“A trip down 69:” Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016

It’s time for the first installment of “A trip down 69” for 2016. We’ll start in Waterbury with the Hearts Holiday Tournament:

Sacred Heart girls beat Kaynor Tech
The Hearts topped the Panthers 43-38 in a solid consolation game matchup at Alumni Hall on Saturday.
Joey Ferreira-Leach led Sacred Heart with 11 points, according to a boxscore reported to the Waterbury Republican-American. Leilani Morales and Mahnue Sahn each scored eight points. Morales was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.
Cassie Couture had a game-high 13 points for Kaynor Tech while teammate Allison Terry tallied 12 points. Couture, a junior point guard, was named to the All-Tournament team. Couture sank a pair of foul shots late to pull the Panthers within 41-38, but that was as close as they got.
Noteworthy:
This game was a father-son matchup. Stan Stasaitis is an assistant coach on Ryan Sullivan’s staff at Sacred Heart. His son Brian is the head coach at Kaynor Tech. The game made for some interesting rooting interests for the Stasaitis family. Brian Stasaitis is a Sacred Heart alum.
Up next:
Sacred Heart (3-3) hosts Wolcott tomorrow night at 7. Kaynor Tech (2-5) heads to Beacon Falls on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game against Woodland.

Speaking of consolation games…
The Waterbury Career Academy boys won their contest on Tuesday, 90-67 over Wilcox Tech in the David T. Rybczyk Memorial Tournament in Plainville.
The Spartans had four players in double-figures, led by Kylen Petteway with 24 points and Marquan Watson with 23, according to a boxscore reported to the Rep-Am. Roderick Jenkins scored 13 points while Jadan Battle added 12. Watson had 10 rebounds and two blocks while Jenkins added three steals.
The next time WCA (3-1) hits the floor, it’ll be a city contest at Kaynor Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

And there was this one…
The Bristol Eastern girls defeated New Milford 51-28 in the consolation game of the News-Times Greater Danbury Holiday Festival on Wednesday at Danbury War Memorial.
Gianna D’Amato led the Lancers with 13 points with Miranda Janick added 11 (3 3-pointers), according to a game box from Richard Gregory of the News-Times. Jamilla Shoultz and Diana Wnuk also had solid games.

Also add the Eastern boys…
The Lancers led from start to finish in a 63-55 win over host Nonnewaug in the consolation game of their tournament Thursday.
Tyler Arbuckle dropped in 23 points, including five 3-pointers, according to a boxscore reported to the Rep-Am. Darieyn Tate (17) and Nate Hickey (10) also hit double figures for the Lancers. 

Bristol Central boys get first win
The Rams got into the win column Wednesday by beating New Milford 73-67 on the road.
Jaekwon Spencer led Central with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Jamil Hornesby added 16 points and nine assists in the winning effort.
Central returns home tomorrow for a 7 p.m. contest against a solid New Britain team. The Golden Hurricanes lost for the first time this season, 69-59 yesterday in overtime at East Catholic.

St. Paul wrestling earns a split
The Falcons went 2-2 at the Killingly Duals yesterday. St. Paul defeated East Windsor 45-35 and Stafford 48-18. The Falcons lost 42-36 to Rocky Hill and 39-37 to Woodstock Academy.
St. Paul wrestles Wolcott Tech in a home dual meet Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Holy Cross wrestles at the Shelton Six Duals
The Crusaders were 2-3 Saturday in Shelton. Holy Cross won 30-24 over New Haven and 33-18 over Wolcott Tech. The Crusaders lost 73-15 to Shelton, 61-18 to Morgan and 39-29 to Oxford.
Holy Cross goes to Woodbury Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. dual meet against Nonnewaug.