All the talk on Sunday was about the upcoming major snowstorm that is slated to hit the area on Tuesday.
Well, there are four boys basketball state tournament games to be played on Monday, and those will get in before the storm. Here’s a quick look at each contest:
CLASS L
No. 1 Sacred Heart vs. No. 9 Windsor, 7 p.m. — The Hearts have won their first two games by 18 and 17 points. Sacred Heart has showed the same cumulative effort it had with Raheem Solomon, only more so without him on the floor. Next up is Windsor, which has an 82-70 win over No. 24 Bristol Central and a 79-67 victory over No. 8 Guilford. It’s obvious that the Warriors can score (average of 80.5 points per game), and they have been a successful program under the tutelage of head coach Ken Smith. Windsor, a member of the Central Connecticut Conference, will be a challenge, but Sacred Heart plans on being ready.
No. 14 Crosby at No. 6 Wilton, 7 p.m. — The Bulldogs head into Fairfield County for the second straight road game, this time against the Warriors from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference. After holding off No. 19 Hartford Public at home, Crosby traveled to No. 3 Bassick (Bridgeport) of the Constitution State Conference in the second round and outran its foe by a score of 82-74. Wilton owns a 73-35 win over No. 27 Woodstock, along with a 64-57 victory over No. 11 Newington. The Warriors haven’t left the friendly confines of their home gym yet in the state tournament, and that continues against the Bulldogs on Monday. Wilton’s biggest challenge will be Jeremiah Kendall. If the Warriors can’t contain him somewhat, they could be headed for the same fate as Hartford Public and Bassick.
CLASS S
No. 8 St. Paul at No. 1 Westbrook, 7 p.m. — The Falcons will be on the road for the first time in the tournament, and it comes against the top seed in Class S.
Westbrook owns wins over No. 32 Portland (72-56) and No. 16 Lyman Memorial (73-42). This game will be a challenge, given Westbrook’s size. The Knights have 6-foot-5 Maxwell Morris, 6-5 Dave Amendola, 6-4 Cory Muckle and 6-3 Liam Bell to deal with. Another common denominator among those four players — they are all seniors. Eight of Westbrook’s 11 players on the CIAC tournament roster are seniors. This is a veteran team, and St. Paul needs to not fall behind early like it did against Coginchaug Regional. Falcon fans travel well, but this game will still be in a hostile environment. St. Paul needs contributions from everyone — and big games from the likes of Mike Palmieri, Austin Jones and Tyler Arbuckle — to steal a road win.
No. 23 Waterbury Career Academy at No. 2 Canton, 7 p.m. — The Spartans have put together a great run so far, but they face the second-best seed in Class S this time around.
This game is a major contrast in styles. Canton averages just 48 points per game with wins of 56-27 over No. 31 St. Bernard and 40-38 over No. 15 Amistad. On the other side, WCA averages 80.5 points per game with victories of 76-55 over No. 10 Windsor Locks and 85-74 over No. 7 Classical. The Spartans love to speed up the pace, and they have several players who can shoot 3-pointers. Last time out, there was plenty of scoring balance to be had between Matt Torres, Jadan Battle, Marquan Watson and Jalen Edwards. Watson and Edwards both had double-doubles against Classical. The side that dictates tempo in this quarterfinal game will have the upper hand.
Two other local teams — Holy Cross and Kennedy — are supposed to play semifinal games on Tuesday, but that won’t happen if the forecast for this snowstorm stays the way it is (yikes).
