 goals, including the game-winner in the state final, her junior year, then moved to center midfield last season, when she had an outstanding state tournament as the Black Knights played Simsbury to a 1-1 draw in the title game.
|
|
