Naugy boys bury Torrington to tip off year

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By Ken Morse, Citizen’s News

Naugatuck’s Jay Barth (1) goes up for a layup against Torrington on Feb. 12 at Naugatuck High School. -NAUGATUCK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Naugatuck boys buried Torrington in an avalanche of 3-pointers Feb. 12 to start the season with an 82-56 win.

It may not have been the way head coach Mike Wilson drew it up, but Naugy took what Torrington was giving them. Torrington left the outside open, so the Greyhounds took advantage and made 11 3-pointers.

“We are more of an up-and-down, pass-it-around, pack-it-inside kind of team, but they were giving us that shot and we were dropping them in,” Wilson said. “We did manage to control the boards and had a ton of assists, but we did get sloppy at times and we need to clean that up.”

Naugy held an insurmountable 51-25 halftime advantage, but Torrington kept it closer in the second half. Wilson said the team needs to be more disciplined moving forward.

“We are happy just to be back out there on the court,” Wilson said. “But we were a little too anxious at times. We had 26 turnovers and we need to be a little more disciplined than that.”

“We like to play inside out because we are tough on the glass,” he added. “We need to do a better job of boxing out instead of trying to jump over people. Keeping our sense of purpose throughout the game is going to be our biggest challenge.”

Julaquis Minnifield made four 3-pointers en route to 18 points for the Greyhounds. Ese Onakpoma had four 3-pointers and 18 points, as well, to go along with 15 rebounds and eight assists.

Avery Hinnant scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Jayshawn Lindsay added two 3-pointers and 16 points. Jay Barth had nine assists and seven points, and Ryan Noble chipped in five points.

Naugatuck is scheduled to play St. Paul on Feb. 20, Wolcott on Feb. 22 and Ansonia on Feb. 24.

Woodland falls to Derby: The Hawks spread the scoring around in their season-opener Feb. 16 against Derby, but the game slipped away late in a 62-58 loss.

Woodland led 31-27 at halftime. Derby tied the game heading into the fourth quarter and pulled away for the win.

Nathaniel Smith scored 19 points to lead Woodland. Joe Giuliani had 12 points. Nate Bodnar chipped in with nine points, Brady Anderson had eight points, and Robert Moriarty added six points. Conrad Filippone checked in with four points.

The Hawks are scheduled to play Oxford on Feb. 20, Torrington on Feb. 22 and Seymour on Feb. 24.