East Catholic and Northwest Catholic both lost for the first time last week, but both remained in the No. 1 and 2 spots in this week’s GameTimeCT poll. Both losses came at the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. East Catholic lost to Augustine, Calif., and Northwest Catholic fell to Newton North (Mass.) in double overtime. It was the second straight season East Catholic lost to a team from California at the HoopHall Classic. East Catholic had beaten No. 3 Windsor on the road, and No. 4 Notre Dame-West Haven at a neutral site earlier this season, so the Eagles maintained their spot atop the poll. Northwest Catholic was second, followed by Windsor and Notre Dame. Windsor and Notre Dame won games at the HoopHall Classic against Springfield Central (Mass.) and Gulliver Prep (Fla.), respectively. Teams 5 through 8 remained the same: Danbury, Kolbe Cathedral, Wilbur Cross and Notre Dame-Fairfield. There are two new teams to round out the top 10: No. 9 St. Bernard, back in for the first time since the preseason poll, and Ridgefield after a one-week absence. GameTimeCT Top 10 Boys Basketball Poll (Jan. 16) TEAM REC PTS LAST CLASS 1. EAST CATHOLIC (17) 8-1 560 1 I Results: Defeated Farmington 71-43; lost to St. Augustine (Calif.) 67-57. This Week: Tuesday at Tolland, 6:45 p.m.; Friday vs. East Hartford, 6:45 p.m. The Bottom Line: Second-straight season Eagles lost to a Calfornia-based team at the Spalding HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass., falling to Mater Dei last season. James Jones was the only player in double figures on Saturday with 24 points against St. Augustine. 2. NWC (1) 9-1 520 2 I Results: Defeated Middletown 87-62; lost to Newton North (Mass.) 67-59 (2 OT) def. Avon 87-49. This Week: Saturday at Hall, noon. The Bottom Line: Badara Diakite played the full 40 minutes against Newton North at the HoopHall Classic, posting a double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds). 3. WINDSOR (1) 10-1 490 3 II Results: Defeated Bristol Central 100-47; def. Springfield Central (Mass.) 70-50; def. New Britain 63-54. This Week: Monday vs. Bloomfield, 3 p.m. The Bottom Line: Guard Quintin Floyd had a triple-double (11 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) to earn game MVP laurels for the Warriors in its victory over Springfield Central (Mass.) at the HoopHall Classic. 4. NOTRE DAME-WH 8-2 464 4 I Results: Defeated Hillhouse 92-64; def. Gulliver Prep (Fla.) 64-46. This Week: Tuesday vs. West Haven, 7 p.m.; Friday vs. Fairfield Prep, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: Tajae Jones had an impressive perfoermance against Gulliver Prep (Fla.), coached by former UConn great and NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen. Jones had 33 points (11-of-14 shooting) and 15 rebounds in the win at the HoopHall Classic. 5. DANBURY 8-0 402 5 I Results: Defeated Trumbull 59-52; def. Stamford 71-52. This Week: Tuesday vs. Staples, 7 p.m.; Friday vs. McMahon, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: Christian Jeffers scored 23 points against Stamford and 19 against Trumbull as the Hatters get set for a big showdown against undefeated Staples at home Tuesday. 6. KOLBE CATHEDRAL 8-1 342 6 I Results: Defeated New Milford 62-25; def. Bunnell 61-47; def. Amistad 64-39. This Week: Tuesday at Barlow, 7 p.m.; Friday at Bethel, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: All eight of the Cougars’ victories have been by double digits. 7. WILBUR CROSS 6-2 311 6 I Results: Defeated Xavier 81-74; def. North Haven 61-57. This Week: Monday vs. Bassick, 5 p.m.; Tuesday at Hand, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: Elijah Jean-Guillaume scored 25 points in the Governors’ SCC win over Xavier. 8. NOTRE DAME-FFLD 7-2 257 8 I Results: Defeated Immaculate 72-57; def. Pomperaug 58-52; def. Bassick 66-51. This Week: Tuesday vs. Masuk, 7 p.m.; Friday at New Fairfield, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: It’s not easy winning on back-to-back days on the road, but the Lancers did that last Thurday and Friday against Pomperaug and Bassick, respectively. 9. ST. BERNARD 8-2 177 NR II Results: Defeated Bacon Academy 62-41; def. East Lyme 73-52. This Week: Friday at Norwich Free Academy, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: Both of St. Bernard’s losses have come against current top 10 teams Northwet Catholic and Ridgefield. 10. RIDGEFIELD 5-2 175 NR I Results: Defeated Bridgeport Central 101-46; def. Fairfield Warde 71-41. This Week: Tuesday at Trumbull, 7 p.m.; Friday at Norwalk, 7 p.m. The Bottom Line: Tigers return to the top 10 after a one-week absence thanks to an impressive performance against Warde. Dropped out: Hillhouse (9) and Wilton (10). First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis. Also receiving votes: Hillhouse (6-2), 161; Staples (7-0), 159; Bloomfield (7-2), 157; WCA (9-1), 104; Wilton (6-2), 103; Xavier (7-2), 90; Fairfield Prep (6-2), 80; Weaver (7-0), 55; Cromwell (7-1), 45; Hand (7-3), 33; Conard (6-3), 30; Kennedy (8-2) and Windsor Locks (6-0), 24; Wilby (8-2), 18; Holy Cross (7-2), 16; Glastonbury (7-2), 10; SMSA (6-2), 9; Griswold (9-1), 7. The Following Voted: Paul Augeri, Middletown Press; Adam Betz, Journal-Inquirer of Manchester; Mike DiMauro, The Day of New London; Scott Ericson, Stamford Advocate; Matt Finkel, WVIT-30; Mark Jaffee, Waterbury Republican-American; Tim Jensen, Patch Media Corp.; Sean Krofssik, Record-Journal of Meriden; Mike Madera, GameTimeCT; Joe Morelli, New Haven Register; Dave Phillips, Shore Line Newspapers; John Pierson, WTNH-8; Lori Riley, Hartford Courant; Dave Ruden, The Ruden Report; Chris Saunders, WATR-AM; Ben Talbott, Bird’s Eye Sports; Richard Zalusky, The Chronicle of Willimantic; Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin; Joe Zone, WFSB-3. Compiled by Joe Morelli.
