Andrew Smith (shown against Danbury last season) scored 22 points as Wilton defeated Norwalk on Tuesday night.
Krista BensonWilton senior co-captain Andrew Smith couldn’t miss in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s home game against Norwalk.
Smith scored 16 points in the opening eight minutes, setting the tone for the Warriors’ 61-44 victory at the Zeoli Field House.
“I had the hot hand and I wanted the ball each time down the court,” said Smith, who hit four 3-pointers in the first period and finished with a game-high 22 points. “I was getting open looks and my teammates got me the ball.
“It wasn’t a pretty win, as the team is still not at 100 percent; we’re still a little under the weather,” Smith continued. “As a team we need to find our mojo and play better overall; we have to find our groove and play with more heart.”
Wilton led 18-13 after one quarter and then went on a 13-4 run to start the second period, opening a 14-point lead and never looking back. Josh White had six points in the run for the Warriors, who led 33-21 at halftime.
Norwalk came out cold after the break and turned the ball over, contributing to an 11-0 Wilton run that pushed the lead to 23 points.
“When we scouted them we saw that they turn the ball over a lot, but they also create turnovers, so we picked up the pace of the game in the second half and we forced them to turn the ball over,” said Wilton coach Joel Geriak, whose team improved to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the FCIAC.
The Warriors were ahead by as many as 26 points in the final quarter before Norwalk closed the game on a 9-0 run.
“We got the win ... that’s all that matters ... but we only played good basketball for about one quarter [combined],” Geriak said. “We are still not totally healthy and we made too many stupid and sloppy plays. We still have a lot of things to work out — player combinations, being more aggressive around the basket, and going after loose balls.”
Smith was the only player in double figures for Wilton, which got seven points from Parker Woodring and six apiece from Kyle Hyzy, John Walsh, and White. Trevor Martines and John McMahon each added four points.
For Norwalk (1-2), Treyjon Lewis and Jake Hufnagel had eight points apiece. Will Hinton contributed seven points, and Mysonne Pollard and Nate Schaer each added six points.