Zanor column: It's 'Run to the Sun' time for boys basketball
Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while awaiting the release of Lake Street Dive’s new album Good Together on June 21. LSD headlines Madison Square Garden for the first time on Sept. 14 …
It’s “Run to the Sun” time for area boys basketball teams. The CIAC state tournament begins on Monday. In Division II, No. 20 Norwich Free Academy travels to No. 13 Glastonbury with the winner going to No. 4 New Britain on Wednesday.
The Division III and Division V tournament games begin on Tuesday.
In Division III, No. 10 Griswold, last year’s semifinalists, hosts No. 23 Amity. The winner meets either No. 7 Stonington or No. 26 Maloney on Thursday.
No. 19 Killingly travels to No. 14 Fairfield Ludlowe with the winner playing at No. 3 Wilby on Thursday.
In Division V, No. 21 Norwich Tech travels to No. 12 Thomaston with the winner playing at No. 5 Classical Magnet on Thursday.
No. 22 Plainfield meets ECC colleagues No. 11 Tourtellotte in Thompson with the winner traveling to No. 6 Somers.
Here’s wishing NFA, Killingly, Plainfield, Griswold and Norwich Tech the best of luck on their journey to the state finals on March 16-17 at the “world renowned” Mohegan Sun Arena.
Survive and Advance
The Norwich Free Academy girls basketball team sure picked a good time to play their best games of the season. The Wildcats stormed into the Class LL quarterfinals with victories over Manchester and St. Joseph-Trumbull. A trip to the Final Four is at stake when NFA travels to Newington on Monday night (7 p.m.).
The No. 15 Wildcats lopsided 59-28 win over the second-seeded Cadets, who were coming off a second FCIAC tournament championship in three years, certainly raised some eyebrows around the state.
Me? Well, I never bet against a team coached by Courtney Gomez.
“We lost our way a little bit in the middle of the season but we had a regroup moment after we lost to Ledyard in the ECC’s where we brought it back to team and really making sure that we celebrated one another,” Gomez said. “We stuck to our game plan because we’re really good when we play well together.”
Two years ago, the Wildcats won three games. Now, they’re two wins away from playing in the finals at the Mohegan Sun Arena. That’s amazing.
More: Norwich Free Academy upsets St. Joseph in Class LL stunner
Slick Rick
Rick Pitino wore a white suit last Sunday during St. John’s win over Creighton at Madison Square Garden and my immediate thought was: is Pitino trying to outdo former Norwich Free Academy coach Chris Guisti in the wardrobe department?
Trivia time
In honor of the Boston Bruins Centennial Season (1924-2024), what team did the Bruins defeat in the 1939 Stanley Cup Final?
Duck Boats
A quick peek at the NBA and NHL standings show the Boston Celtics cruising with the league’s best record at 46-12 and the Boston Bruins, at 35-12-14, tied with the Florida Panthers for the most points. It’s time to dust off and gas up the Duck Boats.
More: Led by the legendary Jere Quinn, St. Thomas More ready to compete for national title
More of the same
It’s always a treat visiting legendary St. Thomas More basketball coach Jere Quinn. Last Saturday, the Chancellors celebrated Senior Day with a thrilling overtime win over New Hampton. I’ve never seen a St. Thomas More game that wasn’t highly entertaining or full throttle and this one featured one fantastic play after another from future college stars.
Afterwards in his office, Quinn placed a Senior Day gift – a signed team photo – on the wall.
Here’s wishing Quinn and the Chancellors the best of luck at this week’s (March 5-7) National Prep Championship Tournament at Clark University’s Kneller Athletic Center in Worcester. Quinn has led the Chancellors to five National Championship games, winning it all in 2011.
Trivia answer
Led by Eddie Shore, playing in his final season with Boston, rookie goaltender Frank “Mr. Zero” Brimsek, and the “Kraut Line” of center Milt Schmidt, right winger Bobby Bauer, and left winger Woody Dumart, the Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup in 1939.
Stuck in the '70s
On March 4, 1972, Boston’s mighty J. Geils Band tore the roof off the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. The concert’s opening act was a 22-year old piano player from Long Island named Billy Joel. Four months earlier, Joel’s debut album Cold Spring Harbor was released. It featured the hit songs “She’s Got A Way” and “Everybody Loves Her Now.”
Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Zanor column: It's 'Run to the Sun' time for CIAC boys basketball
