By Finnegan Courtney

Travelling to Stamford for last night’s game with a four-game winning streak, the Wreckers hoped to prevail against the 7-1 Westhill Vikings. In a matchup that showcased the tenacity of each team, Staples fell to Westhill 66-61 and snapped their streak.

Staples sank the first bucket for 2-0 lead, their only lead until late in the fourth quarter. Early on, it was all Vikings, led by Jey’Son Slade. Slade fueled an 18-4 rampage that completely addled Staples, who were forced to call two timeouts in the first quarter. Slade would finish with 23 on the night.

It appeared to be more of the same in the second quarter, as Staples only made a single field goal for the first five minutes of the second quarter. However, behind their veteran leaders, Staples was able to cut the deficit to 11 at the half, 31-20.

After halftime, Staples woke up. Led by senior captain Caleb Tobias, Staples clawed and scratched their way back into the game, cutting Westhill’s lead to four with two minutes left in the third. However, Slade nailed a spectacular third-quarter buzzer-beating three-pointer, which fired up the entire Westhill team.

Slade started the fourth quarter with seven straight points, before the Wreckers went on an 8-0 run. With just under three and a half minutes left, Derek Sale’s three-pointer gave the Wreckers their first lead since the opening minutes.

Yet, that lead was short-lived as Westhill rallied, and came back to retake the lead, a lead they’d never give up as they went on to win over Staples, led by Slade’s incredible performance late, 66-61.

The 7-3 Wreckers get two days of rest before their home match-up Monday at 7:00 p.m. against the red-hot, 7-1 Wilton Warriors,