By Mike Lewis
In front of a packed house at Amity, the Cheshire Rams boys basketball team clinched a Class LL tournament berth Friday night, with a 62-56 victory over the Spartans.
The season for Cheshire started rough. It lost to Brein McMahon by 14, and senior tri-captain Heath Post left the game injured. The Rams then lost three more games, putting them at 0-4 to start the season, one of their worst in years. At midseason, they were 2-8, with a Class LL run looking unlikely.
“We graduated a lot of seniors last year (three starters), and a lot of scorers, so it takes a while for a team to come together,” said Cheshire head coach Dan Lee. “We also had a couple of sophomores that didn’t get varsity time last year,”
With Heath back and Cheshire at full force, it has gone on to win six of its last seven games, concluding with the win against the Spartans. Amity was without McDonald’s All-American nominee Chris Winkel, who sat out with an injury. His presence came up big the last time these teams met, on Jan. 15, scoring 18 points en route to a three point Amity victory.
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But the Rams got their revenge Friday, with Dylan D’Addio and Heath Post leading the way with 16 points apiece. Junior Mike Millea supplied a career-high 12 points, and fellow classmate Drew Hart scored eight. Michael Quint missed his third straight game due to injury. The Rams still have three games to play, with a trip to rival Shelton next Tuesday, and a game at Hillhouse next Friday.
GIRLS
The boys weren’t the only Cheshire team to clinch Class LL berth Friday night. The girls basketball team defeated Hillhouse, 71-64, to sneak in as well. Freshman Mia Juodatis scored a team-high 16 points, while sophomore Sara Mulligan scored a career-high 14 points. Cheshire finishes its regular season next Monday, on senior night against Shelton.
