By Andy Hutchison

FAIRFIELD — Staples boys basketball team’s rewarding season came to a end Thursday after tough loss in the Division I state tournament quarterfinals.

The No. 4 Wreckers were beaten 67-56 by No. 5 St. Bernard Saints of Uncasville at neutral site Fairfield Warde.

Staples trailed 17-11 after one quarter, but was within a few points, at 31-28, heading into halftime. 

Things stayed close through three periods. 

Matty Corrigan, in fact, gave the Wreckers a 34-33 lead before the Saints went on a 9-0 run, giving the Saints the advantage they did not relinquish the rest of the game.

Staples did hang in there with key baskets by Charlie Bowman, Mason Tobias and Dhilan Lowman, boosting the Wreckers within two at 49-47 going into the fourth.

A Lowman 3-pointer sliced the lead in half, making it 53-50 Saints with 5:17 left in regulation. 

After a 5-0 St. Bernard run Adam Udell connected to close the gap to six with three-plus minutes remaining. 

The Wreckers had a pair of possessions to get even closer to no avail. Staples had good looks, particularly from the outside, but could not make enough baskets to offset the Saints.

“We missed some timely shots tonight,” said Staples Coach David Goldshore, adding that the Saints are an excellent, well-coached basketball team.

The Wreckers fell by four points in a regular-season matchup with the Saints esarlier this year, and Thursday’s rematch was a similarly competitive contest.

“We were trying — I give our kids credit,” Goldshore said.

When all was said and done, Udell and Lowman each dropped in 15 points, Tobias and Corrigan both had eight, Bowman six and Austin Heyer four.

Goldshore was pleased with the Wreckers’ 21-4 season record, which included winning the team’s first FCIAC title in more than six decades. That was accomplished despite a midseason-ending injury to standout Sam Clachko.

Advancing to the quarters of the D-I bracket is a step in the right direction, and Goldshore expects the returning Wreckers will be hungry to take a step farther next winter. 

The Staples coach said he is proud of all of the players and coaches in the program for a job well done this campaign.

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