The Glastonbury boys basketball team is off to its best start in a while at 8-1. The Guardians have won seven straight.
Senior guard David Smith is a big reason why.
“It’s not a secret that we’re only going to go as far as David Smith takes us,” Glastonbury coach Jim Vaughan said. “Other guys have stepped up, but we rely on him.”
Smith, who is 6-4, reached the 1,000-point milestone last year, believed to be the first in Glastonbury basketball history, and holds the boys school scoring record. He’s averaging 25 points per game. He had 36 in a 65-56 win over East Hartford last Wednesday and 24 in Glastonbury’s only loss, Dec. 21 to Northwest Catholic. He was the tournament MVP of the Artie Kohs Classic at Xavier Dec. 27.
“This year, he’s gotten stronger, he rebounds better, his decision-making is better,” Vaughan said. “But probably the two most important things: he’s a better leader and mentally understands the game and situations better and better by the day.”
Vaughan said that loss to Northwest Catholic instilled confidence in his team that the Guardians could play with higher level teams and said the East Hartford win was one of their better efforts.
“We were down in the second quarter then came back in the third then made the plays at the end,” he said. “We had been winning by some wider margins so it was nice to be in a close game to see how we would respond. I was thrilled with the way we responded.”
Top performances
Andrew Crayton, Haddam-Killingworth: Crayton had 27 points (including four 3-pointers), 11 rebounds, four steals and five assists in a 79-63 win over Old Saybrook Friday, had 25 points and seven rebounds in a Thursday loss to Shepaug Valley and 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a loss to Hale Ray Tuesday.
Tommy Dinunzio, Lewis Mills: Dinunzio had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 57-46 loss to Bloomfield Friday and 31 points in a 57-55 loss to Conard Monday.
Colby Dunnack, Windham Tech: Dunnack had 14 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and a block in a 71-66 win over Goodwin Tech Tuesday.
Eddie Fiske, Old Lyme: Fiske scored 20 points in a 53-50 win over Morgan Friday and 19 in a 75-60 win over East Hampton Monday.
Nyquawn Jefferson, Comp Sci: Jefferson scored 33 points in a 72-49 win over Capital Prep Friday.
Brady Marsh, Windham Tech: Marsh had 26 points, four rebounds and two assists in an 86-50 win over Wright Tech Friday night and 30 points and four rebounds, two assists and a block in a 71-66 win over Goodwin Tech Tuesday.
Cayden Smith, Bloomfield: Smith had 14 points and 12 assists, including the assist to Jeff Acoff on his game-winning layup in Bloomfield’s 64-63 win over Bristol Eastern Monday.
Derrick Sheets, Manchester: Sheets had 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a 101-43 win over E.O. Smith Monday.
Julian Surdyka, Aerospace: Surdyka scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds in a 70-55 win over Windsor Locks Friday.
Alex Weaver, Windsor: Weaver had 25 points, 11 assists and five steals in a 97-45 win over South Windsor Friday.
Storylines
Senior Joe Mugovero had 88 receptions for 1,297 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Manchester football team last fall. When football ended on Dec. 3 with a loss to Staples in the Class LL quarterfinals, Mugovero went to basketball practice not long after. Mugovero made some big plays in Manchester’s 95-94 win over Windsor Wednesday, including a drive at the end and an assist, which cut the lead to two. “He comes out the first day and he’s on,” Reiser said. “He didn’t missed a beat. He does the little things. He’s the receiver with the good hands.”… Windsor sophomore Missoni Brown suffered a concussion on a play in the third quarter in the loss to Manchester. He sat out Friday’s game against South Windsor.
Games to watch
Cromwell (5-2) at SMSA (7-0), Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.: SMSA will put its unbeaten record on the line with Cheney Tech Monday, and possibly Cromwell on Wednesday. Cromwell has two close losses, to North Branford and Coginchaug.
Windsor (5-3) at Northwest Catholic (7-1), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: Both teams have lost to Manchester; Windsor also has had a tough early schedule and has two losses to East Catholic.
East Catholic (7-1) at Manchester (10-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Manchester has knocked off Northwest Catholic and Windsor, can it keep it going against East Catholic? East Catholic’s only loss came to St. Bernard, last year’s Division I runner-up.
Cheney Tech (5-2) at Windham Tech (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Cheney Tech, last year’s Division IV runner-up, has been playing a tough non-conference schedule but this week, Cheney will face a solid tech school opponent in Windham Tech.