Greyhounds off to yet another unbeaten start on hardwood

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BY KEVIN ROBERTS
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
The Naugatuck High boys basketball team is once again off to a tremendous start with a win streak that has extended into the second half of the season.
The Greyhounds had won their first 12 games entering their Tuesday showdown against Kennedy inside the Jack Taglia Gymnasium at Kennedy High School. It’s the best start for a Naugatuck boys team since the 2019-2020 edition ripped off 18 straight wins to open the season. The Greyhounds lost their 19th game, 67-62, to Sacred Heart at Alumni Hall, but rebounded with a victory over Crosby, 72-59, at home in the regular season finale. Naugatuck steamrolled through Watertown, WCA and Holy Cross on the way to the NVL Tournament title, beating its opponents by an average of 24.7 points per game. Those Greyhounds were 22-1 entering the Division II state tournament, but the rest of the postseason was canceled by the CIAC on March 12, 2020. Naugatuck won its 22 games by an average of 25.8 ppg.
This year’s Naugatuck team has won its 12 games by an average of 26.6 ppg. One thing this year’s Greyhounds share with the 2019-2020 version is Ese Onakpoma and Avery Hinnant. Onakpoma and Hinnant were standout sophomores on the 2019-2020, and they are star seniors on this year’s team.
For reference, Naugatuck’s last state final team (2014-2015) went 21-6 overall and beat opponents by an average of just over 16 ppg in those 21 wins.