Jana Persky
Centerfold Editor
On Tuesday, December 22, the boys’ basketball team took on the Warren Harding High School Presidents at home and came out on the losing end, 63-42.
The visitors rushed out to a 21-5 first-quarter lead, and then the Presidents used a stifling defense to coast the rest of the way to victory.
The Rams started slowly, scoring just five points (three free throws and one field goal) in the first quarter and turning the ball over multiple times. Rams coach, Jeff Bussey, gave credit to a tough Harding defense. “[Harding coach Charles Bentley] has been there for twenty years, so they are always well coached,” Bussey said, “and their quickness, speed and aggressive defense is so hard to understand until you actually play against it. It’s really hard to beat.”
New Canaan’s mission was made that much more difficult when starting center Chris Rama went down with a knee injury with four minutes left in the first quarter. Chris did not return. The loss of Rama’s physical presence enhanced Harding’s size advantage, and the Presidents were able to control the boards for the rest of the game. “Rebounds were key for us,” Bussey said, “and we just didn’t win them. That really hurt us.”
In the second quarter, New Canaan came out much stronger and ended up outscoring Harding 15-9 in the quarter behind five points from senior captain Ian Knectle (8 points, 12 rebounds). Still, a majority of New Canaan’s points came from free throws as the Rams’ shooting percentage remained low. Coach Bussey again credited the Harding defense, but still admitted that the Rams missed a lot of easy shots.
The Rams emerged from the break ready to make up the 10 point deficit, but after Conor House (16 points, 4 rebounds) put away two points to start the quarter, Harding broke away with an 8-0 run and eventually stretched the lead past 20 in the fourth quarter. New Canaan guards Scott O’Brien (6 points, 6 rebounds) and Michael Freyre (3 points) tried to control play, but New Canaan was undone by 22 turnovers during the game.
Although Coach Bussey couldn’t find many positive things to say about the game, the Rams are moving on. On Monday, December 28, they will play in the first round of the Tony LaVista Christmas Tournament at 5pm at the NCHS Gymnasium. The Rams are currently scheduled to play Greenwich, with the winner moving on to play in the finals the following Wednesday at Darien High School. The Rams have won the tournament seven of the past ten years. “We have to practice hard Saturday and Sunday, correct our mistakes, and get ready,” Bussey said. “We’re hoping to continue our streak [of winning the tournament].”
Photographs by Jana Persky and Karl Reinhardt
