The Wolcott boys’ basketball team knocked off Naugatuck, 56-44, on Tuesday night in the John H. Morris Gymnasium.
With the win, the Eagles (8-7) clinched their first state tournament berth since 2019. That Wolcott team went 13-7 in the regular season and won a first round game in the state tournament before being eliminated in the second round.
This version of Wolcott got a game-high 18 points from Terrance Stevens, along with 10 points from Joe Ferrucci. A.J. Martinez scored eight points and brought great energy to the game off the bench for the Eagles.
Wolcott trailed by a point, 13-12, after one quarter. The Eagles grabbed a late second quarter lead, 26-24, on a Ferrucci 3-pointer. Sam Berninger added a layup for Wolcott’s final points of the first half, one it led, 28-25.
The third quarter belonged to the Eagles. Wolcott held Naugatuck to just three points and put in 13 of its own for a 41-28 advantage. Ferrucci sank another key 3-pointer, Martinez had a terrific putback in traffic, and Berninger made another layup. The other seven points, to the chagrin of Greyhound head coach Mike Wilson, came from the foul line. The Eagles wound up with 34 attempts compared to just 14 for the visitors, and Wilson wound up with a technical foul.
Wolcott was able to maintain its double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and close out the victory. The next target for the Eagles is a berth in the NVL tournament. The 2018-19 Wolcott team played in the NVL tournament knocked off eventual runner-up Torrington in the quarterfinal round. This year’s version of the Eagles would like a chance to play in the league’s postseason.
GALLERY: Here are my photos from the game.
Caption: Wolcott’s Terrance Stevens slows up his dribble against Naugatuck’s Thomas Barry during Tuesday night’s boys basketball game in the John H. Morris Gymnasium. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
