‘Hounds, Hawks to go on the road in tournaments
Both local high school boys basketball teams will hit the road early next week for first-round state tournament action.
In Class L, No. 31 Naugatuck (8-13) will head to New Haven to take on No. 2 Career (18-4) in a tournament opener at Wilbur Cross on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Career was a semifinalist in the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament, while Naugatuck was a quarterfinalist in the Naugatuck Valley League tourney.
The Greyhounds nearly pulled off a monumental upset in the NVL tournament quarterfinals last Saturday at Wilby. Seventh-seeded Naugatuck led second-seeded Sacred Heart for most of the game, opening as much as a nine-point lead in the third quarter.
Naugy held a 32-27 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Hearts outscored the ‘Hounds 26-16 in the fourth to come away with a 53-48 victory. Dayvon Russell led the Greyhounds with 16 points, while Ryne Griesenauer had 12 and Jason Bradley added 10. CJ Wall and Jordan Booker both scored five points.
Woodland missed out on an NVL tournament spot in a multi-team tiebreaker. The Hawks (8-12) will enter the Class M state tournament as the No. 25 seed and drew a first-round matchup at No. 8 St. Paul (14-7) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The Hawks and Falcons split a pair of regular-season matchups. Woodland won a 49-41 game Jan. 24 at home, while St. Paul took a 67-58 decision in the regular-season finale Feb. 21.
Should either of the local squads earn first-round upsets, the second round will be Wednesday (Class L) and Thursday (Class M).
In addition to the postseason schedule, two local players were honored Monday night for earning all-league accolades. Woodland’s Tanner Kingsley became the second boys basketball player in Woodland history to earn All-NVL honors while Naugatuck’s Ryne Griesenauer took home All-Copper Division honors.