By Andy Hutchison

TRUMBULL — The magic number was 12 for the Staples High boys basketball team in its Tuesday visit to the FCIAC rival Trumbull Eagles. 

Staples overcame a 12-point halftime deficit, held the Eagles to just a dozen points in the second half, and won 50-45.

The Wreckers are knocking on the door for their 12th win as they improved to 11-4 overall and put the brakes on a two-game losing streak.

Down 33-21 to begin the third, Staples outscored the Eagles 14-8 in the period to get to within 41-35 heading to the fourth. 

Will Holleman drained a 3-pointer to get the second-half scoring started, then drew a charge on the defensive end, which led to Caleb Smith scoring off a nice pass from Chris Zajac. 

It was 33-26 and the momentum had begun to shift.

After the Eagles went up eight, Adam Udell’s 3-pointer pulled the Wreckers within 36-31. The teams traded baskets and while Trumbull maintained the lead the Wreckers were gaining traction.

In the fourth, Sam Clachko hit his second 3-pointer of the night to slice the deficit in half, and Smith hit a pair of free throws to make it 41-40 less than two minutes into the final stanza.

Cody Sale drove to the basket and scored, puttingthe Wreckers in front 42-41 with five-plus minutes remaining. 

The Eagles went back on top by a point and held a slim 43-42 edge for two and a half minutes. Udell set up Zajac for a hoop to put the Wreckers up 44-43 with just 2:16 left.

The Staples defense continued to cause problems for the Eagles, who mustered just four points in the fourth, and Sale helped close things out with six clutch free throws in the final 1:05, including a pair of crucial front end one and ones.

The Eagles were within 46-45 with 45 seconds left, but Sale made two big foul shots with 32 seconds remaining, then added two more with just two seconds to play.

Zajac finished with 12 points, Sale and Smith both scored nine, Clachko had six and Udell five. Charlie Honig added four, Holleman had three and Ethan Cukier tacked on two.

Staples hosts Bridgeport Central at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s. Learn more about us here.