STAMFORD, Conn. — The Stamford Black Knights and Trinity Catholic Crusaders are annual powerhouses in FCIAC boys basketball and, just one short year ago, battled for the conference title, with Stamford winning its first crown under longtime head coach Jim Moriarty.
This winter it’s been an entirely different story, as the Knights and Crusaders have both been on roller-coaster rides since the start of the season.
On Wednesday, Feb. 24, the two city teams came up with clutch victories on the final day of the regular season and punched their tickets to the FCIAC tournament, which begins Saturday at Fairfield-Warde High School.
Stamford outscored Brien McMahon, 30-18, in the fourth quarter and won 76-64, while Trinity edged the Staples Wreckers, 74-71. Stamford and Trinity Catholic both finished with 11-7 league records, with Stamford taking the No. 6 seed based on its head-to-head victory over the Crusaders earlier this month.
Bridgeport Central (17-1 FCIAC) is the top seed in the tournament, with its only loss being a forfeit to Staples. Central had used an inelligible player in the closing moments of a blowout victory on opening night. St. Joseph (16-2) earned the No. 2 seed, while Harding (14-4) took No. 3 despite losing to Westhill, 58-56, in the season finale.
No. 4 seed Bassick (Bridgeport) (13-5) and No. 5 seed Trumbull (12-6) will square off in the quarterfinal round for a rematch of an outstanding game just a few weeks ago. In that contest, Trumbull edged Bassick in overtime during the Bridgeport Classic at the Arena at Harbor Yard. After Stamford and Trinity, Ridgefield slipped in as the No. 8 seed with a record of 10-8.
Quarterfinal games will begin Saturday at noon as Stamford takes on Harding. The rest of the schedule features Trinity vs. St. Joseph at 2 p.m., Trumbull vs. Bassick at 5 p.m., and Ridgefield vs. Central at 7 p.m.
The semifinals will be held Tuesday, March 2, beginning at 6 p.m., with the championship game set for Thursday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. All games will be held at Fairfield-Warde.
2. St. Joseph and Trinity reach girls hoops title tilt — The top two seeds will do battle for the FCIAC girls basketball championship when the St. Joseph Cadets (20-3) and Trinity Catholic Crusaders (17-5) meet in the final at 7 p.m. Friday at Fairfield-Ludlowe High School.
The top-seeded Cadets earned a trip to the title game with their win over No. 4 New Canaan, 45-37, in the FCIAC semifinals Wednesday night at Ludlowe. The Cadets led 18-17 at halftime but scored the first eight points of the second half to go up 26-17. The Rams got back into it and trailed by one at 26-25 with two minutes remaining in the third, but the Cadets pulled away in the fourth quarter.
For the Cadets, Michele Gorman scored 15 points, Natalie Lesko netted nine points and Jess Jowdy had eight. Sarah Mannelly led the Rams (16-6) with 12 points, while Kacey Pippitt scored nine and Christina Loop and Ali Warlich had six apiece.
No. 2 Trinity, meanwhile, beat out No. 3 Ridgefield (17-5) for a 51-43 decision in the semis. Point guard Erin Sottosanti had a game-high 16 points for the Crusaders, while Clare O’Leary and Eileen Ournousky had nine apiece. For the Tigers, Kathryn Cholko netted 12 points, Michelle Gibbons had 10 and Emily Favorite had eight.
3. New Canaan vs. Darien again for girls hockey title — Two of the biggest rivals from Fairfield County set up a rematch of last year’s conference and state championship games, when New Canaan and Darien posted wins in the FCIAC girls hockey semifinals Wednesday at the Darien Ice Rink.
The two teams have met twice this season, with New Canaan (19-1) winning both games by one goal. New Canaan is the tournament’s top seed, while Darien (16-4-1) is No. 2.
Last season, the Rams also won both regular-season meetings, but Darien came back to win the league and state championships. The Darien Blue Wave had to work overtime for its win — double overtime to be exact — as Aimee Rich scored the game-winner 4:41 into the second extra stanza for a 2-1 victory.
Rich also scored the equalizer with 2:27 remaining in regulation, sending the game into overtime. Greenwich’s Hannah Jeffrey scored the first goal just 27 seconds into the third period. Both goalies had outstanding games, as Katharine Macomber made 25 saves for Darien, and Addie McKeon made 33 saves for Greenwich (15-5-1).
In the second game, New Canaan freshman Olivia Hompe notched a hat trick as the Rams rolled over Ridgefield, 5-1. Abbey Buckenheimer and Jana Persky also scored, while Persky had a pair of assists. Goalie Charlotte Spitzfaden made nine saves for the win. Cara Lockwood scored the lone goal for Ridgefield.
4. Warde picks up second title in two weeks — Fresh off their historic victory in last week’s FCIAC championships, the Fairfield-Warde wrestlers made it two titles in two weeks as they won the CIAC Class L tournament, held this weekend at Bristol Central High School.
The Mustangs took the championship without the benefit of an individual weight-class winner. Bobby Rigilano and Thomas Anania reached the 145- and 152-pound finals, respectively, but each finished as runner-up. Warde also had three third-place finishers: Pharoh Eaton at 103 pounds, Ian McAllister at 135 and Mike Sullivan at 160.
The Mustangs amassed 207 points to edge out New Milford, which finished with 201. Warde came in as the State’s No. 1 ranked team, while New Milford was No. 2.
Daniel Hand (178) and host Bristol Central (147.5) rounded out the top four. Other FCIAC schools at the meet included New Canaan in 11th place (79.5), Darien in 18th (59.5), Fairfield-Ludlowe in 20th (51), Wilton in 22nd (32) and Norwalk in 23rd (30). The second-seeded Rigilano reached the finals of the 145-pound weight class by winning three straight matches, including a 42-second pin against Conard’s Antonio Squirewell in the semifinals.
In the title bout, the top-seeded Cameron Gonzalez of Fitch defeated Rigilano, 7-2. At 152 pounds, the seventh-seeded Anania won his first three matches via decisions, including a 3-2 win over No. 2 Matt Flader of Masuk in the quarterfinals, and a 5-3 win against No. 6 Karl Bradshaw of New Milford in the semis.
In the final, Anania was pinned by top-seeded Brian Onofrio of Hand in 34 seconds. Onofrio took the fastest pin title, as he won all four matches via pinfalls in a combined 3:41. McAllister (135) scored his third-place finish with an 8-0 win over Johnny Bello of Conard in the consolation final.
Sullivan (160) was also third, as he defeated Maloney’s Rafael Dominguez, 15-0, in the consolation final.
Also placing for Warde were Marcio Ventura, who was fourth at 215 pounds, Danny Almeida, who was fifth at 119 pounds, and Luke Allen, who was fifth at 140 pounds.
For Ludlowe, Mike Sheehan reached the final of the 171-pound weight class with three pinfalls, including a win over Mavin Wilcoxson of Bunnell in the semifinals. Sheehan, the No. 2 seed, then lost to No. 1 Devon Carrillo of Middletown, 6-0, in the final. Also for the Falcons, Zach Garoffolo finished sixth at 152 pounds.
New Canaan had three wrestlers place, including Chris White, who lost his first match but came back with five wins in the wrestlebackes to take third. White, who had four pins, pinned Ventura of Warde in 4:35 to win the consolation final.
Also from New Canaan, Conor Flynn (119) and Hunter Eldred (135) placed sixth. For Darien, Lars Remole had the top finish, placing third in the 140-pound weight class. Remole defeated New Milford’s Anthony Terlizzi, 4-2, in the consolation final. Also from Darien, John Corcoran (145) took fifth place and Liam Fitzpatrick (160) was sixth.
For Wilton, Terrence Reedy took third place in the 171-pound weight class, beating Wilcoxson of Bunnell, 3-1, in the consolation final. For Norwalk, Fred Reisch was fifth in the 125-pound weight class.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com.
