David Smith scored 51 points in a win over Windsor in mid-February. He averages 25 points a game and has 1,592 points in his four-year career at Glastonbury, where he holds the school scoring record.
But Monday night in the first round of the Division II boys basketball tournament, Smith was still recovering from a flu that knocked him out of the CCC tournament and subsequently, knocked Glastonbury out of the conference tournament in the first round. He had 14 points, 11 in the second half, and six rebounds in a 55-49 win over Xavier.
Glastonbury, the sixth seed, will host No. 11 West Haven on Wednesday in a second-round game.
“I’ve been sick for the past two weeks,” Smith said. “I’m getting a little bit better now. I’ve been taking my time getting back in the groove.”
Glastonbury led 25-24 at halftime and pulled away a little in the third quarter, even though it was still close. Smith had seven points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer in the waning moments to give the Guardians a 42-36 lead.
“I didn’t expect to beat them by a lot,” Glastonbury coach Jim Vaughan said. “We needed a game where they weren’t going to let (David) do whatever he wanted and I was proud of how the guys responded.
“All the guys, for us to win games in the tournament, they’re going to have to step up and they did. They played a box-and-one and a diamond-and-one on (Smith) all game. He’s seen that for couple minute stretches at a time. Not a whole game.”
Vaughan was impressed with Smith’s patience.
“His passing was great and his defense was great,” he said. “The more we see it, the better we’re going to be against it. He’s not going to get 51 every game.”
Senior Mike Carroll added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Glastonbury and Danny Wallace and Jalen Welch added nine points each.
Glastonbury lost to Hall, a team the Guardians had beaten earlier in the season, 57-49 in the CCC tournament.
“In the hall game, (Smith) came out the second or third play of the second quarter and didn’t play the rest of the game,” Vaughan said. “He was dizzy and lightheaded. He missed a lot of practice. He’s not 100 percent but hopefully it’s close.
“I’d rather have it in CCCs than the states, I thought we could make a run there but it is what it is.”
That loss fired up the Glastonbury players.
“We had a tough game against Hall, three guys battling the flu and we’ve been hungry ever since,” Carroll said. “We had the hardest week of practice we’ve had this whole year. We knew what (Xavier was) going to do and put in some good sets and we came out and played out as hard as we could.
“We got it done. When they have a lot of focus on (Smith), it opens opportunities for other guys. When they sent three guys at him, he’s looking for us. We got two guys open in the corners, Jalen Welch and Josh Smith, Beckett Freeman shooting 3s in the corner and the wing – we’re able to get it done and it’s no problem.”
Glastonbury 55. Xavier 49
Xavier 12 12 12 13 – 49
Glastonbury 14 11 17 13 – 55
Xavier: Carmello Moore 5 2 13, Michael Waters 1 6 9, Parker Thompsen 2 0 5, Ean Pringle 3 0 9, Josia Bourne 4 0 8, Caleb Todzia 1 0 2, Harrison Kleefeld 1 1 3. Totals: 17 9 49.
Glastonbury: David Smith 4 4 14, Andrew Ossino 1 0 3, Josh Smith 0 1 1, Jalen Welch 3 0 9, Danny Wallace 3 2 9, Mike Carroll 4 2 11, Beckett Freeman 2 4 8. Totals: 17 11 55.
Records: Xavier 8-13; Glastonbury, 17-5.