In its last three games, the Northwest Catholic boys basketball team has learned a lot about itself.
On Jan. 15, the Lions beat Holy Cross 54-53. The Crusaders (11-2) are ranked just above Northwest Catholic in the Division I rankings at No. 3. On Jan. 17, Northwest lost to Windsor 76-66.
Then last Friday, Northwest beat East Catholic 62-57 behind 26 points from Sean Akey and 22 points from Ryan Tolliver.
The Lions (10-2) are sitting in fourth in the Division I rankings.
“As a team, you find out so much about yourself when you play these games,” Northwest coach John Mirabello said. “They’re good teams and we’re kind of getting to realize that these teams are very good and the preparation is really important.
“I’m pleased with how the kids prepared. The effort in the last game – not saying we didn’t play hard against Windsor, they’re really good – but we lost to Manchester and the next game was St. Bernard (Montville) and the kids got up off the mat and beat St. Bernard and then we got beat by Windsor and we were able to respond by playing well against East Catholic.
“These are things we’re taking to heart as a team. Being resilient – it’s a long season, so many things are involved.”
Northwest Catholic is the only in-state team to beat St. Bernard, which beat Notre Dame Prep on a buzzer-beater Sunday, and is one of the top teams in the state.
Top performances
Jeff Akoff, Bloomfield: Akoff scored 40 points and had 20 rebounds in a 102-71 win over Middletown Friday.
Missoni Brown, Windsor: Brown returned after suffering a concussion in the loss to Manchester and scored 31 points and had 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in a 100-69 win over Enfield Saturday.
Richard Chandler, Aerospace: Chandler broke the school record for 3-pointers in a game when he hit nine (for 34 points) in an 81-44 win over University Thursday and he had 25 points in a 66-47 win over Bulkeley Tuesday.
Chance Clark, Manchester: Clark posted 21 points in a 73-52 win over Lewis Mills Thursday.
Tommy Dinunzio, Lewis Mills: Dinunzio put up 33 points and 15 rebounds in a 64-40 win over Northwestern Monday.
Colby Dunnack, Windham Tech: Dunnack had 13 rebounds, eight points, nine assists and three steals in a 80-47 win over University Saturday.
Lebron White, Innovation: White had 25 points, six rebounds and three steals in a 77-48 win over Comp Sci Thursday.
Avant Williams, Classical: Williams scored 21 points as Classical moved to 12-1 with a 61-31 victory over Prince Tech Saturday and had 18 in a 72-66 win over Weaver Thursday.
Avonnye Womack, Weaver: Womack scored 29 points in a 72-66 loss to Classical Thursday.
Nasir Wright, Weaver: Wright scored 32 points in a 77-52 win over Comp Sci Tuesday.
Storylines
It’s not unusual for players to get their 1,000th point during their junior or senior seasons but Bloomfield senior Cayden Smith took it one step further: he got his 1,000th point and also his 1,000th assist on the same day when Bloomfield defeated Middletown 102-69. Bloomfield is 10-1.
Aerospace is 13-0 and sitting on top of the Division IV rankings. The Jets’ closest game of the season was a 51-50 win over Granby on Jan. 17 and their first game was a 71-68 win over Plainville but they have cruised through the rest of their schedule.
Games to Watch
Classical Magnet (10-1) at Innovation (12-1), Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Innovation’s only loss came to Cheney Tech in overtime on Dec. 21; Classical’s only loss was to SMSA on Dec. 26. Innovation will play SMSA (11-2) on Friday.
Canton (9-3) at Ellington (11-0), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Ellington puts its unbeaten streak on the line against Canton, which has won five straight in this NCCC contest.
Windsor (10-3) at Manchester (12-1), Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.: The last time these two CCC teams played, Manchester rallied from a 25-point first half deficit to win. Also Manchester was playing East Catholic Monday so it’s a tough week schedule-wise for the Red Hawks.