NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck High boys basketball team did more than survive the first six games of the season, the Greyhounds put themselves in prime position to make a run for a high seed in the state and NVL tournaments.
To start the season, Naugy faced city schools Kennedy, Wilby, Holy Cross, and Crosby along with rival Woodland and St. Paul. The Greyhounds went 4-2 during that span and now sit at 6-2 following wins over Watertown and Wolcott.
The Greyhounds have also responded to both of their losses so far with back-to-back wins.
“I think that is just part of us being mentally tough,” head coach Mike Wilson said. “And we try to treat every game like it is our biggest game.”
The Greyhounds fell to Crosby, 82-63, on the road last Wednesday. Jean Lukau led Naugatuck with 26 points.
The schedule opened up for Naugatuck after the Crosby game, as the combined record of the Greyhounds’ NVL opponents was 30-43 through Tuesday, with Sacred Heart and Torrington accounting for 13 of those wins.
The Greyhounds started off a softer stretch of their schedule with wins over Watertown, 56-42, last Friday and at Wolcott, 62-50, on Tuesday.
In the win against Watertown, Lukau led the team in scoring again with 18. Derrick Jagello added 17.
Lukau had a game-high 21 points versus Wolcott. Caleb Scott scored 11 points, and Jagello had nine points on three 3-pointers.
While the Greyhounds entered a softer patch of the schedule, Wilson knows the team can’t go into games expecting to walk away with a win.
“To be honest, I am actually worried about this part of our schedule,” Wilson said. “Like I said, every game is the game of the year for us. We are trying to prepare ourselves for those games in March that matter, so every game needs to be important.”
If the ‘Hounds can continue to play dominant defense, it would make this stretch of the schedule easier.
The Greyhounds have given up an average of 55 points per game so far this season and have allowed 50 points or less in four of their past five games.
Combine that with the continued scoring dominance of Lukau and the contributions the team gets from Jagello, Elijah Robinson, Latrel Deveaux, and three-point shooters Scott and Jesse Lanci, Naugatuck is starting to establish itself as one of top dogs in the NVL.
Wilson has been delighted with the contributions he gets from Jagello and Deveaux but said the team is at its best when everyone contributes.
“Derek has played a huge role for us,” Wilson said. “He has great maturity and is a real warrior. He is going to be a player for us for years to come. (Deveaux) has been a beast for us on the glass he has been doing a lot of unnoticed dirty work. Now, if we can only get everybody going on the same night. We have still yet to play a complete game but we are taking the right steps.”
Naugatuck will host Seymour on Friday and hit the road to face Torrington on Tuesday.
