Sports
Branford Boys' Basketball Upset In SCC 1st Round
Cheshire outscored Branford 25-9 in the fourth quarter en route to a first round SCC Tournament win.
The Cheshire boys' basketball team outscored Branford 14-0 in the first four minutes, 23 seconds of the fourth quarter en route to a 60-47 win in the first round of the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament at Branford Thursday.
The No. 10 Rams advance to play No. 2 Hillhouse in the quarterfinals at East Haven on Saturday at 3:30. The Rams ended their regular season last Monday against Hillhouse, losing 52-33. Hillhouse won both meetings between the two teams this year.
Branford held a slight lead for most of the game, but the beginning of the fourth quarter belonged to Cheshire. With the Hornets holding a slim 38-35 lead after three quarters, the Rams went on a 14-0 run and outscored Branford 25-9 in the final quarter.
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"We are a young team...not on paper, but by experience," Cheshire coach Dan Lee said. "I think what you saw in the fourth quarter was our kids coming of age. All the drills and practice paid off. That was a tough game...I don't think the score was indicative of the game. That game easily could have gone down to the last possession."
Branford coach Jake Palluzzi was not happy with the fourth quarter performance, especially after the Hornets big win at the buzzer against Fairfield Prep on Monday to end the regular season. Kyle Nolan hit a shot with four seconds remaining to seal the win.
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"We lost our focus and concentration in the fourth quarter," Branford coach Jake Palluzzi said. "We left (Matt) Bailey open a few times and we knew we couldn't do that. I really thought after our big win on Monday night that we would do well in a tough situation like this."
Bailey led Cheshire with 19 points, including four three-pointers. Greg Leonetti added 15 and Nate Howard finished with 13.
The Hornets were led by Dylan Palluzzi and Nolan who finished with 11 points each.
The No. 7 Hornets, who are now eliminated from the SCC Tournament, will play again next week in the CIAC Class L tournament. Tournament pairings will be announced on Friday morning and can be found at www.casciac.org.
