Woodland’s effort doesn’t wane

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BEACON FALLS — The 3-point line can help a team break open a game in a hurry. The Woodland boys basketball team learned that lesson the hard way Tuesday against division rival Wolcott.

The Eagles hit four triples in the first quarter and seven in the first half to open up a big lead from which the Hawks never recovered. Wolcott held on for a 78-69 victory in Naugatuck Valley League Iron Division action.

“We came out and didn’t defend the 3-pointer real well in the first half,” Woodland coach Tom Hunt said. “If you’re going to give up 21 points in 3-point shots, you’re going to be trailing at the half. We were down 17 at one point, but our guys worked their tails off to get back into the game.”

The blowout was on in the second quarter when the Hawks (4-7) started to chip away thanks to 3-pointers of their own. Woodland drilled eight on the night, including five from Zach Bedryczuk (team-high 21 points) and three from Kyle Macek (13 points).

The Hawks cut the deficit to 43-35 at halftime and got as close as five points in the third quarter before Wolcott (4-7) began to pull away for good.

“We talk about effort every day,” Hunt said. “The effort never wavered and they played hard for 32 minutes. We ran into a team that made more shots than us.”

Mickey Meier added 15 points for Woodland, while Jack LaPerriere tacked on 11 and Justin Marks contributed seven. The Hawks also dealt with a short bench Tuesday as three players missed school with bouts of the flu.

Woodland’s loss was its second in a row. The Hawks suffered a 78-27 setback against Waterbury Career last Friday. Since Woodland got off to a 3-2 start to the season, the Hawks have lost five of their last six. They must win four of their final nine games to qualify for the state tournament.

“One thing we’ve been able to do is play one game at a time,” Hunt said. “No matter whether it’s a victory or a loss, we’ve been able to put it behind us. These guys are focused. The goal is to get to eight wins, but we have to do a better job than we did (Tuesday).”

The Hawks now face a challenging stretch against Waterbury opponents. Woodland will host Kennedy on Friday before visiting Holy Cross on Monday.