Winter notebook: Norwich Tech boys basketball earns state tourney berth
Week 11 of the winter season featured a number of highlights and top performances.
The Norwich Tech boys basketball team qualified for the state tournament with a stirring Senior Night victory over Windham Tech.
The Ellis Tech girls basketball team fell short in their quest to reach a second straight Connecticut Technical Conference championship game.
The Norwich Free Academy boys basketball team defeated Windham in their regular-season finale to finish above .500 at 10-9.
And five local wrestlers placed at the State Open on Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.
The Norwich Bulletin has you covered for what's happening this winter at Norwich Free Academy, Killingly High School, Plainfield High School, Griswold High School, Norwich Technical School, and Harvard Ellis Technical School.
Here are the highlights and top performances from Week 11:
More: Griswold denied a second straight trip to ECC finals
Boys basketball
Norwich Tech seniors Daniel Hess and Connor McRae combined for 63 of the Warriors’ 84 points to lead the Warriors to an 84-68 Senior Night victory over Windham Tech in Norwich. Hess, who made 7 of 9 3-pointers, finished with 32 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists, while McRae made 5 of 8 3-point shots while collecting 31 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Collin Schulze added 13 points, seven assists, and five steals for Norwich Tech (8-12), which qualified for the CIAC state tournament with the win.
Defending champion Griswold advanced to the Division II semifinals with a 69-53 win over Bacon Academy at Griswold High School. Kaiden Kazlauskas posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Kinkade Rubino scored 15 points, and Kolby Mills collected 11 points, seven rebounds, and five steals for Griswold.
In other ECC semifinal action, Killingly fell short against Tourtellotte, 59-55, in Thompson. Johnny Kazantzis scored 23 points, Quin Crowley had 19 points, and Quinn Sumner posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Killingly (10-11).
Kazantzis had 18 points and Crowley added 16 points in Killingly’s 71-53 regular season loss against St. Bernard.
Ethan Graham scored 14 points and Armanee Davis added 13 points as Norwich Free Academy topped Windham, 76-44, in the Wildcats’ regular season finale. Malachi Murray and Camron Barboza each had 11 points for NFA (10-9).
Girls basketball
Ellis Tech fell to Kaynor Tech, 39-33, in the CTC tournament semifinals. Kylie Damble had 15 points and six rebounds, Rose Lopez added seven points and six rebounds, and Sadie Murray grabbed seven rebounds for the Golden Eagles (17-4), who reached their first CTC tourney final a year ago.
More: Killingly caps 'season for the ages' with Class S title
Wrestling
Fresh off winning Class S state championships a week ago, Killingly’s Brady Zadora, Soren Rief, and Bradey Jonasch reached the State Open podium Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.
Zadora placed fourth at 132, Rief was fifth at 215, while Jonasch finished sixth at 106.
Norwich Free Academy wrestlers Landon Herdic and Dylan Vanegas also placed at the Open. Herdic was fourth at 106, while Vanegas finished sixth at 144.
Fencing
Norwich Free Academy’s Gabriel Bartlett placed fourth in the men’s foil to help the Wildcats win the ECC Men’s Foil Championship on Saturday at Griswold High School. The Wildcats also won the men’s foil regular season title.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Tech boys basketball earns state tourney berth
