Woodland boys basketball coach Tom Hunt was pleased with the way his Hawks opened their season Tuesday night despite a loss at Naugatuck Valley League Copper Division favorite St. Paul.
Woodland suffered a 64-44 defeat in Bristol against a Falcons squad that went 17-7 last season en route to a berth in the Class S state quarterfinals.
“It was a great effort against a solid St. Paul team,” Hunt said. “We were in some foul trouble to start. We were very happy with the way our guys represented themselves.”
St. Paul (1-0) was led by its formidable one-two punch of Tyler Arbuckle (17 points) and Mike Palmieri (15 points). Matt Garry added 11 points for the Falcons.
The Flacons held a 12-4 lead after the first quarter and took a 24-12 lead into halftime. St. Paul controlled the second half as well, outscoring the Hawks 40-32.
Zach Bedryczuk and Mickey Meier paced Woodland (0-1) with 11 points apiece. Kyle Macek tacked on nine for the Hawks.
Woodland did most of its damage from beyond the arc. The Hawks connected on seven 3-pointers, led by Bedryczuk and Macek, who had three and two, respectively.
The Hawks are set to host their home opener Thursday against Seymour.
Woodland will hit the road for two games during the Christmas break, Dec. 27 at Ansonia and Dec. 29 at Thomaston, before returning home for a tilt against Watertown on Jan. 3.
