PHOTOS: Nine NCHS Student-Athletes Sign Early Letters of Intent To Play Sports in College

Nine New Canaan High School student-athletes signed early Letters of Intent on Wednesday to play sports in college starting next year. The gallery above includes photos from a signing ceremony overseen by NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan, held in the Wagner Room. We also asked the students why their future schools are a good fit, and put their responses in each caption.

New Canaan Boys Basketball Falls to Wilton 62-47

From convincing to confounding. Just two days removed from a nearly flawless blowout win over Bridgeport Central, the New Canaan Rams dug themselves into an early hole Wednesday night at Wilton’s Zeoli Field House, ultimately falling to the Warriors 62-47. New Canaan (4-14, 3-11 FCIAC) couldn’t get things going offensively in the early going, trailing 14-4 after one quarter and 29-12 at the half.  Wilton built a 20 point lead early in the second half, as the Warriors completely out-worked the Rams on the offensive glass, leading to multiple second-chance scores. The Rams fought back, eventually pulling to within 49-41 with just under 4 minutes left to play in the fourth. Wilton, however, reeled off an 8-1 run to put the game away, earning a huge win in terms of FCIAC post-season positioning and foiling New Canaan’s hopes of playing spoiler.

New Canaan Boys Basketball Routs Bridgeport Central 80-34

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With a winter weather warning forecast for the area Monday night, tipoff for the New Canaan-Bridgeport Central boys basketball game was changed twice, moving from 7 p.m. to 4, then ultimately to 2:30. By the time the game ended, the Hilltoppers were probably wishing it had been cancelled altogether. In perhaps their most impressive performance in years the Rams blew out Central 80-34 in front of a shell-shocked home crowd, unused to such domination in recent memory. “I’ve never seen that in my time here,” New Canaan head coach Mike Evans told NewCanaanite.com. “With the last three games against all against legitimate opponents [Wilton, Danbury and Greenwich], this is the best way it could have gone.”

For New Canaan (4-13, 3-10 FCIAC) the scoring output was the highest non-OT total since March 3rd, 2008 when a great Will Hanley-led squad knocked off East Lyme 92-42 in the first round of the Class L playoffs.

New Canaan Rams Boys Basketball Edges Staples 57-55

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For a few moments on Tuesday night it looked like it would be the same old story for the New Canaan Rams boys basketball team. After watching a big first half lead dissipate and eventually turn into a late fourth quarter deficit, the Rams seemed destined to go down to yet another heartbreaking loss. Instead, the Rams found a way to turn the tables—and their fortune—completely around. Sophomore Nick Crovatto’s driving layup with less than 8 seconds to play broke a 55-55 tie as the Rams defeated Staples 57-55 at New Canaan High School. The win avenged a 48-23 December loss to the Wreckers and was the first for New Canaan (3-12, 2-9 FCIAC) in almost a month—a month that has seen the Rams flirt with victory several times only to fall in the end, a trend head coach Mike Evans hopes is behind his team.

Split Decision: New Canaan Boys Basketball Wins, Girls Fall to Darien

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New Canaan sophomore Nick Crovatto drained a pair of clutch free throws with less than a minute left to break a 43-43 tie and help lift the Rams to a 46-43 win over the Blue Wave Monday night at Darien High School. The Rams were led by junior Tyler Sweeney who scored 21 points, 17 of which came in an exhilarating second half that saw multiple lead changes and swings of momentum. “I’m really proud because things weren’t going our way,” New Canaan head coach Mike Evans said. “We created our own momentum and got it done.”

Darien started the game strong, building an 11-9 lead in the first quarter. Junior two-guard Jackson Ryan hit two three-pointers for six of his team-high 15 points on the night to help the Wave to their early advantage.