Words and photos by Andy Hutchison
WESTPORT–Friday’s Division I State Tournament quarterfinal win was chock full of big hoops for the top-seeded Staples boys basketball team. The Wreckers are hopeful that there are two more games worth of big moments ahead.
Staples defeated the No. 8 New London Whalers 56-35 and will face No. 5 Notre Dame Prep of Fairfield on Monday, March 16 at neutral site Fairfield Warde at 6 pm.
Henry Veissid beat the first-quarter buzzer to give Staples its first lead, 13-11 as part of an 11-0 run. The Wreckers built an 18-11 advantage, limited the Whalers to four points in the second quarter, and held a 23-15 edge of the half.
New London climbed to within a basket at 27-25 late in the third before Sam Clachko nailed a clutch 3-pointer right out of a Wrecker timeout.
Staples finished the third on a 13-6 run. Clachko scored on a fast break, Dhilan Lowman hit a 3, Jack Jacob scored in close, and Lowman hit another 3-pointer, with three seconds left in the third, for a 40-31 Wrecker lead going into the fourth.
Mason Tobias opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a put-back 3-point play and the Wreckers continued to pull away.
Lowman finished with 17 points, draining five 3-pointers along the way, and Clachko had 12, including a pair of 3s. Austin Heyer dropped in 10, hitting baseline layups, some of the reverse variety; Tobias had nine points and Jacob six. Clachko had 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals. Tobias had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Lowman grabbed six rebounds. Corrigan had four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Heyer logged three of each: rebounds, assists and steals. Drew Hill added three rebounds and a steal.
Staples Coach David Goldshore noted that everything the Wreckers do is predicated on their defense. Key stops led to offense, often on the fast break, and the Wrecker stops began to pile up, allowing for the home team to distance itself on the scoreboard.
Goldshore added that it was rewarding for the team’s seniors to go out with a win on home court. The unbeaten Wreckers have to get past Notre Dame for the right to compete for a state title and the chance for the seniors to go out on top. The winner of that matchup will face either No. 2 West Haven or No. 6 Notre Dame West Haven March 21 or 22 in the title clash at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Andy Hutchison
Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories, since the 1990s. He is the sports editor at the Newtown Bee. He writes for the Monroe Sun. He was director of communications and radio color commentator for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (now Islanders) hockey team. He has won numerous writing awards, including regional and national first-place honors.
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