Has there been a bigger day in boys basketball in the City of Waterbury?
On Thursday, four different Brass City teams will play for a spot in a state final. There is one in each of the state’s four classes. Here’s a look at each matchup:
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| WCA’s Marquan Watson (22). |
CLASS S SEMIFINAL
No. 23 Waterbury Career Academy vs. No. 6 Trinity Catholic
Location: Danbury High School
Time: 6:30
Records: WCA 13-10; Trinity Catholic 18-6
How they got here: WCA — 76-55 over No. 10 Windsor Locks; 85-74 over No. 7 Classical; 50-45 over No. 2 Canton. Trinity — 86-48 No. 27 Somers; 83-69 over Old Saybrook; 66-54 over No. 3 SMSA.
The players (grade in parentheses): WCA — #1 Langstun Racine (10); #2 Jaden Battle (11); #3 Kyren Petteway (11); #5 Mamoudou Turner (10); #11 Jonathan Edwards (9); #12 Jessah Doctor (11); #13 Chad McKoy (11); #14 Khalil Simon (10); #20 Kobi Hunter (10); #21 Matt Torres (10); #22 Marquan Watson (10); #23 Akili Evans (9); #24 Jalen Edwards (12); #33 Shakyle Barnaby (10); #45 Noah Anthony (10). Trinity — #1 Stephon McGill (11); #3 Cameron Blake (10); #5 Dutreil Contavio (11); #10 Matt Henessy (10); #13 Jack Hickey (10); #15 Peter Galgano (12); #15 Jack Soucy (11); #17 Rahsen Fisher (9); #21 Michael Mohen (10); #23 Adam Pate (12); #30 Rasheed Constant (10); #35 Dimitry Moise (11); #42 Jaysn Andrews (11); #44 Tim Val (12)
The winner gets: A spot in the Class S state final Saturday at 12:30 at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Summary: The Spartans like to run, and would prefer to do so. The Crusaders have also put up some high-scoring efforts this season. Look for this game to be an up-and-down affair. This is obviously WCA’s first state semifinal appearance. Trinity is looking to reach its 13th state final. The Crusaders have won six state titles.
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| Holy Cross’ Nyzair Rountree (0). |
CLASS M SEMIFINAL
No. 4 Holy Cross vs. No. 8 Bloomfield
Locations: New Britain High School
Time: 7
Records: Holy Cross 21-5; Bloomfield 19-6
How they got here: Holy Cross — 59-41 over No. 29 Killingly; 88-46 over No. 13 Rocky Hill; 83-65 over No. 5 Prince Tech. Bloomfield — 86-49 over No. 25 Grasso Tech; 86-54 over No. 9 Northwestern Regional; 73-37 over No. 16 Seymour.
The players (grade in parentheses): Holy Cross — #0 Nyzair Rountree (11); #1 DeAndre Wallace (11); #2 Warren Morrison (12); #3 Anthony Muchiri (12); #4 Corey Fappiano (10); #5 Jack Potter (12); #11 Diondre Brown (12); #12 Marcellus Gomes (11); #13 Kerson Etienne (11); #15 William Greene (10); #23 Jack Schiavone (10); #24 William Guglielmo (11); #30 Kyle Moser (10); #33 Jack Greene (10); #42 Alessandro Ward (10). Bloomfield — #00 Kyle Barrow (9); #0 Chris Rose (12); #1 Russell Thompson-Bishop (12); #2 Phillip Underwood (11); #3 Dexter Lawson (12); #5 Jordan Pruitt (12); #10 Clifton Percy-Campbell (12); #11 Joshua Moore-Henry (12); #12 Anthony Simpson (9); #13 Michael Collins (9); #15 Elijah Hargrove (9); #20 Anthony Thompson (9); #23 Richard Damas (10); #30 Christopher Hall (10); #32 Karl Powell (11).
The winner gets: A spot in the Class M state final on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Summary: The Crusaders are a long, athletic team that doesn’t mind getting out and running. The Warhawks would love to do the same. This could be a very high-scoring contest. Bloomfield has been to the semifinal round in each of the last three seasons, losing each time to Sacred Heart. The Warhawks also made it in 2013 and lost. Bloomfield gets another chance against a different Brass City foe. Holy Cross lost to Immaculate in the semifinal round of Class S last season. Bloomfield has five state titles to its credit, while Holy Cross owns three.
CLASS L SEMIFINAL
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| Sacred Heart’s Isaiah Gaiter (14). |
No. 1 Sacred Heart vs. No. 4 Middletown
Location: Bulkeley High School, Hartford
Time: 7
Records: Sacred Heart 26-0; Middletown 22-4
How they got here: Sacred Heart — 71-53 over No. 32 Joel Barlow; 58-41 over No. 17 Northwest Catholic; 58-52 over No. 9 Windsor. Middletown — 99-62 over No. 29 Maloney; 55-51 over No. 13 New London; 81-69 over No. 5 Ledyard.
The players: Sacred Heart — #0 Michael West (10); #1 Gaeley Etienne (10); #2 Legend Johnson (12); #4 Tariq Price (12); #5 Courie Stevenson (12); #12 Peyton Stephens (12); #13 Omar Rowe (10); #14 Isaiah Gaiter (11); #15 Andre Anderson (11); #21 Francis Barton (11); #22 Noah Francisco (11); #24 Nahzir Ivester (12); #31 Michael Napolitano (11); #32 Garrett Jones (11); #33 Zachary Francisco (11). Middletown — #1 Tyshaun James (12); #2 Ahmod Privott (12); #4 DeAaron Lawrence (11); #5 Dayquan Singletary (12); #10 Darrence Willis (11); #11 Jordan Council (11); #13 CJ Sprowl (12); #21 Tejan Lanser (10); #22 Jayden Bermudez (10); #24 Jay Hoggard (11); #25 Jeante Rodgers (10); #30 Aveon Woods (12); #31 Brennen Maxfield (11); #32 Stephen Hill Jr. (10); #33 Kalil Thomas (11).
The winner gets: A spot in the Class L state final on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Summary: You know the story of the Hearts. Sacred Heart has won three straight state championships, two in Class S and last season in Class M. The Hearts are dealing with what will be their biggest challenge to date in the Blue Dragons. Middletown reached the Class L state final last season and lost to East Catholic. The Blue Dragons are looking for another appearance, and it would be their 11th. Sacred Heart has won eight state titles while Middletown owns seven. The Blue Dragons can score in bunches, but so can the Hearts. This one ought to be a ton of fun to watch.
CLASS LL SEMIFINAL
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| Kennedy’s Chomari Joseph (32). |
No. 8 Kennedy vs. No. 4 East Hartford
Location: Floyd Little Athletic Center, New Haven
Time: 7
Records: Kennedy 20-5; East Hartford 22-3
How they got here: Kennedy — 54-48 over No. 25 Cheshire; 52-50 over No. 9 Simsbury; No. 17 Danbury 65-60. East Hartford — 74-48 over No. 29 Staples; 59-43 over No. 13 Darien; 69-63 over No. 5 Weaver.
The players: Kennedy — #5 Ty Sands (12); #10 Lashawn Smith (11); #20 Alex Bruno (12); #21 Dylan Laudieri (11); #23 Jeremy Acosta (11); #24 Tyvon Stenson (12); #25 William Spears (10); #32 Chomari Joseph (12); #33 Jaquan Jones (11); #34 Kasim Brown (12); #40 Mike Shehu (12); #41 Evel Pacheco (9); #44 Marquis Blagmon (10); #52 Adrien Williams (11); #55 Alex Batista (9). East Hartford — #0 Jaylin Palmer (10); #1 Kingsley Cockburn (12); #2 Aaron Tomlinson (12); #3 Isaiah Williams (11); #4 Mark McCallop (10); #5 Jaden Oliveras (12); #10 Quinton Haughton (10); #11 Kevougn Mills (11); #12 Austin Nwafor (12); #14 Raquan Tompkins (10); #15 Rafael Cruz (12); #22 Jaquan Allen (10); #23 Deon Elmore (11); #25 Justin Nwafor (12).
The winner gets: A shot at the Class LL state final on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Summary: The Hornets and Eagles actually share common opponents. East Hartford went 1-1 against Simsbury, who was defeated by Kennedy in the second round of Class LL. The Eagles were 1-1 against Crosby while the Hornets scored a blowout win against the Bulldogs. East Hartford can battle in close games, and it can also get out to the races. Kennedy will be in for a challenge, but the Eagles have met and passed their first three. And Kennedy was challenged by a tough NVL Brass Division for 10 games in the regular season. The Eagles seek their first state final spot since 1990, when they lost to New London in Class M. The Hornets seek their first finals appearance since 1949. East Hartford has won two state titles while Kennedy has never claimed a state title.
