The NVL boys’ basketball tournament tips off today in Wilby High School’s Reggie O’Brien Gymnasium with four quarterfinal games.
WCA enters the tournament for the first time as its top seed. The Spartans are followed by Kennedy, Holy Cross, Seymour, Crosby, Torrington, Wilby and Naugatuck. Here’s the schedule for today’s games:
No. 3 Holy Cross vs. No. 6 Torrington, 11 a.m.
- The teams met once during the regular season, a game the Crusaders won, 59-46, on Dec. 19 in the Connie Donahue Gymnasium in Torrington. Elijah Parker led all scorers with 18 points for Holy Cross. Derone Fordham had 14 points and Peyton Mullins added 11 (three 3-pointers). Torrington got 11 points apiece from Thaddaeus Kimberly and William Parkhouse (three 3-pointers).
No. 2 Kennedy vs. No. 7 Wilby, 12:45 p.m.
- The Brass Division rivals split their regular season meetings with each home team prevailing. The Wildcats blasted the Eagles, 76-59, on Jan. 11 at Wilby. Kennedy picked up a 79-69 win over Wilby at home on Feb. 10.
- First game: D.J. Melendez scored 21 points, Brandon Beamon had 16, Juny Gerena added 13 and Khani Glenn tallied 11 for Wilby. Lennox Serrano had 23 points and Hikim Trueheart added 13 for Kennedy.
- Second game: Trueheart led four Eagles in double figures with 20 points. Serrano put in 17, Isaiah Tucker added 15 and Terrance Morrison chipped in 11 (three 3-pointers). Beamon scored 21 points for the Wildcats, who got double-figure efforts from Glenn (12), Melendez (10) and Louis Howard (10).
No. 4 Seymour vs. No. 5 Crosby, 2:30 p.m.
- The Wildcats and Bulldogs met once in the regular season. Crosby won convincingly, 74-56, at The Crosby Palace on Jan. 4. Andre Arrington canned seven 3-pointers on the way to 23 points for the Bulldogs. Nevin Kinsey (15, three 3-pointers) and C.J. McRae (12) also hit double figures. Caden Drezek led Seymour with 22 points while Indrit Peraj added 10.
No. 1 WCA vs. No. 8 Naugatuck, 4:15 p.m.
- The Spartans rendered the lone regular season encounter a non-contest in an 83-51 home win. Zaire Lott struck for 23 points, Jason Canady added 22 and Drew Williams tallied 13 for WCA. Jalen Francis paced the Greyhounds with 21 points while Dillon Gray added 11.
The semifinals are scheduled for Monday at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. with the all-league teams to be announced between games. The final is slated for Wednesday at 7 p.m. All three of those games are also at Wilby.
Caption: Sonny Pierce (12) and Drew Williams (24) hope to lead top-seeded WCA to its first NVL boys’ basketball tournament title. Crosby and Jason Robinson, slightly obscured in this photo, are also looking to contend. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
