Wilton travel basketball scoreboard

7th/8th Grade

The Wilton seventh/eighth grade boys team, sponsored by Pinocchio’s Pizza, played three home games this weekend, hoping to go into the playoffs with the number one seed as well as remain undefeated.

Only one of those objectives will be reached as the boys suffered their first defeat in their early game on Saturday against a tough team from Newtown. Unable to get their offense going, a team-wide shooting slump led to a 42-22 defeat, their first of the season.

Having to regroup quickly into the next game, Wilton again started out soft on the offensive end but the defensive intensity limited the Redding opponents to just one point in the first quarter. Shots began falling into the second quarter and by halftime, the team regained their confidence and had a comfortable double digit lead. Smothering defense in the third quarter led by Conner Drake (five steals, eight points) and Dean Dinanno (three steals,six points) allowed Wilton to build a sizable lead going into the fourth quarter. Ethan Grandolfo (13 points) led all scorers, with contributions from Ryan Biberon (four points, six rebounds), John Walsh (six points, three rebounds), Andrew Travers (four points, one steal) and Chase Connelly (two points, three rebounds).

Regaining their swagger after a  miserable defeat, Wilton coasted to a 55-33 victory against a division opponent.

Hoping to come out  stronger in Sundays game against rival Weston, Wilton hoped to get their big men back on track on the offensive end. Michael Hage (nine points, two assists) hit his first bucket and regained his much needed shooting touch in the second half. Zach Dedrick (six points, one block, three steals) played big energetic minutes on both ends of the floor before fouling out. Drake provided defensive support (five rebounds, one block, three steals) and provided offensive support (three points, two assists) along with Travers (two points, two assists) while Biberon provided an intimating presence in the paint (three blocks, four rebounds, three points). Great ball movement in the second half by Dinanno (seven points) helped lead the Wilton team to another win, 33-24, leaving the squad with a record of 15-1.

5th/6th Grade

Wilton 60, Devon Knights 49

The Wilton fifth/sixth grade boys team, sponsored by Diamond Deli, played two critical games this week. On Tuesday, Wilton traveled to Milford to take on the first place Devon Knights, who were undefeated in league play. Despite an intimidating atmosphere, Wilton jumped out to a big early lead, paced by the hot shooting of Kyle Burns and Josh White and solid interior defense from E.J. Fasano and Davis Cote. Devon made several runs in the second half, but Wilton always had an answer. Trevor Martines had two timely fast break layups when Devon got within two, and Mack Kepner was all over the court in the fourth quarter, making steals, gathering rebounds, and draining key free throws in the final minutes, as Wilton pulled away for a 60-49 victory.

Wilton 59, Greenwich 52

The Devon win set up a showdown with Greenwich, as a Wilton victory would clinch the regular season league title. Adam Brophy got Wilton off to a hot start with six points in the first quarter, as Wilton took an early double-digit lead. Greenwich rallied and cut the lead to three by the end of the third quarter. However, at the start of the fourth quarter, tough defense from Wilton, led by John Stanley and Conor Lillis, generated several turnovers, and key baskets by Ben Wiener and Connor Cummings pushed the lead to a comfortable margin, propelling Wilton to a 59-52 victory. Congratulations to Coach Change’s Wilton squad for winning the regular season crown and good luck in the playoffs.

6th Grade

After a midweek win over league opponent Mt. Vernon, the Wilton sixth grade boys team, sponsored by Peachwave Yogurt, continued their winning streak this past weekend in decisive victories over both Westport and Darien.

On Saturday, Wilton traveled to Westport and racked up a 48-33 win in a non-league matchup. Solid passes by Jimmy McKiernan aided the impressive offensive effort by Matt Murphy, Andrew Rubsam and Sean Sullivan. Strong defenders Owen Lillis and Chase Autore helped the Warriors keep Westport scoreless in the second quarter with the momentum carrying Wilton to a strong finish.   Fortified by a team dinner after Saturday’s game, the Warriors defeated Darien on Sunday at Middlebrook.  A strong first half led offensively by Matt Gulbin and Michael Coffey proved too much for the Darien team to handle. Sam Strazza’s impressive block with seconds left in the game put an exclamation point on the Warriors’ 56-29 victory bringing the Warriors to 4-3 in FCBL league standings.

5th Grade

Wilton 64, New Milford 27

The Wilton fifth grade boys basketball team sponsored by the Law Offices of Ackerly and Ward, travelled to New Milford where their unselfish team play was on display in their 64-27 win. The Warriors opened the game on a smooth three pointer by Mathew Giller who had a career day scoring (13 points, three rebounds, four assists). The overall team play was led by three outstanding all around performances by Jack Lynch (14 points, three rebounds, three steals, one assist and one block), Kevin Hyzy (five points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals) and Zarius Eusebe (nine points, three rebounds, five steals). The closest the game got was at the end of the first quarter where the Warriors led 15-7. After allowing New Milford to open the second period on a 6-2 run, the Warriors outscored New Milford 16-6 in the quarter. Craig Hyzy continued his strong play (nine points, two rebounds, four steals). New Milford tried to make a run opening the third period going on a 7-0 run, but was quickly shut down by the outstanding defense of Max Andrews (six points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal) and Parker Woodring (five steals, four rebounds, one assist). The overall unselfish play of Woodring and Max Silva (two points one rebound, two steals, two assists) opened scoring opportunities for their teammates including a great all around game by guard Dillon Mannix (six points, five rebounds,two steals). Energy and great team play has become the calling card of these Warriors.

Wilton 46, Norwalk 20

The Wilton fifth grade boys basketball team took on their neighbors from Norwalk Sunday night. It was a slow start for Wilton, but they were able to pull away late in the game for a satisfying 46-20 win. Kevin Hyzy (10 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two assists) led the team, and was supported in the scoring column by Giller (10 points, two rebounds, one steal) who continued his hot scoring streak which included two three pointers. Wilton was able to outscore Norwalk 15-2 in the second quarter behind the strong all around game of their birthday boy Andrews (five points, three rebounds, three steals, one Block, one assist). Wilton came out pressing in the second half which led to a series of turnovers, led by the hustle play of Woodring (two points, three rebounds, three steals, one assist) and Mannix (two points, five rebounds, two steals, two assists) who were both all over the floor. Eusebe handled the ball efficiently (four points, one rebound, two assists) while directing the offense, and made a nice skip pass to Silva who banked it in from the elbow for his two points (one rebound). Lynch (two points, three rebounds, two steals, two blocks) continued to show good consistency in the middle, while a hot shooting Craig Hyzy could not be stopped from behind the arc, where he hit three three pointers (nine points) to go along with a steal.

4th Grade

Westport 26, Wilton 34

The fourth grade boys team, sponsored by Abercrombie, Burns and McKiernan Insurance, put up a tough fight again a still undefeated Westport team at home on Saturday morning. Jackson Duncan was the Warrior leading scorer and rebounder with five baskets and an equal amount of rebounds. Shooting guards Peter Grandolfo, Spensor Liston and Tommy McKiernan were close behind as top scorers. Amazing ball handlers Tommy Walsh, Michael Wall and Ryan Preisano kept up the pressure on the court while Andrew Roth and Will Sullivan used their quick moves to get several steals. Griffin Turner edged up the score with a strong presence at the free throw line. Alexander Reyes and Andre Wiest were imposing figures on the inside and James Minnich played tough defense down low. A recovering Nicholas Walden provided strong moral support for his team from the bench. The Warriors fought hard and late fourth quarter surge brought the score within fourth points, but foul trouble opened up the Westport lead. .

Girls Travel

8th Grade

Wilton’s eighth grade girls basketball team, sponsored by Scoops, continued their season with two strong weekend victories.

Wilton 42, Southbury 32

The first game was Saturday against a strong Southbury team. Sophia Strazza started the scoring early with a lay-up off of the tip, and was followed by points off of strong drives by Sidney Cummings. Maddie Burke and Alex Greer dominated boards to give Wilton easy put backs in the first quarter. Bridgette Wall  hit a long three point shot near the end of the first quarter to give Wilton a 12-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, in their best quarter of the year. Olivia Dexter came out with aggressive defense in the second half, and with Caty Greer continuing to control the boards in the second half, Wilton was able to extend their lead to 26-11 at half. In the second half, Adia Burrows dominated the paint and Kaitlin Reif aggressively attacked the basket, resulting in a 42-32 Wilton victory.

Wilton 38, CT Impact 33

In Sunday’s game, Wilton played CT Impact (which kindly stepped in at the last second to fill in for another team). CT Impact came out firing, and took a 12-2 lead into the end of the first quarter. But the aggressive defense of Sophia Strazza and solid shooting of Hannah Belanger cut the half time lead down to 19-15.

In the second half, consistent scoring by Caroline Coffey and Adia Burrows secured a 38-33 victory.

7th Grade

The Wilton seventh grade girls’ team, sponsored by Tavern on 7 Bar and Grill played two games this weekend. The team was shorthanded for these games due to Zoe Rappaport broken nose injury from the previous week and Paula Perez falling sick.

Norwalk 39, Wilton 34

On Saturday afternoon the Lady Warriors played home against Norwalk. Wilton fought hard throughout the game with tenacious defense by Francesca Goncalves, Ana Breen, Ashley Coltman, and Zarah Wiest, the prolific scoring from Taylor Lamantia and Sophie Sudano. Nancy Lynch a much needed ball control and managing the tempo with the score all squared at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter Norwalk took an early eight point lead, Wilton fought back and close the gap but ultimately Wilton could not overcome the deficit losing by a score of 34-39.

Darien 39, Wilton 31

On Sunday evening the Lady Warriors hosted Darien trying to avoid their fifth consecutive loss on FSBLC league play. Wilton relied on strong defense by Ashley Coltman, Brynn Burke, Anna Breen and Nancy Lynch fighting on the boards and getting steals. However, the team lack of scoring put them down by eleven at half time. In the second half Wilton woke up from their scoring draught with Taylor Lamantia, Sophie Sudano, Zarah Wiest and Francesca Goncalves providing the much needed scoring. Wilton cut the deficit down to six points half way through the fourth quarter before Sophie Sudano had to leave the game with a left ankle injury adding to the bad luck with injuries late in the season. At the end Wilton could not manage to close the gap losing by a final score of 31-39.

6th Grade

The Servco Oil Lady Warriors doubled their offensive output from an earlier loss against a Westport team laden with AAU players. Fiona O’Brien excelled on both ends of the court, exhibiting quick hands with five steals and two blocked shots. O’Brien also made beautiful passes in assisting on two of Lily Umphred’s buckets. Umphred used her height to great advantage in leading the offense with nine points. O’Brien, Grace Cahill and Erin McMorris also contributed baskets for the Lady Warriors. Callie Judelson crashed the boards and blocked shots. Quick thinking on one of her rebounds led to a pass to a wide open Cahill, who buried the jumper. McMorris also contributed on the glass and in hustling after loose balls.

The girls took on another top team in Fairfield, but were unable to overcome a slow start. As the game progressed, their passing and intensity picked up. Umphred once again led the way on offense, which was highlighted by a pair of tough rebounds and put back baskets by Umphred and O’Brien. Eleanor Greene also put some points on the board. Mairead Kehoe worked hard all game, providing stout defense and several steals. Katie McMorris, Marygrace DelliSanti and Judelson shut down their opponents and collected rebounds. Quick hands were the order of the day, as Maureen Campbell, Cahill and O’Brien contributed to the defensive effort with a number of steals.  Unfortunately, the Lady Warriors were unable to convert on the many offensive opportunities created by their defensive play.

5th Grade

The Wilton Fifth Grade Girls Travel Team, sponsored by Dr. Gregory Sanford Orthodontics, played two games this weekend.

On Saturday, they were at home to Trumbull where they started very strongly with Amelia Hughes collecting a pass from Leah Martins to score the opening basket. Martins added a second basket and Olivia Rossi a third as Wilton built a good lead.  Trumbull fought back into the game with two baskets. The game continued to be evenly contested through the first half with both sides scoring additional baskets and Wilton took a slender lead into half time. The third quarter was all about defense with Bella Andjelkovic, Jamie Leventhal, Ellie Copley and Morgan Lebek blocking shot after shot from the Trumbull team. Trumbull also defended extremely well to keep Wilton out and the third quarter was scoreless. Wilton found their best game in the fourth quarter with baskets from Ellie Coffey, Catherine Dineen, Hughes, Martins and Rossi to win the game 22-14.

Wilton travelled away on Sunday to play the table-topping team, Stamford. Wilton opened the scoring with a basket from Hughes and Andjelkovic added a second, but Stamford were very aggressive and came storming back and take a 10-4 lead. Wilton were pushing hard and closed the gap to 10-8 at half time. During the third quarter baskets from Hughes, Lebek and Martins catapulted Wilton into a 20-12 lead. Stamford fought back to 20-16 but during the fourth quarter Wilton extended their lead to 24-16 with two baskets from Rossi. Wilton defended strongly with Andjelkovic, Leventhal, Copley, Dineen and Lebek all stopping shots. However Stamford continued to chase the game and scored three times to close the gap to only two points at 22-24. Then Wilton scored through Levanthal and in the final minute Martins netted and Wilton pulled out a great win 28-24.