The Sacred Heart boys basketball team will take its undefeated record (18-0) and 122-game NVL win streak into Friday’s 6:45 p.m. showdown against Naugatuck at Alumni Hall. If the Greyhounds get past Kennedy tonight, they will also be undefeated.
The Hearts nearly didn’t make it through Saturday with that undefeated record intact, thanks to a terrific effort from Waterbury Career Academy (8-9). The Spartans pushed the Hearts to the brink before the home team claimed a 63-58 victory. WCA led Sacred Heart, 54-51, with 2:26 remaining in the game. The Hearts played without 7-footer Connor Tierney, who sprained his right ankle in last Thursday’s Holy Cross game. The Spartans were without Zion Lott, who had a family commitment.
Big efforts from Lorenzo Washington, Caleb Sampson and Trevahn Duncan down the stretch were key for Sacred Heart. Sampson tied WCA’s Lawrence Lazaro for the game-high in points with 25. Duncan had 18 points and Washington 15. Washington scored seven points in the final 2:18, and of the final 12 tallied by the Hearts, Steve Alseph’s free throw was the only one not scored by Washington, Sampson or Duncan.
Lazaro had a big game for WCA, and so did fellow senior Jonathan Edwards (18 points). Edwards was able to make something out of nothing on occasion and get to the basket.
A Lazaro 3-pointer tied the game at 49-49, then Edwards dunked for a 51-49 lead. With the score 52-51 in favor of the Spartans, Edwards scored again to increase the lead to three points, 54-51. A Washington 3-pointer tied the game, 54-54, and Sacred Heart called timeout with 2:16 to play. The teams traded turnovers, but the one by the Spartans led to a runout, and Alseph was fouled. Alseph’s free throw with one minute left gave the Hearts a 55-54 lead.
Sacred Heart forced another turnover less than 20 seconds after Alseph’s free throw, and Duncan laid in the fast-break layup for a 57-54 advantage. Two free throws from Washington with 18.5 seconds left increased the lead to five points, then Lazaro scored to get WCA back to 59-56. Sampson made two free throws with 9.6 seconds left, 61-56, then Edwards went in for a layup, 61-58, with 3.9 seconds remaining. With three seconds to play, Washington made a pair of free throws to clinch the game.
Caption: Sacred Heart’s Trevahn Duncan (14) makes a pass to Steve Alseph during Saturday’s game. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
Gallery
Here are my photos from the game.
