The New Canaan Basketball Association Fifth Grade Red and Black boys travel teams combined to go 5-1 last weekend, continuing their domination over the rest of the Fairfield County Basketball League.
The Red 5’s (6-7 overall, 5-6 FCBL) defeated Greenwich and Milford before falling to a tough Orange squad on Sunday, ending their five game conference winning streak. Meanwhile the Black 5’s (15-1 overall, 9-0 FCBL) took down league powerhouses Bristol and Mt. Vernon to maintain their hold on first place in the conference.
New Canaan Red – 30, Greenwich Flame – 26
Jerome Roscoe with a floater. Credit: Terry Dinan
New Canaan erased a late fourth quarter deficit as Chris McLallen and Matt Salmini hit clutch foul shots down the stretch in the final stanza to help the Red 5’s to a comeback win over the Greenwich Flame.
Cooper Dinan knocked down a 12-foot jump shot to give New Canaan an early advantage. Greenwich came back strong, going on a 6-1 run to take the lead going into the second half. Baskets from Colin Tiscornia and Bear Morris kept New Canaan close until they made the late run.
New Canaan Red – 39, Milford Knights – 36
Colin Tiscornia with a shot. Credit: Terry Dinan
Travis Sturcke and Connor O’Donnell scored 8 points apiece to lead New Canaan to an exciting win over Milford on Saturday morning at the Parsons Center, the former gymnasium of the now-defunct Milford High School.
Ryan Connelly added 4 points while Ryan Tonghini and Dinan chipped in with 2 apiece for New Canaan, who received strong defense from Jerome Roscoe and Will Larson.
Orange Wolverines – 41, New Canaan Red – 33
Ryan Connelly (#11), Cooper Dinan (#2) and Matt Salmini (#23) collapse on defense. Credit: Terry Dinan
Despite Travis Sturcke’s breakout 19-point performance, the Red 5’s dropped a tough game to the Wolverines.
Matt Salmini (5 points) and Ryan Connelly (3 points) had strong games for New Canaan at both ends of the floor in a losing effort.
New Canaan was dealt a couple of key losses when Salmini and O’Donnell left the game with second half injuries. Despite the setbacks, the Red 5’s hung tight with the Wolverines, thanks to Sturcke’s offense and the strong defensive presence of Morris and Roscoe.
New Canaan Black – 56, Bristol Blue – 36
New Canaan dominated Bristol from the start as the opening tip went to Ethan Crawford who sped down the court for a breakaway layup for the first of his game high 16 points. Bristol had a hard time solving the defense of New Canaan due to the relentless pressure of Crawford and Hunter Nelson (6 points, 3 steals).
Hunter Nelson hits the floor. Credit: Mike Wilson
Although outsized, New Canaan also dominated the boards with outstanding rebounding by Brendan Hagan (5 points, 13 rebounds), Danny Rogers (7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals), Trey Hartnett (9 rebounds) and Andrew Rittenberry (7 rebounds). Blake Wilson and Ty Groff were their reliable selves as the both added 10 points with impressive play on both ends of the floor.
New Canaan Black – 65, Mt. Vernon – 52
Despite being without their top big men, Mack Seelert and Giovanni Cascione due to injuries, New Canaan knocked Mt. Vernon out of the ranks of the undefeated Sunday afternoon at Saxe Middle School.
Ethan Crawford leads a breakaway. Credit: Mike Wilson
Mt. Vernon jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead before Coach Fred Crawford called a timeout and made some necessary adjustments. New Canaan then exploded and went on a 14-2 run to finish the quarter 20-8. The Black 5’s were led by Ethan Crawford (20 points, 7 assists and 3 steals), Groff (19 points, 9 rebounds) and Wilson (15 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists).
Dan Rogers (#24) boxes out while Brendan Hagan (#22) waits in the wings. Credit: Mike Wilson
New Canaan went into the locker room with a 32-21 halftime lead. Mt. Vernon opened up the second half with two quick baskets to draw them within seven much to the delight of the large Mt. Vernon contingent. Coach Crawford once again called a timeout to settle the troops and the Black 5’s responded with solid rebounding and defense that led to many fast break buckets and a commanding 52-35 lead after 3 quarters.
Hartnett (5 points, 9 rebounds) and Rittenberry (2 points, 3 assists) had some key minutes against the Knights while Hagan (4 points, 2 assists and a steal) provided menacing defense and timely scoring. The two teams matched buckets for most of the fourth quarter as New Canaan finished off the talented Knights.