Pomperaug’s no. 31, Grant Wallace, and no. 35, Josh McGettigan, apply the pressure on Masuk no. 21, Mike Slattery, in the Jan. 8 game at Masuk. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE
Special to the Middlebury Bee Intelligencer
The Pomperaug Panthers boys’ basketball team has been racking up games in the win column by comfortable margins. Last Friday, they showed they have some resolve to go with their all-around game.
Pomperaug outlasted the Masuk Panthers of Monroe in a battle of the Panthers, escaping with a 50-46 win in a game that was decided in the final frantic seconds. With 2:55 to play, Cameron Kovachik (18 points, 16 rebounds) buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 42-42 as the Masuk gymnasium erupted in cheers.
On the next trip down the floor, Kovachik drove the baseline for a bucket to give Masuk its first lead, 44-42, since early in the first period. Pomperaug went into a timeout to try and take the home crowd out of its frenzy.
What is so different about this year’s group of Panthers is they are experienced, they have senior leadership and they don’t get rattled in moments like this. Pomperaug came out with a calm, cool demeanor and began making plays, staring into the face of adversity. Masuk crumbled under the pressure.
Rich Pugliese (20 points) hit both ends of a one-and-one at the line to tie the game. Noah Miree (12 points, six rebounds) made a steal at the other end and raced down the court for a two-handed dunk. You could see the life begin to drain out of the Masuk players’ faces.
With 42 seconds left to play, Miree stepped to the foul line and simply buried both ends of a one-and-one situation and that pretty much slammed the door shut as Pomperaug held a 48-44 advantage.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Panthers hit on 10 of 10 from the foul line in the final period and 12 of 18 for the game. Good teams make plays, great teams make them count and the Pomperaug Panthers are showing signs of the latter, entering this week with a 6-1 record.
“There was a little spot in the third period where we got a little crazy with the ball and turned it over a few times.” said Pomperaug head coach Dave Yachtis. “For the most part especially at the end of the game we were under control. We made the right plays and we handled the ball well under pressure.”
Pomperaug started the game firing away from three-point land. In fact they didn’t score their first two-point basket until two minutes were left in the half, and that came off a steal that was converted with a layup.
Miree and Josh McGettigan (six points, five rebounds, three steals) buried three-point shots early in the opening period as Masuk tried to stay with them by launching long range shots of their own.
Pugliese got one to go at the buzzer as Pomperaug took a slim 11-10 advantage into the second period. Matt Wynne (12 rebounds, seven blocks) came off the bench and began to alter the Masuk attempts at the basket with a couple of in-your-face blocks.
That slowed down the Masuk offense, and Pomeraug began to pull away. McGettigan and Miree unloaded a pair from behind the three-point arc to build a five-point advantage. Chase Belden (eight points, five assists, four steals) buried another three-pointer, and his steal that he took the length of the floor opened up a commanding 28-18 advantage at the half.
“We are a perimeter team,” said Yachtis. “Sometimes we struggle to score points inside, but we are much better shooting from the outside. We did hit a little slump lately, so it was good to see us clicking the way we did.”
Jacob Mendicino and Tom Satkowski came on in the second half to help out Grant Wallace (four rebounds, four assists) under the boards as Masuk made a run to close the gap.
It was a 42-33 Pomperaug advantage with 5:57 to go when the Masuk coach Peter Szklarz drew a technical foul that provided a spark in the Panthers from Monroe. Masuk went on an 11-0 run to take over the lead but ran out of gas down the stretch.
“We have a bunch of juniors and seniors who have been playing together for a long time,” said Yachtis. “That kind of experience down the stretch allowed us to not panic and just go out there and make plays.”
Pomperaug came into January fresh off a tournament win as the team improved to 4-0 on the season, winning the Nonnewaug Holiday Tournament Dec. 29 and 30. They defeated Bristol Eastern 79-58 with Pugliese leading the way, scoring 19 points and getting a lot of help from Belden and Miree as they both knocked down 18 points.
The Panthers won the tournament by beating Watertown 67-53 with Belden leading the way, putting up 21 points. Pugliese checked in with 19 points, and Miree added 12 points with eight rebounds.
Pomperaug dropped its first game of the season Monday, Jan. 4, losing to Northwestern by 72-62. Belden scored 15 points to lead the Panthers, while Miree scored 14 points, Pugliese added 13 points and Wynne knocked down 12 points.
The Panthers got right back after it, winning their next time out in a convincing 55-31 victory over Bethel last Thursday (Jan. 7) as Josh McGettigan led all scorers with 16 points. Pomperaug took its 5-1 record into Masuk Friday, Jan. 8, and showed they have both resolve and a long-range shooting threat that can take over games.
The Panthers will need some of that resolve this week when they will be tested as they go up against 3-2 Trinity Catholic in Stamford Wednesday, Jan. 13, and host 5-2 Bunnell, last year’s Class L state champion, Friday, Jan. 15.
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