Hand boys' basketball
Size, depth are plusses
Hand boys' basketball team aims for tournament
|
|
"We don't really rebound well, we're very slow, we don't handle the ball really well, we'll have to walk it up and we'll have to play a lot of zones and gimmick defenses," he moaned.
Then he added: "We can execute offensively and we have a little more depth than we have in the past."
The Tigers missed the CIAC state tournament by a game last year (7-13) and lost top rebounder Sean Russell and top outside threat Ryan McMahon to graduation.
This year's team will be led by a trio of senior captains, Steve Ongley, Nick Castrilli and Ryan Hylen. Ongley is a 6-5 center, Castrilli is a 6-2 forward and defensive stopper and the 5-6 Hylen is the outside threat who averaged around 13 points a game last year and has a killer cross-over move. "That's the best cross-over I've seen in high school," Beeman said.
D.J. Brinn, a 5-11 sophomore who can play anyplace, will likely be on the floor at the beginning of the opening game. Junior Mike Swofforde (6-0) "has turned himself into a player", according to his coach while 5-8 junior Mike Clifford and 5-10 sophomore Rich Toni are others who will play. The Tigers will be strengthened after the first several games when 6-1 junior Scott Harrington and 6-0 junior Eric Choma return to the club.
"We're shooting to make the state playoffs," said Beeman, "and to get a little more respectable in our division (SCC-Hammonasset). We're pretty much picked for last place and we can do better. I'd like to go 11-9 or 10-10, although the schedule is a pretty tough one."
--Hal Levy
Hand girls' basketball
Tigers topped in opener
Sacred Heart girls have the edge in hoops, 48-43
Joanna Handby hit a short jumper with 7:22 on the clock in the third quarter that gave Hand a 28-27 lead over Sacred Heart of Hamden in the season opener for both teams Saturday night.
The lead, short lived as it was, showed that the young Tigers would not give in despite a first quarter that could have discouraged a lesser team.
Sacred Heart jumped out early to a 22-11 first quarter lead only to see it evaporate by the opening moments of the third quarter. To their credit, they regrouped and went on to a 48-43 win over the Tigers at Daniel Hand.
"It was something we told our kids to expect," explained Sacred Heart head coach Jim Egan. "You don't come to a place like Hand and expect to maintain an early lead... I think we moved the ball well in the second half to build that lead back up."
"There was not a whole lot of difference," began Hand head coach Jim Bombaci. There was a slight difference at the free throw lines and with the three pointers."
Sarah Brixner buried four three-pointers in the first quarter while on her way to a game high 27 points. Tonia Morosan led the Tigers with 23 points and spearheaded the second quarter turn-around. She had 16 points in the first half.
Led by Brixner's 14 first quarter points, the Pacers raced to a 22-11 lead by the first buzzer. Morosan and Liz Kuziel, the only two players with substantial varsity experience scored the 11 points for Hand.
Hand stepped up the defense in the second quarter and held the Pacers to just five points and closing the gap to 27-26 by intermission.
Hanby's jumper gave the Tigers the only lead they would have and it lasted just 23 seconds. Brixner once again took over scoring 11 of Sacred Heart's next 13 points while building the lead back up to ten, 40-30.
Hand battled back once again with points from Morosan, Megan Frink and Allison Perrone while Sacred Heart went over six minutes without a score.
While Hand inched its way back into the game, Sacred Heart went into a very successful stall late in the game with point guard Sue Krivda on the bench with four fouls. "I don't like doing that but, with our point guard on the bench in foul trouble, we were struggling a little bit," said Egan.
Forced to put the Pacers on the free-throw line, they missed six of eight free throws down the stretch. The Tigers needed to score to make the strategy work and that didn't happen.
"We had our chances," admitted Bombaci. "We're very young and inexperienced and I think it showed."
"I was very pleased with everybody's play," said Bombaci. "We had our chances at the line and we just missed too many shots from the floor."
--Ken Conlon
Hand wrestling
Hand's strength up top
Biggest four Tigers lead way for wrestling team
If the Hand wrestling team goes into the last four bouts of a dual meet reasonably close to an opponent, expect the Tigers to finish on top.
Hand's big four of Brett Scholnick (171 pounds), Rich Buchetto and Tony Meade (189 and 215) and L.J. Spinnatto (275) are strong, experienced seniors who have been through state competition and come up big.
Hand went 15-11 in dual meets last year, then came on to finish second in the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament, fifth at the CIAC Class M state meet and sixth at the state open.
Graduation took Phil Stehney, Steve Panecassio and Connor Dwyer from that team and Justin LePore chose not to participate after signing a baseball letter-of-intent to play at Clemson.
Scholnick didn't lost a match last year until the state open and will be one of the co-captains. Spinnatto (15-2) won his division at the state meet and was fourth at the open as well and will be the other captain. Meade (22-40 and Buchetto (10-12) will fill the two middle spots at the top.
At 103 pounds are a pair of freshmen, J.C. Lapan and Ben Cadwell. Junior letterman Sean Fitzpatrick (10-13), and freshmen Mario Acquarulo and Jackie Schmidt are candidates at 112.
Schmidt is one of two girls on the team along with senior Tnia Fitch (119). Fitch and sophomore letterwinner Doug Dey (18-11 last year) are at that spot.
At 125 are sophomore letterwinner Will Mahoney and three freshmen, Mike Palladino, Tom Pacelli and Dan Gilmore.
At 130 are junior letterman Jon Catalano (7-8) and sophomore letterman Mike Riley (15-15). At 135 are juniors Francis Beecher and Kurt Kyder and at 140 is junior letterman John Phelan (8-17).
Sophomore Andrew Stehney is at 145 with sophomore letterman Drew Banisch (4-20) and sophomore Tony Spinnatto at 150. Junior Brandon Whitesell is at 160.
"I think we can have a great season," said coach Mike Docker. "Tese are a bunch of tough kids and they are working very hard. Our seniors should be excellent."
--Hal Levy
