HIGGANUM – Valley Regional relied on defense to rally from a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit, and Jeremy Arnum finished with a game-high 21 points as the Warriors came away with a 60-56 overtime victory over Haddam-Killingworth on Tuesday.
Arnum, a sophomore, scored 16 points in the fourth and OT and added 5 rebounds and 3 steals to give Valley a 3-0 start heading into Thursday’s Shoreline Conference meeting at 3-0 Morgan.
“H-K did a great job on Arnum, but stars rise when it counts,” Valley coach Kevin Woods said. “We had some really big stops in the fourth quarter and our pressure defense really got to them late in the game. We played with a lot of grit. Our composure was amazing for a team with almost zero varsity experience.”
Valley had nine seniors on last year’s roster. The big bucket in OT was a 3-pointer from senior Marcus SantaMaria that tied the game.
“A monster three,” Woods said.
The Warriors received excellent all-around games from Saagar Patel (10 points, 10 rebounds), James Marsden (6 points, 13 rebounds) and Simon Partyka (9 points, 5 assists, 5 steals).
“Our senior leadership from Pindar and SantaMaria was amazing,” Woods said.
Jimmy McGoey led the Cougars with 20 points and Mason Gorham scored 18.
VALLEY REGIONAL (3-0)
Jeremy Arnum 8 1-3 21, Simon Partyka 2 4-5 9, Kyle Metz 0 0-2 0, James Marsden 2 0-0 6, Saagar Patel 4 2-2 10, Marcus SantaMaria 3 1-2 9, Keenan Pindar 0 2-2 2, Kyle Montecalvo 1 0-0 3. Totals: 20 10-16 60.
H-K (1-2)
Alec Erskine 1 2-6 5, Chase O’Linn 0 1-4 1, Tate Callender 3 0-1 7, Mason Gorham 7 4-4 18, Tony Grambanis 1 0-0 2, Jimmy McGoey 8 4-4 20, Callen Powers 1 0-0 3. Totals: 21 11-19 56.
Score By Quarters
VR 15 10 8 18 9—60
HK 17 15 10 9 5—56
3-Pointers: VR—Arnum 4, Marsden 2, SantaMaria 2, Partyka 1, Montecalvo 1; HK—Erskine 1, Callender 1, Powers 1.
More boys basketball results Tuesday:
Morgan 75, North Branford 34
MORGAN (3-0)
Zach Johnson 6 0-0 14, Rob Zirlis 5 1-1 11, Jason Cohen 3 0-0 9, Connor Duffy 5 0-0 10, Alex Fratamico 3 1-2 7, Josh Bardinelli 1 0-0 2, Mason Smit 1 0-0 2, Drew Nye 4 0-0 8, Cam Carlson 3 1-2 8, Cooper Galdenzi 2 0-0 4. Totals: 33 3-5 75.
NORTH BRANFORD (0-3)
John Onofrio 1 0-0 2, Trevor Holzer 3 0-0 7, Jack Meehan 7 2-2 17, Ryan Monde 0 1-2 1, Brandon Fratta 1 0-0 2, Niko DeSisto 1 0-0 2, Jordan DeJesus 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 3-4 34.
Score By Quarters
M 26 18 18 13—75
NB 2 9 12 11—34
3-Pointers: M—Cohen 3, Johnson 2, Carlson 1. NB—Holzer 1, Meehan 1, DeJesus 1.
East Hampton 60, Cromwell 43
CROMWELL (1-2)
Victor Payne 1 1 3, James Grodzicki 5 1 11, Connor Daly 1 0 2, Malcolm Mention 2 3 9, Matt Pepe 4 1 10, JJ Fehan 2 1 5, Justin Valentin 1 0 3. Totals 16 7 43.
EAST HAMPTON (1-2)
Ted Zhao 4 2 10, Dan Cascio 0 3 3, Grant Arcidiacono 3 4 12, Jye Lynch 4 0 9, Jack Blakely 1 0 2, Nate Ireland 5 0 10, Drew DiStefano 0 0 0, Max Karrenberg 2 0 4, Chris Progano 3 2 9, Ethan Palma 0 1 1, Darren Way 0 0 0. Totals 22 12 60.
Score By Quarters
C 9 8 13 13—43
EH 12 19 13 16—60
3-Pointers: C–Mention 2, Valentin 1, Pepe 1; EH–Arcidiacono 2, Lynch 1, Progano 1.
Westbrook 73, Old Lyme 62
WESTBROOK (1-1)
Brian Naccarato 5 1 11, Joey Caslin 3 0 8, Brenden Engels 4 4 14, Jack Naccarato 2 12 22, Nick Palumbo 3 6 12, Sammy Freeman 3 0 6. Totals: 20 23 73.
OLD LYME (1-1)
John Almy 1 1 3, Nick Cox 2 2 7, Jacob Ritchie 4 5 16, Frank Sablone 4 0 9, Colbe Andrews 10 3 25, Maverick Swaney 0 2 2. Totals: 21 13 62.
Score By Quarters
WB 18 12 22 21—73
OL 14 12 7 29—62
3-Pointers: W—Caslin 2, Engels 2; OL—Ritchie 3, Cox 1, Sablone 1.
Portland 59, Old Saybrook 24
OLD SAYBROOK (0-1)
Ben Yost 2 0-0 4, Ryan Stratton 3 1-2 8, Peter Waida 2 0-0 4, Aaron Tolve 1 0-0 3, Connor Lane 1 0-0 2, Albert 0 2-2 2. Jake Butler 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 3 24.
PORTLAND (1-1)
Cody Daggett 7 3-4 17, TJ Reddington 3 0-0 8, Mason Piersall 3 2-2 9, Noah Charpentier 3 0-0 7, Cam Latronica 6 1-3 13, Luke Francesco 0 0-0 0, Eli Evison 2 1-2 5, Austin Vess 0 1-2 1. Totals:
Score By Quarters
O 11 5 8 0—24
P 14 12 13 20—59
3-Pointers: OS—Stratton; P—Reddington 2, Piersall 1, Charpentier 1.
Hale-Ray 58, Coginchaug 48
COGINCHAUG (0-1)
Tyler Garretson 2 3 7, AJ Defilio 11 0 24, Jake Dykas 4 0 9, Terence Murphy 1 0 2, Jayson Penney 2 0 4. Totals: 20 3 48.
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HALE-RAY (2-0)
Matt Conroy 1 0 2, Braden Lankarge 1 0 3, Mamush Ciccarello 8 4 24, Loudon Chupas 9 6 25, Miles Gagne 1 0 2, Nathaniel Matetich 1 0 2. Totals: 21 10 58.
Score By Quarters
C 8 12 13 13—48
HR 13 21 14 10—58
3-Pointers: C: Defilio 2, Dykas 1; HR—Ciccarello 4, Chupas 1, Lankarge 1.