The Staples boys’ basketball team faced off against New Canaan on Friday night, hoping to qualify for the 2015 CIAC Class LL state tournament with a win. The Wreckers succeeded with a 53-40 victory over the Rams.
The team was led by the three sophomore standouts, Ben Casparius ’17, Sean Pritchett ’17 and Justin Seideman ’17, who scored a combined 40 points, equal to the scoring of the entire New Canaan team.
“We made the shots when we needed to,” Pritchett said.
The Wreckers got off to a slow start, turning the ball over repeatedly and missing open shots, and New Canaan led 7-5 at the end of the first quarter.
However, Staples was a completely different team in the second, outscoring the Rams 21-11 and at one point went on a 17-0 run capped by a three from Casparius.
The Wreckers were in firm control from there, thanks to good defensive work from center Nicolaas Esposito ’15, who pulled down multiple key rebounds late in the game to seal the win. Sharpshooter Harry Kohn ’15 was out with the flu, but the Wreckers still managed to net five threes.
Staples qualifies for the state tournament for the eighth time in head coach Colin Devine’s career at the school, after failing to make it last season.
“Great win, great team defense, couldn’t be more proud of the guys,” Devine said with a smile on his face.
This win is key in keeping the Wreckers in FCIAC playoff contention, they are now tied with Bassick, a team they will face next Friday night at home.
The Wreckers will enjoy Friday’s victory for a couple of days before visiting Danbury, the #4 team in the league on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
