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Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while gearing up to read legendary J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf's memoir, "Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses."
Indiana calls it “Hoosier Hysteria.” In Arizona, it’s the “Cactus Jam.” Missourians compete in the “Show-Me Showdown,” while New Yorkers go on “The Road to Glens Falls.” Nevada has the “Wild West Shootout.” It’s called the “All State Series” in Illinois. And in Oklahoma, it’s the fabulous “Gold Ball.”
Those are just some of the names for the boys and girls basketball state tournaments throughout the country.
When the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the governing body for high school sports, moved their boys and girls state tournament finals from Central Connecticut State University to the Mohegan Sun Arena, a classic moniker arose every March since for Nutmeg hoopsters.
It’s called the “Run to the Sun.”
And this March, no one made a better run to Uncasville than the teams from the Eastern Connecticut Conference. The St. Bernard, New London, and Fitch boys basketball teams, along with the Windham and Bacon Academy girls basketball teams are carrying the ECC flag into state championship games this weekend at the Sun.
It’s the first time in two decades the ECC has had more teams in the finals than any other conference. The Southern Connecticut Conference and Central Connecticut Conference each have four teams competing for a state title.
The ECC’s basketball brilliance this postseason has certainly been one for the record books. In fact, the five teams that compete in ECC Division I during the regular season - Norwich Free Academy, East Lyme, St. Bernard, New London and Fitch - are a combined 16-2 in the state tournament.
No team, perhaps, wore the Cinderella glass slipper better than NFA this March.
After a 9-11 regular season, the No. 23 Wildcats defeated No. 10 Hand in Madison; topped No. 26 Westhill, a dangerous FCIAC team who upset No. 7 Southington in overtime; and knocked out No. 2 and defending state champion Innovation.
And just like that, NFA was one win away from their first state finals appearance since 2001. (The Wildcats fell to Harding, 41-38, in the Class LL championship game.)
Unfortunately, NFA’s glass slipper fell off following a semifinal round loss against ECC rivals New London. The Wildcats lost all four games against the Whalers this season.
Still, the future is bright in the Rose City. NFA head coach Jeff Brown returns a solid nucleus next season.
"Hopefully, we can build off this run," Brown said to Bulletin freelance writer Larry Kelley. "We'll look to put in the time conditioning, doing hills, lifting and putting time in the gym to improve our skills."
And let’s not forget about Rob Mileski’s Griswold Wolverines. The ECC Division 2 tournament champions reached the Division IV semifinals with stirring wins over Tolland and Rockville.
Griswold was hoping to be the fourth ECC team to get to the Sun but they were ousted by top-seeded and unbeaten Ellington.
The Wolverines return all five starters for another “Run to the Sun” next March.
Putnam Science Academy captured their fifth National Prep Championship with a 79-72 win over St. Thomas More on Thursday night at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford. Mustangs head coach Tom Espinosa also guided PSA to national titles in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023.
Ben Ahmed, who is headed to Oklahoma State, was voted the player of the game. Ahmed led the Mustangs with 20 points and four rebounds. Tony Williams had 11 points, while Parrish Edmond and Abdou Yadd each added 10 points for PSA.
Alabama-bound London Jemison, whose game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds earlier in the day propelled the Chancellors to the finals, scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Also for St. Thomas More, Christian Humphrey scored 18 points and Brandon Benjamin added 17 points.
Bryce Espinosa, the son of Putnam Science Academy head coach Tom Espinosa, just might be the hottest shooter in the country.
Espinosa went a perfect 25-for-25 from the foul line to win the Elks Hoop Shoot New England Championship last weekend in Portland, Maine. Espinosa, who competes in the 12-13 boys age group, will head to Chicago on April 26 to contend for the Elks Hoop Shoot National Championship.
Espinosa was awarded the Walter Kettelle Award for the highest score on Saturday and also won the PGER Amos A. McCallum Award for foul shooting perfection for going 25-for-25.
Back in January, Espinosa made 24-of-25 shots to win the district championship in Groton. A month later he sank 24-of-25 shots to win the state championship in Manchester. That’s 73 shots made out of 75 attempts in the last three rounds! I have a couple of Elks Hoop Shoot trophies somewhere in my basement but not even the sharpshooters in the backyard at 79 Summer Street in Everett could dethrone Bryce.
Espinosa is excited to represent New England and Connecticut but more importantly to represent the town of Putnam in Chicago next month.
It was great to see and share a minute of small talk again with Boston College head football coach Bill O’Brien at last week’s Tufts versus Brandeis annual baseball game (O’Brien’s son, Michael, is a 6-3 left handed pitcher for the Jumbos, while my son, Eddie, is a 6-3 left handed first baseman/pitcher for the Judges. Tufts edged Brandeis, 2-0.).
Despite finishing the season with a loss against Nebraska in the Pinstripe Bowl, O’Brien proved to be a terrific hire for the Eagles last season. He’s been busy bringing in some top recruits and I'm excited to see year two of the O’Brien Era get started on August 30 against Fordham.
Besides hosting the Seven Blocks of Granite, Boston College’s home schedule features games against playoff teams Clemson (Oct. 11), Notre Dame (Nov. 1) and SMU (Nov. 8). There’s also a must-win game on Oct. 18 against Jim Mora and the UConn Huskies.
More: UConn bidding for NCAA Tournament three-peat. Can it find March Madness magic in time?
More: Griswold beats the buzzer again, advances to state semifinals
On March 17, 1974, the Boston Bruins superstar duo of Bobby Orr (three assists) and Phil Esposito led the B’s to a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers in front of a raucous St. Patrick’s Day crowd at the Boston Garden.
Terry O’Reilly, Ken Hodge, and Don Marcotte also scored goals, while Gilles Gilbert made 30 saves for the Bruins (47-13-9).
Brad Park and Steve Vickers tallied goals for the Rangers (37-19-12).
.Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at, [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Zanor column: ECC teams thrived, Mustangs win another prep title
Continue reading...
ECC basketball excellence
Indiana calls it “Hoosier Hysteria.” In Arizona, it’s the “Cactus Jam.” Missourians compete in the “Show-Me Showdown,” while New Yorkers go on “The Road to Glens Falls.” Nevada has the “Wild West Shootout.” It’s called the “All State Series” in Illinois. And in Oklahoma, it’s the fabulous “Gold Ball.”
Those are just some of the names for the boys and girls basketball state tournaments throughout the country.
When the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the governing body for high school sports, moved their boys and girls state tournament finals from Central Connecticut State University to the Mohegan Sun Arena, a classic moniker arose every March since for Nutmeg hoopsters.
It’s called the “Run to the Sun.”
And this March, no one made a better run to Uncasville than the teams from the Eastern Connecticut Conference. The St. Bernard, New London, and Fitch boys basketball teams, along with the Windham and Bacon Academy girls basketball teams are carrying the ECC flag into state championship games this weekend at the Sun.
It’s the first time in two decades the ECC has had more teams in the finals than any other conference. The Southern Connecticut Conference and Central Connecticut Conference each have four teams competing for a state title.
The ECC’s basketball brilliance this postseason has certainly been one for the record books. In fact, the five teams that compete in ECC Division I during the regular season - Norwich Free Academy, East Lyme, St. Bernard, New London and Fitch - are a combined 16-2 in the state tournament.
No team, perhaps, wore the Cinderella glass slipper better than NFA this March.
After a 9-11 regular season, the No. 23 Wildcats defeated No. 10 Hand in Madison; topped No. 26 Westhill, a dangerous FCIAC team who upset No. 7 Southington in overtime; and knocked out No. 2 and defending state champion Innovation.
And just like that, NFA was one win away from their first state finals appearance since 2001. (The Wildcats fell to Harding, 41-38, in the Class LL championship game.)
Unfortunately, NFA’s glass slipper fell off following a semifinal round loss against ECC rivals New London. The Wildcats lost all four games against the Whalers this season.
Still, the future is bright in the Rose City. NFA head coach Jeff Brown returns a solid nucleus next season.
"Hopefully, we can build off this run," Brown said to Bulletin freelance writer Larry Kelley. "We'll look to put in the time conditioning, doing hills, lifting and putting time in the gym to improve our skills."
And let’s not forget about Rob Mileski’s Griswold Wolverines. The ECC Division 2 tournament champions reached the Division IV semifinals with stirring wins over Tolland and Rockville.
Griswold was hoping to be the fourth ECC team to get to the Sun but they were ousted by top-seeded and unbeaten Ellington.
The Wolverines return all five starters for another “Run to the Sun” next March.
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Mustangs Rule
Putnam Science Academy captured their fifth National Prep Championship with a 79-72 win over St. Thomas More on Thursday night at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford. Mustangs head coach Tom Espinosa also guided PSA to national titles in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023.
Ben Ahmed, who is headed to Oklahoma State, was voted the player of the game. Ahmed led the Mustangs with 20 points and four rebounds. Tony Williams had 11 points, while Parrish Edmond and Abdou Yadd each added 10 points for PSA.
Alabama-bound London Jemison, whose game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds earlier in the day propelled the Chancellors to the finals, scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Also for St. Thomas More, Christian Humphrey scored 18 points and Brandon Benjamin added 17 points.
Shooting champ
Bryce Espinosa, the son of Putnam Science Academy head coach Tom Espinosa, just might be the hottest shooter in the country.
Espinosa went a perfect 25-for-25 from the foul line to win the Elks Hoop Shoot New England Championship last weekend in Portland, Maine. Espinosa, who competes in the 12-13 boys age group, will head to Chicago on April 26 to contend for the Elks Hoop Shoot National Championship.
Espinosa was awarded the Walter Kettelle Award for the highest score on Saturday and also won the PGER Amos A. McCallum Award for foul shooting perfection for going 25-for-25.
Back in January, Espinosa made 24-of-25 shots to win the district championship in Groton. A month later he sank 24-of-25 shots to win the state championship in Manchester. That’s 73 shots made out of 75 attempts in the last three rounds! I have a couple of Elks Hoop Shoot trophies somewhere in my basement but not even the sharpshooters in the backyard at 79 Summer Street in Everett could dethrone Bryce.
Espinosa is excited to represent New England and Connecticut but more importantly to represent the town of Putnam in Chicago next month.
Eagle sighting
It was great to see and share a minute of small talk again with Boston College head football coach Bill O’Brien at last week’s Tufts versus Brandeis annual baseball game (O’Brien’s son, Michael, is a 6-3 left handed pitcher for the Jumbos, while my son, Eddie, is a 6-3 left handed first baseman/pitcher for the Judges. Tufts edged Brandeis, 2-0.).
Despite finishing the season with a loss against Nebraska in the Pinstripe Bowl, O’Brien proved to be a terrific hire for the Eagles last season. He’s been busy bringing in some top recruits and I'm excited to see year two of the O’Brien Era get started on August 30 against Fordham.
Besides hosting the Seven Blocks of Granite, Boston College’s home schedule features games against playoff teams Clemson (Oct. 11), Notre Dame (Nov. 1) and SMU (Nov. 8). There’s also a must-win game on Oct. 18 against Jim Mora and the UConn Huskies.
More: UConn bidding for NCAA Tournament three-peat. Can it find March Madness magic in time?
Some comments and observations…
- It’s Selection Sunday time. Bring on the brackets! Bring on Kenny Loggins singing “This Is It.” The NCAA tournament selection show is March 16 at 6 p.m. on CBS. The show has been must-see TV for as long as I can remember. I just love the suspense. Where are your favorite teams going? What teams got snubbed? It’s also going to be interesting to see what kind of a road Danny Hurley and the UConn Huskies have in their remarkable chase for a three-peat. Let the madness begin!
- The Zdeno Chara-Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand Era is finally over for the Boston Bruins. It’s amazing how close they came to winning three Stanley Cups together. They’ll always have 2011 and the stirring seven-game Stanley Cup victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
- There’s a “Big Three” brewing for the Boston Red Sox. Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Meyer all blasted home runs last Thursday night in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Red Sox prospects were flexing their muscles during the Red Sox’ Spring Breakout game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Remember the names. Anthony, Campbell, Mayer.
- How great is the name “Gold Ball” for a state high school basketball tournament? The Ardmore Lady Tigers won the gold ball, capturing the Oklahoma girls basketball state championship in 1993. Jill Roberts Falvey was a member of that celebrated Lady Tigers team. The wife of Everett native Jake Falvey, Jill passed away in June, 2020 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 45. A beautiful, amazing person to all who knew her, she is dearly missed. I know she’s smiling down from heaven, proud of Jake, her son, Oliver, and daughter, Emerson.
More: Griswold beats the buzzer again, advances to state semifinals
STUCK IN THE 70s
On March 17, 1974, the Boston Bruins superstar duo of Bobby Orr (three assists) and Phil Esposito led the B’s to a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers in front of a raucous St. Patrick’s Day crowd at the Boston Garden.
Terry O’Reilly, Ken Hodge, and Don Marcotte also scored goals, while Gilles Gilbert made 30 saves for the Bruins (47-13-9).
Brad Park and Steve Vickers tallied goals for the Rangers (37-19-12).
You must be registered for see images attach
.Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at, [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Zanor column: ECC teams thrived, Mustangs win another prep title
Continue reading...
