Connecticut schoolboy basketball felt a major loss earlier this week when super fan Sheila Beneski of West Suffield died from cancer at age 76.

By MARK JAFFEE

Beneski and her husband Frank have been constant fixtures at gymnasiums throughout Waterbury and the state of Connecticut for four decades.

In honor of their support, the 2020 CIAC Boys and Girls Basketball Tournaments will be dedicated to the Beneskis.

“Sheila has definitely been the first lady of high school basketball in this state,” said former Holy Cross basketball coach Ed Generali Thursday, as he and Sacred Heart President Anthony Azzara headed to the wake for Sheila. “She understood the game as well as certainly anyone I know. When the Beneskis showed up, you knew it was a big game.”

Crosby coach Nick Augelli agreed.

“Frank knows more about the best players around Connecticut than most coaches,” said Augelli. “I’ve been on a committee for the Senior All-Star game with both of them. They’re just great people. Sheila will greatly be missed by all who knew her.”

Late last season, the Beneskis trekked to Litchfield to watch Classical of Hartford play Wamogo in a nonleague battle of unbeatens, a game the Warriors won.

“Sheila and Frank were in our stands very early, and they would always make a point to say hello,” said Wamogo coach Gregg Hunt. “Frank would pull out his book with a scouting report of every game he would be attending. If I would go to a Saturday game as a spectator just to watch, and saw them, you knew you were at the right game.”

According to her obituary in the Hartford Courant, the Beneskis routinely attended 125 varsity games and an equal number of freshmen and junior varsity games.

For the first time since the program began more than a decade ago, the Oxford High boys swimming team defeated Sacred Heart, 87-75, one of the Naugatuck Valley League’s elite programs, Tuesday night.

By MARK JAFFEE

The 200-yard medley relay, the opening event of the night, featuring Jonathan Wolf, Connor Scully, Kevin Domack and Matthew Darroch, took first place with a time of 1:54.23.

Scully is the only senior on the 20-member roster and is the sole captain. Scully won the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle against the Hearts and Ryan Wolyniec also was a double winner in the 50 and 100 freestyle.

“Connor leads by example,” said Oxford coach Matt San Angelo. “He can be vocal at times. During practice time, I’m observing and can be quiet and hands off while on the pool deck. Connor leads this team and steps up and is very supportive of his teammates. He’s a joy to be around.”

The Wolverines are 2-1 in the NVL meets and host Wilby-Kaynor Tech cooperative, another much-improved team Friday. Wilby-Kaynor (1-3 NVL) beat NVL power Watertown last week.

A 2009 Naugatuck High graduate and former Greyhounds’ swimmer, San Angelo, in his second season, believes that the Wolverines are on the verge of making a quantum leap, in terms of league status this year.

“I’m seeing the kids putting the hard work in their practices and that has enabled to step up to another level and be top tier of the league,” said San Angelo. “They are now faster and progressing very well earlier than I had anticipated. It gives them a good spirit to beat a perennial strong program like Sacred Heart, We have a lot of big meets left against really good teams — 2019 NVL runner-up to Holy Cross, Woodland, Seymour and Watertown. We want to establish ourselves. Against the Hearts, a couple of kids picked up points so quickly, otherwise the win wouldn’t have happened.”

Oxford also features juniors Yianni Constantinou, Darroch and Jonathan Wolf and sophomores Domack, Wolyniec and Peter Ort. It also has five up-and-coming freshmen: Matthew Delfino, Ethan DeRosa, Noah Bourdoulous, Pete Lanier and Adam Macero.

Did San Angelo, who is assisted by Amelia Muratori, a former Pomperaug swimmer who competed at Clark University and is a 2019 graduate, think the Wolverines could make a big splash this year?

“Yes and no,” said San Angelo. “We had a number of kids returning and thought we’d be in a good spot. I knew there were expectations with at least half or 60% of the 20 kids who swam for the Oxford Otters USA club team in the fall. They had been building up their tolerance and endurance.”

When San Angelo was at Naugatuck a decade ago, he admitted that he was not an All-NVL caliber swimmer and “barely scraping by to get points.”

But the influence of legendary retired Greyhounds boys coach Jim McKee has been a key component in building a competitive program, noted San Angelo.

“Coach McKee is such an intense person,” said San Angelo. “I’ve seen his body of work and the amount of effort and planning that goes into it. It was amazing to see up close. I wanted to be a coach some day and work on a best-laid plan and a road map for success.”

What is San Angelo’s approach?

“I don’t care if you are the faster in the water, but I want the kids to outwork the opponent in the next lane,” he said. “If they do that, that will lead to success. This is a very young team with a lot of new swimmers. We look to hit the ground running and get everyone involved right away. I expect a lot of competitive swims in our league meets, and for our three out of league meets as well.”

By KEVIN ROBERTS

The Ansonia High girls basketball team must focus on the little things to begin playing better.

That was the thought of Chargers coach Vince Della Volpe following his team’s disappointing 52-32 home loss to Naugatuck. The same Ansonia team that had lost 43-42 at league leader St. Paul on Jan. 17 went down in rough fashion at home on Wednesday evening.

The Chargers fell to 6-4 in the NVL and 7-5 overall with the loss. Ansonia was missing junior starter Lilly Romanowski due to illness, but Della Volpe wasn’t using it as an excuse.

“We’ve got to do the little things better,” Della Volpe said. “We got to make layups, we got to make free throws, and we’ve been having problems with those recently. Defensively, I thought we were OK. We had a couple breakdowns defensively here and there, but we just got to play better as a group.”

What frustrated Della Volpe and his staff was things that had been worked on practice didn’t translate to the game. Ansonia spends a lot of time in practice on free throws and boxing out, and the Chargers struggled at both on Wednesday.

Ansonia graduated four starters off a division championship team from a season ago, but there is still plenty of talent on the team. Enough that Naugatuck coach Gail Cheney was concerned about the game going in.

“I was scared coming to the game,” Cheney said. “Ansonia is a very talented team, especially with the transfer they got from Notre Dame-Fairfield (Krystalee Fernandez).”

Fernandez adds speed to the lineup, which can help the Chargers push the ball more. Ansonia has players that can shoot from the outside, and Natasha Rivera can cause issues inside for opponents. The little things just need to be executed better as the regular season winds down.

“We still have eight games left,” Della Volpe said. “We really got to scrap and claw to get that next win, to get that eighth win and qualify for the state tournament, to hopefully qualify for the NVL tournament.”

Ansonia hosts Kennedy on Friday.

The Northwestern High wrestling team is off to a strong start winning seven of eight matches.

By MARK JAFFEE

The Highlanders also improved to 2-0 in the Berkshire League after Wednesday’s 55-24 win over Nonnewaug.

“We’re having a good good season,” said Highlanders co-coach Peter Folino. “Last week, we lost to Farmington, but we had a bunch of our guys sick and needed to adjust the lineup. But we’re back to full strength now.”

The Highlanders have a tournament Saturday at the Eagle Classic at East Catholic in Manchester and will host Thomaston/Holy Cross co-op next Wednesday in Winsted.

The Highlanders have only five seniors — Aiden Bannerman, David Bunch, Dylan Phillips, Lily Schwartz and Jacob Twombly. The juniors are Benjamin Langer, Marco Folino, William Robotham, Nicholas Salvietti, Hunter Sanden, Janice Williams and Bailey Sarasin while sophomores are Jamikael Lytle and Colden Williamson. The Highlanders also field 10 freshmen.

By the numbers: On Jan. 15, Southington wrestlers won all the weight classes, taking a 78-0 decision over Newington, according to the Southington Observer.

Nine Southington wrestlers picked up wins by pin, including five in less than two minutes.

Caleb Brick defeated David Robinson by pin in 37 seconds in the 145 weight class. Jackson Rusiecki also took down his opponent by pin in less than a minute, defeating Jaiden Nunez in 43 seconds in the 195 weight class. Ben Gorr beat Riley Feldblum by pin in 1:19 in the 126 weight class, while Josh Vitti pinned Seamus Oates in 1:12 in the 170 weight class.

The first match filled with excitement came in the 182-weight class match between Billy Carr and Aidan Lozada of Newington. The match was still scoreless heading into the third round when Carr picked up two big points and held on to keep the shutout alive.

Jacob Vecchio was the other Blue Knight to win by decision, defeating Max Usmanov 8-1 in the 220 weight class. Jared Guida and Colton Thorpe started out the night with two wins by pin, with Guida defeating Jacob Perez in 2:28 and Thorpe beating Matthew Stomsky in 2:26. Darius Mangiafico and Emmett Vitti were the others to win by pin.

Southington also hosted pink night, raising $700 money for the New England Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Last year, Carr was the Class LL champion at 170 pounds, edging Andrew Seaton of Amity, 5-4, in the final. Carr, also a football and baseball standout, helped the Blue Knights to a third-place finish in the team standings.

Poll sitting: Danbury (7-0) sits atop of the latest Connecticut Wrestling online state poll. Area teams in the Top 10 are Bristol Eastern (No. 5, 5-0), Southington (No. 6, 7-1) and Bristol Central (No. 8, 16-0).

You can find more information on wrestling at www.ctwrestling.com.

BY JASON LEVY

The Berkshire League girls basketball standings are showing some separation as the season approaches the halfway mark.

Nonnewaug took over sole possession of first place in the standings after a 59-24 victory over Gilbert paired with Northwestern’s 40-29 defeat at the hands of Thomaston. The Chiefs are 7-1 in the league, followed by Northwestern, Thomaston and Shepaug at 6-2. And defending champion Housatonic is still in the race as well, sitting in fifth at 5-3.

Starting Friday, many teams will start playing their second games against BL opponents.

• Shepaug hosts Litchfield after winning the season-opening contest, 50-22.
• Thomaston visits Housatonic after winning the season opener, 46-17.
• Northwestern hosts Terryville after winning the first meeting, 61-18.
• Nonnewaug tips off its second-half slate Tuesday at home against Wamogo.

Banner days

When attendees at Gilbert School basketball games look up at the scoreboard, they will get as good a look at the home basketball team as they do when they turn their eyes back to the court.

Hanging just below each scoreboard is a photo banner by Jill Davenport of Litchfield Hills Photography. Below the scoreboard by the gym entrance is a photo of the boys basketball team in their home white uniforms. The scoreboard in the back of the gym shows the girls basketball team in their road blue uniforms.

Both have “YELLOWJACKETS” in the background on top and “THE GILBERT SCHOOL 2020” on bottom in the front.

“Jill Davenport knew somebody on our coaching staff and arranged to come up and do some shoots to show off her work,” Gilbert athletic director Don Crossman said. “From there it turned into amazing work that she has done not only for winter sports, but all our sports.”

Crossman gave all the credit to the photographer and the players and coaches for putting everything together and how impressive the banners look.

“Not only the fans, but the other schools come in here, look at the banners and the artwork and they want them,” he said. “Credit to Jill Davenport at Litchfield Hills Photography. She has an amazing reputation in the area for the work that she is doing.”

On the defensive

The Nonnewaug boys team allowed a season-high in points Tuesday night in an 85-73 victory over Gilbert. It was the second time this season Nonnewaug allowed a team to score at least 70 points. The other time during a 71-67 loss to Thomaston on Jan. 2.

Through 10 games the Chiefs (7-3, 6-2 BL) have allowed 54.6 points per game overall, and 52.0 to BL opponents. They cut it down to 50.5 on their current four-game winning streak.

If Nonnewaug is going to win the BL title, coach DeVonne Parker believes his team’s defense will lead the way.

“I think we have the best defense in the league,” Parker said following Tuesday’s win over Gilbert. “Our offense has to catch up with our defense. Once we collaborate that we will be really tough.”

BY JASON LEVY

WASHINGTON, Conn. — Shepaug High athletic director Matt Perachi has heard all the same pregame sportsmanship speeches that we have.

Whether mandated by their respective conferences or the individual school, the public address announcer or athletes from each team will make a speech prior to high school athletic events, asking fans to be on their best behavior and respect the players, coaches and officials involved in the game.

Perachi, who makes the pregame announcements before the Shepaug basketball games, wanted to do something different. Starting last season, he started riffing during his pregame sportsmanship speech, adding some dry humor.

“I wanted to make it a little more descriptive and memorable,” he said after this week. “I went online and looked at some different signs. A stole a couple or several of those from somewhere, but there are three or four of them that I came up with.”

This season Perachi’s pregame speech boiled down to eight bullet points, which are posted next to the gym entrance and behind the ticket table.

There wasn’t one specific moment that made Perachi change his approach, but a slow frustration with how a certain segment of the fans were behaving.

“There are things I have been more and more concerned about – or devoting more attention towards in the last few years is adult behavior,” he said. “That’s not something that any coach, teacher or educator signed up for. I don’t have any problem dealing with the kids. It increasingly seems like the adults who lose their composure at these games.”

Perachi believes every program should go through with their pregame sportsmanship speeches, and other schools do a good job with them. His version of the speech works in a place like Shepaug.

“I’ve been at gyms where they said, ‘Anyone who does this will be removed from the gym.’ And then people do that and 10 times worse and nobody says anything,” Perachi said. “It works here, I don’t know if it would work in a big school.”

Perachi admits that crowds at Shepaug High don’t get as rowdy as some of the bigger schools across the state, and there hasn’t been a litany of incidents.

“Behavior that would concern me at my school, at some other schools with bigger schools that wouldn’t even pay attention to it,” he said. “It’s all relative. But I’ve had numerous people say to me, ‘Thanks for saying that,’ or ‘I like that statement.’ I’ve had other people ask me for a copy of it.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kaynor Tech 56, O’Brien Tech 53: Toyin Bilewu had 18 points, and Danielle Salvati added 16 points and eight assists for the Panthers. Claire Feledie had 11 points and Antia Ozuna 13 rebounds.
Miranda McGuire scored 25 points and Gianni Gomez 13 for the Condors.
Nonnewaug 60, Wright Tech 26: Samantha Conti had 14 points, Fiona Gengenbach 11 and Ashley Hennessey 10 for the Chiefs.
Bristol Eastern 48, Bristol Central 27: Ciara Collins had 18 points and Jordan Ouellette 16 for the Lancers.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Naugatuck 86, Seymour 45: Robert Sanders hit six 3-pointers, scoring 30 points to lead the undefeated Greyhounds.
Derrick Jagello added 13 points and Avery Hinnant had 12.
Dion Perkins scored 11 points for the Wildcats.
Guilford 67, Kaynor Tech 39: Jared Gomez scored 14 points and Masai Johnson 12 for the Panthers.

NONNEWAUG 60, WRIGHT TECH 26
Nonnewaug (10-1): Ashley Hennessey 4 1 10, Samantha Conti 5 1 14, Mallory Tomkalski 0 0 0, Monica Untiet 1 0 2, Abigail Scheurich 0 1 1, Maddie Woodward 1 0 2, Madeline Roden 0 0 0, Emily Wisniewski 1 0 2, Anna Culkin 2 0 4, Fiona Gengenbach 5 0 11, Erin Classey 2 2 7, Charlotte D’Alexander 0 0 0, Milanna Jaffin 1 0 2, Alyssa Calabrese 1 0 2, Jade Deleo 0 0 0, Ella Lupo 1 0 2, Madison Dannenhoffer 0 0 0, Jordyn Padilla 0 1 1. Totals: 24 6 60.
Wright Tech (1-9): Nohelia Mazariegos 0 0 0, Jessie Quzzada 3 0 7, Janasia Jones 1 1 3, NeShe’ Bryant 4 0 11, Shania Luncy 1 0 2, Antetokounmpo 1 0 3. Totals: 10 1 26.
Nonnewaug 21 19 11 9—60
Wright Tech 12 1 11 2—26
3-pointers: N—Hennessey 1, Conti 3, Classey 1, Gengenbach 1. WT—Bryant 3, Quzzada 1, Antetokounmpo 1.

KAYNOR TECH 56, O’BRIEN TECH 53
O’Brien Tech (5-6): Miranda McGuire 9 5 25, Amaya Hernandez 1 1 3, Contessa Davis 2 0 4, Angie Smith 1 0 3, Gianni Gomez 5 0 13, Kaniya Dangerfield 2 0 5, Lizandra Jimenez 0 0 0. Totals: 20 6 53.
Kaynor Tech (5-6): Antia Ozuna 2 5 9, Dessire Rodriquez 0 0 0, Danielle Salvati 5 5 16, Claire Feledie 5 0 11, Toyin Bilewu 7 4 18, Lillibeth Moreno 0 0 0, Tasya Teasley 1 0 2, Vanessa Concepcion 0 0 0. Totals: 20 14 56.
O’Brien Tech 8 12 24 9—53
Kaynor Tech 17 7 7 25—56
3-pointers: OT—McGuire 2, Smith 1, Gomez 3, Dangerfield 1. KT—Salvati 1, Feledie 1.

BRISTOL EASTERN 48, BRISTOL CENTRAL 27
Bristol Central (4-8): Destinee Craft 1 0 2, Janessa Bartell 1 2 4, Gwen Torreso 1 2 4, Ella Watson 2 1 5, Sophia Toresso 5 1 12, Laney Maher 0 0 0. Totals: 10 6 27.
Bristol Eastern (8-4): Ciara Collins 7 3 18, Sage Scarritt 1 0 2 , Jordan Ouellette 7 2 16, Avery Arbuckle 1 1 3, Alyssa Kehler 3 0 7, Janessa Gonzalez 1 0 2. Totals: 20 6 48.
Bristol Central 4 5 7 11—27
Bristol Eastern 13 10 17 8—48
3-pointers: BC—S. Torreso 1. BE—Collins 1, Kehler 1.

NAUGATUCK 86, SEYMOUR 45
Naugatuck (10-0): Avery Hinnant 6 0 12, Ese Onakpoma 3 2 8, Robert Sanders 12 0 30, Derrick Jagello 6 0 13, Keywan Garris 2 0 5, Aiden Robertson 1 0 2, Tim Bristol 0 0 0, John Mezzo 1 0 2, Justin Barth 2 1 5, Julaquis Minnifield 3 2 9, Evan Swanson 0 0 0, Elijah Garcia 0 0 0. Totals: 36 5 86.
Seymour (3-7): Dion Perkins 4 2 11, Dhruv Kapadia 2 0 5, Matt Oczkowski 1 0 3, Kyle Harmeling 1 0 2, Chris Seara 2 0 5, Kevin Harmeling 1 0 2, Joe Orlando 1 3 5, Matt Liedke 0 0 0, Jake Chacho 2 2 7, Alex Okula 1 0 2, Colin Frey 0 0 0, Caleb Nimo-Sefah 0 0 0, Mike Starkey 0 0 0, Caden Drezek 1 0 3.Totals: 16 7 45.
Naugatuck 30 24 17 15—86
Seymour 12 13 13 7—45
3-pointers: N—Sanders 6, Jagello 1, Garris 1, Minnifield 1. S—Perkins 1, Oczkowski 1, Kapadia 1, Seara 1, Chacho 1, Drezek 1.

GUILFORD 67, KAYNOR TECH 39
Kaynor Tech (5-5): Scott Dalesio 0 1 1, Fernando Cerda 4 0 10, Richard Erem 1 0 2, Eddie Cabrera 0 0 0, Nathaniel Gairing 0 0 0, Jared Gomez 3 8 14, Masai Johnson 6 0 12, Jaden Jones 0 0 0, Mike Morales 0 0 0. Totals: 13 9 39.
Guilford (3-5): Chris Cahill 5 1 13, John Petonito 7 2 20, Brayden SantaBarbara 3 2 10, Jack Stanton 3 0 8, Jake Ciocca 0 1 1, Theo Freeman 1 1 3, Jackson Tandler 1 1 3, Justin Hess 1 2 4, Cal Stevens 1 2 5. Totals: 22 12 67.
Kaynor Tech 11 11 10 7—39
Guilford 12 13 22 20—67
3-pointers: KT—Cerda 2. G—Petonito 4, Cahill 2, SantaBarbara 2, Stanton 2, Stevens 1.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Naugatuck Valley League
Naugatuck 86, Seymour 45
Others
Guilford 67, Kaynor Tech 39
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Nonnewaug 60, Wright Tech 26
Kaynor Tech 56, O’Brien Tech 53
Bristol Eastern 48, Bristol Central 27

By KEVIN ROBERTS
After starting the season 0-3, the Seymour High girls basketball team made a change.
“We began to make a shift from focusing on where we wanted to be to how we were going to get there,” Wildcats coach Brian Cleveland said.
The focus shifted, and the winning began. Seymour has won nine straight games and is 9-3 overall. The Wildcats have an 8-2 NVL record, as does their opponent, Naugatuck, which they play tonight at 7 at Naugatuck High.
“Over the last nine games, our whole focus has been on our team, rather than who we were playing, and us improving every time we step on the court,” Cleveland said.
A large emphasis has been placed on assist-to-turnover ratio, where Seymour has excelled. There have been games during the streak where the Wildcats have recorded more than 20 assists.
“We are sharing the ball more than ever, constantly talking about making the extra pass, who has an advantage in their matchup, and taking good shots every time down the floor,” Cleveland said.
The numbers Seymour has recorded this season match up with Cleveland’s assessment of his team.
Kiley Drezek has the highest average points per game at 14.7, but she has plenty of company in double figures. Morgan Teodosio averages 13.6 points per outing along with 11.5 rebounds. Arlinda Peraj is at 11.5 points per game, and Kolby Sirowich is averaging 11.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. Teodosio has had seven double-doubles while Sirowich has had four double-doubles.
Alyssa Johnson is putting up 7.2 points and six assists per game. All five of the aforementioned players have led Seymour in scoring in a game this season.
“Each of these same players have also scored their career-high in points this season,” Cleveland said.
It’s not all about the numbers though. Take Jacey Cosciello, for example.
“The effort and intensity Jacey Cosciello brings every night sets the tone for the defensive end,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland said the team knows it’s not where it wants to be, but there’s a drive to keep improving.
“There were times we felt forgotten about in the beginning of the season, so we decided to make it a point to be a team that could not be forgotten,” Cleveland said.
As for today’s game at Naugatuck, Seymour knows it must bring a full team effort.
“We will have to play together and be aggressive from all positions, offensively and defensively,” Cleveland said. “Naugatuck is a similar team where you can’t just key in one player defensively. It will take a complete game to play with a team like them.”

BOYS BASKETBALL
Naugatuck Valley League
Watertown at Kennedy, 7
Woodland at Torrington, 7
WCA at St. Paul, 7
Sacred Heart at Wolcott, 7
Oxford at Wilby, 7
Berkshire League
Gilbert at Wamogo, 7
Northwestern at Terryville, 7
Shepaug at Litchfield, 7
Housatonic at Thomaston, 7
Others
Bristol Eastern at Bristol Central, 6:45
Plainville at Lewis Mills, 6:45
Cheshire at Amity, 7
Wolcott Tech at Wilcox Tech, 7
Pomperaug at New Milford, 7
Chase at Master’s, 4
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Naugatuck Valley League
Derby at Crosby, 5:30
Wilby at Oxford, 6
Kennedy at Ansonia, 6
Torrington at Woodland, 7
Holy Cross at Watertown, 6
Wolcott at Sacred Heart, 7
St. Paul at WCA, 7
Seymour at Naugatuck, 7
Berkshire League
Terryville at Northwestern, 6
Wamogo at Gilbert, 6
Litchfield at Shepaug, 7
Thomaston at Housatonic, 7
Others
Wilcox Tech at Wolcott Tech, 6
Lewis Mills at Plainville, 6
West Haven at Cheshire,7
New Milford at Pomperaug, 7
BOYS SWIMMING
Naugatuck Valley League
Torrington at Crosby-WCA, 4
Seymour at Naugatuck, 4
Holy Cross at Woodland, 4
Kennedy at Watertown, 5
Wilby-Kaynor at Oxford, 4
Berkshire League
Litchfield at Shepaug, 4:30
Others
Sacred Heart at Newtown, 4:30
BOYS WRESTLING
Gilbert, Terryville at Avon, 4

This video clip was sent to us and it is good!

[This post contains video, click to play]

BY JASON LEVY

WASHINGTON, Conn. — The Shepaug High boys basketball team, which harbored aspirations of a Berkshire League championship at the beginning of the season, found itself needing to dig deep for a win in the middle of the season.
The Spartans had lost three straight games, two against of the teams ahead of them in the BL race (Nonnewaug and Wamogo), followed by a tough defeat against eighth-place Thomaston. They were able to right the ship Tuesday with a 52-46 victory over Terryville in a back-and-forth rock fight.
“We just brought a lot of energy,” junior Michael Perachi said. “We knew Terryville was going to come out with the same energy. Since we came out with the same amount, we were able to shut them down early. They did a good job hitting shots, but we were able to pull away late.”
The Spartans find themselves smack in the middle of a tight BL race at the midpoint of the season, tied with Gilbert for fourth place in the league at 4-3 (6-3 overall), two games behind Wamogo. They have wins over the Kangaroos and Yellowjackets, but the defeats at the hands of the Chiefs and Warriors have the Spartans knowing they need to do better.
Perachi said the keys to success are “just working together as a team, making sure we are all communicating and we all know our spots. When we are all together, that’s when we are playing our best basketball.”
Junior Owen Hibbard has been the engine driving Shepaug’s offense. He scored 23 points Tuesday and is averaging 22.4 points per game.
“Owen is a really good player,” Shepaug coach Matt Lefevre said. “He started as a freshman and he had a very good freshman year. Last year he was all-league. He is a great competitor and a very good basketball player. He comes out to play every game.”
Senior Jayden Cornwall is second on the team with 14.3 ppg. Perachi, Cole Davenport and Cole Donaghey have been key contributors in the front court and the defensive end. Perachi had a big day against Terryville, totaling 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
“I feel like I have done a decent job,” Perachi said. “My teammates have done a good job of getting me good shots. We have done a great job all together as a team.”
Shepaug returned to action Friday night at Litchfield, the first meeting between the two teams this season. After a nonleague game against Abbott Tech on Tuesday, the Spartans begin their second-half schedule against Northwestern next Friday.
“I don’t know if there was extra pressure in the sense that every game out is a really tough game,” Lefevre said. “Terryville is a really good team. Litchfield is another very good team that we are playing Friday. Then we are going to turn the schedule and start all over again. Every team in this league is very tough and very competitive. Every game stands alone.”

[This post contains video, click to play]

The Hearts beat Wolcott Friday night to run their NVL win streak to 115 straight games.

HOLY CROSS 100, WOODLAND 77
200 medley relay: Holy Cross (Derek Fantano, Seamus Bowler, Alex Corona, Nick Frappier), 1:47.83;
200 freestyle: P.J. Gauthier (HC) 1:53.36; 200 IM: Alex Corona (HC) 2:14.19; 50 freestyle: Derek Fantano (HC) 22.89; 1-meter diving: Marcas Racevicius (HC) 242.30 points; 100 butterfly: P.J. Gauthier (HC) 1:00.67; 100 freestyle: Derek Fantano (HC) 51.15; 500 freestyle: Anthony Ursini (HC) 5:25.10; 200 freestyle relay: Holy Cross (Derek Fantano, Seamus Bowler, Alex Corona, Nick Frappier) 1:36.55; 100 backstroke: Patrick Zieba (W) 1:02.65; 100 breaststroke: Ryan Curtin (W) 1:12.07; 400 freestyle relay: Woodland (Noah Scott, Aiden Kennedy, Patrick Zieba, Zacary Bertrand), 3:53.83. Records: HC 5-0 NVL; W 4-1.

OXFORD 101, WILBY-KAYNOR TECH 77
200 medley relay: Oxford (Jonathan Wolf, Connor Scully, Matthew Darroch, Anthony Fabrizi) 1:56.06;
200 Free: Ryan Wolyniec (O) 1:58.09; 200 IM: Kevin Domack (O) 2:12.37; 50 free: Scully (O) 24.25;
Diving: Alijah Lopes (W-KT) 164.95 points; 100 fly: Domack (O) 59.20; 100 free: Wolyniec (O) 53.57; 500 free: Victor Ucanan (W-KT) 5:51.99; 200 free relay: Oxford (Wolyniec, Darroch, John Covino, Domack); 100 back: Wolf (O) 1:08.87; 100 breaststroke: Lopes (W-KT) 1:20.43; 400 free relay: W-KT (Nicholas Depaolo, Ucanan, Eldin Bukalo, Julius Weirshousky) 4:04.06. Records: O 3-3 (3-1 NVL); W-KT 1-5.

Naugatuck Valley League
Derby at Naugatuck, 2
Others
Choate at Cheshire Academy, 3
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bristol Eastern at Career Magnet, 1
Kingswood-Oxford at Cheshire Academy, 11:30
Westover at Stoneleigh Burnham, 3
BOYS SWIMMING
Berkshire League
Wamogo at Northwestern, 4:30
Others
Holy Cross at Brookfield, 5
BOYS ICE HOCKEY
North Haven at Cheshire, 3:30
Shepaug at Mt. Everett (Mass.), 7
Guilford at Watertown-Pomperaug, 7:30
INDOOR TRACK
Hillhouse Track Classic at Staples, 10 a.m
BOYS WRESTLING
Holy Cross, Nonnewaug, Windham at Platt, 9 a.m.
GIRLS GYMNASTICS
New Milford, Newtown, Oxford at Joel Barlow, 10 a.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Naugatuck Valley League
Kennedy 72, Watertown 71
Torrington 63, Woodland 48
St. Paul 60, WCA 48
Sacred Heart 81, Wolcott 50
Wilby 80, Oxford 75
Berkshire League
Wamogo 77, Gilbert 59
Northwestern 50, Terryville 47
Shepaug 59, Litchfield 52
Thomaston 57, Housatonic 27
Others
Bristol Central 75, Bristol Eastern 36
Amity 72, Cheshire 63
Pomperaug 65, New Milford 50
Chase 85, Master’s 52
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Naugatuck Valley League
Crosby 51, Derby 42
Oxford 44, Wilby 25
Ansonia 47, Kennedy 37
Woodland 65, Torrington 47
Holy Cross 76, Watertown 48
Sacsred Heart 60, Wolcott 36
St. Paul 59, WCA 29
Seymour 74, Naugatuck 71
Berkshire League
Northwestern 67, Terryville 21
Gilbert 53, Wamogo 37
Shepaug 55, Litchfield 18
Thomaston 32, Housatonic 29
Others
Wolcott Tech 36, Wilcox Tech 14
Plainville 46, Lewis Mills 38
West Haven 64, Cheshire 45
Pomperaug 60, New Milford 25
BOYS SWIMMING
Naugatuck Valley League
Holy Cross 100, Woodland 77
Oxford 101, Wilby/Kaynor 77

SEYMOUR 74, NAUGATUCK 71
Seymour (10-3): Kolby Sirowich 5 3 13, Jacey Cosciello 1 0 3, Alyssa Johnson 5 1 14, Morgan Teodosio 8 3 19, Arlinda Peraj 5 3 14, Kiley Drezek 3 2 11. Totals: 27 12 74.
Naugatuck (10-3): Kaylee Jackson 2 6 12, Sara Macary 8 7 23, Brielle Behuniak 5 0 12, Alissa McNeil 2 0 4, Hailey Russell 2 0 5, Lauryn Romalho 2 3 7, Felicia Salvati 0 2 2, Kendall Allen 2 2 6, Nadia Cestari 0 0 0. Totals: 23 20 71.
Seymour 7 24 24 19—74
Naugatuck 23 15 13 20—71
3-pointers: S—Cosciello 1, Johnson 3, Peraj 1, Drezek 3; N—Jackson 2, Behuniak 2, Russell 1.

OXFORD 44, WILBY 25
Wilby (0-13): Jynia Gibbs 3 1 10, Lianna Burgos 1 0 3, Sarai Hernandez 0 0 0, Tayler Saunders 3 1 7, Shakira Negron 1 0 2. Totals: 9 3 25.
Oxford (4-8): Mikayla Walton 5 2 14, Maddie Sastram 2 0 4, Jess Kondic 3 0 6, Emma Lobraico 4 0 8, Paige Davis 5 0 10, Olivia Garcia 0 1 1, Alexis Sanders 0 1 1, Payton Hovhannisson 0 0 0 . Totals: 19 4 44.
Wilby 4 10 4 7—25
Oxford 18 17 8 1—44
3-pointers: W—Gibbs 3, Burgos 1. O—Walton 2.

ANSONIA 47, KENNEDY 37
Kennedy (4-9): Javilet Soto 4 1 11, Amaryllis Rivera 2 1 5, Angela Smith 1 0 2, Nicole Wilmot 1 0 2, Me’Ryah Caraballo 3 2 8, Vivian Bunker 4 1 9. Totals: 15 5 37.
Ansonia (8-5): Natasha Rivera 6 2 14, Jojo Sanchez 3 1 8, Jayda Sanchez 2 0 5, Naylei Grande 0 0 0, Hailey Bellido 1 4 7, Sam Rotteck 2 0 4, Sabrina Ortega 0 0 0, Krystalee Fernandez 3 1 9. Totals: 17 8 47.
Kennedy 11 13 3 10—37
Ansonia 14 6 16 11—47
3-pointers: K—J. Soto 2. A—Jojo Sanchez 1, Jayda Sanchez 1, Bellido 1, Fernandez 2.

HOLY CROSS 76, WATERTOWN 48
Watertown (2-11): Marissa Forino 3 6 13, Alana Johnson 3 0 6, Paige Daigneault 6 1 17, Kristina Kyle 0 1 1, Cayla D’Elia 4 3 11, Ashley D’Elia 0 0 0 Lilliana Spagnoletti 0 0 0 Adrianna Dandonoli 0 0 0. Totals: 16 11 48.
Holy Cross (11-2): Ella Atkins 2 0 4, Jadan Izzie 0 0 0, Alyssa Hebb 4 0 8, Mya Zaccagnini 4 0 9, Jenna Mowad 2 0 4, Maeve Perrone 2 0 4, Nyasia Smith 5 0 10, Riley Becker 2 0 5, Cayla Howard 7 3 18, Kristina Perry 3 0 6, Bryanna Greenlow 0 0 0, Alyssa French-Graham 3 2 8. Totals: 34 5 76.
Watertown 9 17 12 10—48
Holy Cross 21 20 16 19—76
3-pointers: W — Daigneault 4, Forino 1 HC — Zaccagnini 1, Becker 1, Howard 1.

ST. PAUL 59, WCA 29
St. Paul (12-2): Kailyn Bielecki 2 0 5, Olivia Heslin 1 3 5, Sophia Gerst 0 0 0, Janessa Gonzalez 6 2 15, Lillian Sirois 0 0 0, Sam Naples 0 0 0, Sarah Lindquist 0 0 0, Zoey Rubins 1 0 2, Olivia Stump 3 0 9, Alexis Tierpack 1 0 2, Jade Udoh 7 5 19, Kelsea Tefoe 1 0 2. Totals: 22 10 59.
WCA (5-9) : Zaria Escoffery 1 0 2, Jonna Pierce 2 2 6, Ava Silva 0 0 0, Kiyarah Watson 2 1 5, Analise Santiago 6 0 14, Dashalee Ribot 0 0 0, Natalie Medina , Jordynn Torres 1 0 2, Leah Duarte 0 0 0, Shanice Martin 0 0 0, Nyjae Pacheco 0 0 0. Totals: 12 3 29.
St. Paul 20 17 14 8—59
WCA 7 9 7 6—29
3-pointers: SP—Bielecki 1, Gonzalez 1, Stump 3. WCA—Santigao 2.

SACRED HEART 60, WOLCOTT 36
Wolcott (4-8): Emiah Soto 1 0 2, Emma Dadonna 1 0 2, Mayci Abou-Arrage 1 2 4, Hannah Francisco 1 0 2, Alison LeClerc 1 1 3, Adriana Ferrucci 3 0 6, Mariah Grady 1 0 2, Julia Sullivan 1 0 3, Mimi Reilly 6 0 12. Totals: 16 3 36.
Sacred Heart (10-2): Aamya Rivera 8 0 17, Brooke Ferrare 1 1 4, Eilyn Maldonado 0 0 0, Paige Carroll 4 0 10, Mikayla Mobley 4 1 11 , Shera Tripp 4 0 8, Ally Daniels 3 0 7, Bryanna Flowers 0 0 0, Iyanna Rivera 1 1 3. Totals: 25 3 60.
Wolcott 2 2 12 20
Sacred Heart 20 18 17 5
3-pointers: W —Sullivan 1; SH —Carroll 2, Mobley 2, Ferrare 1, Daniels 1, Rivera 1.

WOODLAND 65, TORRINGTON 47
Torrington (4-8): Marissa Burger 3 1 7, Suzie Navin 1 0 2, Rachel Brewer-Karimi 0 2 2, Julianna Latina 3 1 7, Kate Mooney 6 0 13, Maddie McLaughlin 1 0 2, Leah Pergola 4 6 14. Totals: 18 10 47.
Woodland (10-3): Gabby Mastropietro 9 7 27, Kylie Bulinski 6 5 17, Andra Bojka 1 2 4, Ava DeLucia 1 0 2, Riley Kane 0 1 1, Jillian Barbarito 7 0 14. Totals: 24 15 65.
Torrington 8 17 9 13 — 47
Woodland 19 14 17 15 — 65
3-pointers: T — Mooney 1; W — Mastropietro 2.

CROSBY 51, DERBY 42
Derby (4-8): Madison Koval 7 4 18, Kiara Swilling 5 2 12, Lucy Lane 3 2 8, Izzy Chevarella 2 0 4, Emily Borowski 0 0 0, Laney O’Hara 0 0 0, Kelseana McBroom 0 0 0. Totals: 17 8 42.
Crosby (2-10): Tiahna Pulliam 10 1 21, Destiny Parris 5 0 10, Aniyyah Watson 5 2 13, Brianna Jackson 1 0 2, Glorines Rivera 2 0 5, Takaia Lewis 0 0 0, Iyanna Figueroa 0 0 0, Amyah Benjamin . Totals: 23 3 51.
Derby 16 8 11 7—42
Crosby 16 8 10 17—51
3-pointers: C—Rivera 1, Watston 1.

GILBERT 53, WAMOGO 37
Wamogo (2-11): Sam Sylvester 3 2 8, Paige Mitchell 2 1 5, Jona Mucka 0 0 0, Juli Weik 2 0 4, Justine Lago 5 8 18, Rita Dziedzic 0 0 0, Sammy Brady 1 0 2. Totals: 13 11 37.
Gilbert (4-9): Abbey Beecher 6 0 13, Kimmy McCarthy 7 0 14, Sam Lukowski 3 0 6, Sydney Eisenlohr 1 0 3, Ajla Gutic 6 1 13, Maryellen Marino 1 0 2, Yani Cabral 0 0 0, Maddie Propfe 0 0 0, Leslie DeSanti 0 0 0, Madison Fritch 0 0 0, Angela Zhovkly 1 0 2. Totals: 25 1 53.
Wamogo 11 10 10 6—37
Gilbert 14 15 12 12—53
3-pointers: G—Beecher 1, Eisenlohr 1.

NORTHWESTERN 67, TERRYVILLE 21
Terryville (2-10): Ally Drake 0 0 0, Amy Roqi 4 4 14, Julianna Lloret 0 0 0, Alice Benson 0 0 0, Zoe Zappone 1 1 3, Mya Moore 0 0 0, Kassie McCarthy 1 0 2, Tiffany Pires 0 0 0, Mackenzie Garceau 1 0 2. Totals: 7 5 21.
Northwestern (10-2): Allyson Danilla 1 0 2, Francesca DeSanti 2 0 4, Natalie Munson 3 0 6, Natalie Brodnitzki 5 0 10, Skylar DiMartino 2 1 5, Morgan Plitt 4 0 10, Abigail Whalen 2 0 4, Emily Munson 1 0 2, Eliza Austin 1 0 2, Natalie Lederman 6 4 16, Jana Sanden 3 0 6. Totals: 30 5 67.
Terryville 2 11 4 4 — 21
Northwestern 9 19 24 15 — 67
3-pointers: T — Roqi 2; N — Plitt 2.

THOMASTON 32, HOUSATONIC 29
Thomaston (8-4): Emma Kahn 5 2 15, Emma Sanson 4 2 10, Emily Root 0 0 0, Aurelia Barker 1 0 3, Kaya Johnson 0 1 1, Evan Doyle 0 0 0, Elyse Krasnowski 1 0 3, Kylee Decker 0 0 0. Totals: 11 5 32.
Housatonic (6-5): Sydney Segalla 2 0 6, Ella Segalla 4 0 8, Tori Dodge 0 3 3, Josie Marks 2 0 4, Mackenzie Ongley 4 0 8, Abigail Coulbeth 0 0 0. Totals: 12 3 29.
Thomaston 10 2 6 14 — 32
Housatonic 7 2 14 6 — 29
3-pointers: T — Kahn 3, Barker 1, Krasnowski 1. H — S. Segalla 2.

SHEPAUG 55, LITCHFIELD 18
Litchfield (4-8): Jeremina Prenoveau 0 0 0, Hayden Southard 0 0 0, Kadija Crapo 2 0 5, Makenzie Schweter 0 2 2, Molly Lennon 3 0 6, Aileen Lennon 0 0 0, Savannah Leigh 0 0 0, Avery Dyer , Bella Butler 2 0 5. Totals: 7 2 18.
Shepaug (9-3): Marissa Perachi 3 0 6, Eilish Crossley 1 0 2, Rachel Andrews 2 0 4, Brooke Donaghey 5 0 11, Lucy Puskas 1 1 3, Haylie Lasky 4 2 10, Abbey Harty 6 0 15, Maddie Douskey 2 0 4. Totals: 24 3 55.
Litchfield 2 6 5 5 — 18
Shepaug 14 15 17 9 — 55
3-pointers: L — Crapo 1, Butler 1; S — Harty 3, Donaghey 1.

WOLCOTT TECH 36, WILCOX TECH 14
Wilcox Tech (2-9): Maddie Sage 2 0 4, Joselyn Rosado 3 0 6, Tatiana Lobelez 1 0 2, Ayanne Parker 1 0 2, Yamelette Calderon 0 0 0, Mylin Bennett 0 0 0. Totals: 7 0 14.
Wolcott Tech (8-4): Teja Petersen 2 1 5, Abigail Williams 3 1 7, Sierra Doyle 3 0 6, Yennifer Sarmiento 1 0 2, Rachel Heaney 4 2 10, Kylee Bryant 0 0 0, Crystal Salazar 1 0 2, Lexi Walsh 0 0 0, Armani Gainey 1 0 2, Gianna Spagnola 0 0 0, Emily Anderson 1 0 2, Juliana Minard 0 0 0, Olivia Steves 0 0 0, Emma Blanchard 0 0 0, Mckenzie Wheton 0 0 0. Totals: 16 4 36.
Wilcox Tech 10 2 0 2—14
Wolcott Tech 17 13 2 4—36
3-pointers: none.

PLAINVILLE 46, LEWIS MILLS 38
Lewis Mills (4-7): Brianna Pelchar 6 0 14, Lauren Alvarez 2 0 4, Abby Mills 1 1 4, Annika Fitzgerald 3 0 6, Vickie Fleming 0 0 0,Jordan Anderson 0 0 0, Abby Jankoski 5 0 10, Maggie Lagana 0 0 0. Totals: 17 1 38.
Plainville (5-8): Tessa Susco 1 0 3, Olivia Wazorko 1 0 3, Jaida Vasquez 4 3 11, Sydney Ouellette 0 0 0, Kori Jones 7 3 20, Katie Gagnon 2 0 4, Sami Thompson 1 1 3, Elen Gorneault 0 0 0, Jenna Adamic 1 0 2, Vanessa Xiques 0 0 0. Totals: 17 7 46.
Lewis Mills 6 4 14 14—38
Plainville 15 7 9 15—46
3-pointers: LM—Pelchar 2, Mills 1. P—Susco 1, Jones 3, Wazorko 1.

POMPERAUG 60, NEW MILFORD 25
New Milford (5-8): Anna Holcomb 1 0 2, Nicole Vivian 4 1 9, Sydney Scalzo 1 0 2, Mackenzie Brady 2 0 5, Madison Gaudio 2 0 5, Sam McCaughan 1 0 2. Totals: 11 1 25.
Pomperaug (7-4): Marina Lambiase 1 0 3, Cara McGettigan 3 0 6, Molly Flanagan 2 1 5, Sydney Lounsbury 4 1 9, Jada Stietzel 1 1 3, Maddie Villa 9 0 20, Jess Evans 1 0 2, Claudia Schneider 1 0 2. Totals: 27 3 60.
New Milford 6 10 4 5—25
Pomperaug 14 21 15 10—60
3-pointers: NM—Brady 1, Gaudio 1. P—Villa 2, Lambiase 1.

WEST HAVEN 64, CHESHIRE 45
West Haven (7-5): Kassidy Carrano 9 0 22, Tenique Gates 1 1 3, Amani Abuhatab 7 1 15, Sarah Evangelista 2 0 5, Brianna Sebastian 1 0 2, Jayden Steinman 1 0 2, Jasmin Powell 1 0 2 Dealyce Howard 2 0 4 E. Petrie 2 0 4, Dea Mendez 2 1 5. Totals: 28 3 64.
Cheshire (3-9): Sophia Vagts 1 0 2, Grace Lurz 3 4 10, Kaylee Clark 5 1 11, Jordan DeMatteo 1 0 2, Ariana Perlini 4 1 9, Tess Givens 3 1 7, Emma Watkinson 2 0 4. Totals: 19 7 45.
West Haven 7 21 19 17—64
Cheshire 11 8 16 10—45
3-pointers: WH—Carrano 4, Evangelista 1.