Few things can change the momentum of a basketball game like a dunk, be it a game in a high school gymnasium, on a college court, or inside a professional arena.
When the same player does it on three consecutive plays, it can be downright demoralizing to his opponent. Wolcott must have felt like it had been punched hard in the solar plexus following three straight two-handed slams by Holy Cross senior star Elijah Parker in the first quarter of Friday night’s Naugatuck Valley League game on The Jim Scully Court inside the John H. Morris Gymnasium.
Following Parker’s third straight slam, Wolcott head coach Anthony Giampetruzzi called time. There was 3:39 left in the first quarter and Holy Cross led, 17-6. Parker scored 21 points, and the Crusaders ran away with an 82-55 win over the Eagles.
Parker wasn’t even the biggest star of the night for Holy Cross. That was junior A’zye Harge, who tallied a game-high 29 points. Those 29 points included six 3-pointers. Harge was left open by the Wolcott defense time and again, and he kept sinking shot after shot. Senior Jordan Gunthrop was the third Crusader in double figures with 15 points. Holy Cross improved to 5-1 while Wolcott fell to 4-3. Ben Bianchi paced the Eagles with 14 points while Hunter Dill and Mike McCormack added 11 points apiece.
