Huskies Turn Back Bellringers For 5th Consecutive Victory

Alex Fratamico led four Morgan players in double figures with 17 points, and the Huskies withstood a furious East Hampton rally to pull away for a 77-58 Shoreline Conference boys basketball victory Tuesday night in Clinton.

Connor Duffy scored 16 points, Cooper Galdenzi added 15 and Drew Nye chipped in with 10 as Morgan (9-4) won its fifth straight game and eighth in its last nine. That streak will be tested when the Huskies visit unbeaten Cromwell on Friday night.

Brady Lynch scored a game-high 20 points for East Hampton (8-5), which cut a 19-point deficit to 38-26 at halftime. Morgan’s lead was still 12 when the Bellringers scored six straight points in the final 1:07 of the third quarter, four by Drew DiStefano, to make it a 53=47 game entering the fourth.

But the Huskies scored 11 of the first 13 points of the quarter and led by as many as 20 with two minutes to go.

“We ran out of gas,” said East Hampton coach John Antolini, whose squad continues to have a tough time without injured starting point guard Ethan Palma available. “Their defensive pressure was excellent and their size (with 6-foot-9 Duffy and 6-4 Fratamico particularly) made shots that we typically make more difficult. Morgan did a great job offensively and we had too many defensive lapses against a very good team.”

Jye Lynch finished with 15 points for the Bellringers, who visit Valley Regional on Friday, and DiStefano had 9.

EAST HAMPTON (8-5)
Brady Lynch 8 4-8 20, Drew DiStefano 4 0-0 9, Jake Watkins 2 0-0 4, Jacob Karrenberg 1 0-0 2, Jye Lynch 7 0-0 15, Jack Blakey 1 0-0 2, Nate Ireland 3 0-0 6. Totals: 26 4-8 58.

MORGAN (9-4)
Drew Nye 4 0-0 10, Cooper Galdenzi 5 3-6 15, Tim McComiskey 0 0-0 0, Alex Fratamico 7 1-2 17, Connor Duffy 7 2-2 16, Cam Johnson 3 0-0 6, Eddie Dwake 1 2-2 4, Ben McDonnell 3 1-2 8, Matt Reed 0 1-2 1. Totals: 30 10-16 77.

Score By Quarters
East Hampton…12 14 21 11–58
Morgan…………..18 20 15 24–77

3-pointers: East Hampton–DiStefano 1, J. Lynch 1; Morgan–Nye 2, Galdenzi 2, Fratamico 2, McDonnell 1.

In other boys basketball games Tuesday:

Cromwell 78, Haddam-Killingworth 44

H-K (0-13)
Joe Giaccone 1 1-2 4, Adam Alonzo 1 0-0 2, Lucas Kamoen 1 0-0 2, Andrew Crayton 1 0-0 3, Tate Callender 4 2-4 10, Callen Powers 8 1-2 21, Tyler Perry 1 0-1 2. Totals: 17 4-9 44.

CROMWELL (12-0)
Gianluca Albert 5 0-0 13, Victor Payne 6 3-4 17, JJ Feehan 6 0-0 13, Logan Mure 2 0-0 4, Jake Salafia 3 1-1 8, Connor McMillan 1 0-0 3, Tyler Danielle 2 0-0 4, Luke Gagnon 4 0-0 12, Sam Stergos 0 0-0 0, Jovan Marrero 2 0-2 4. Totals: 31 4-7 78.

Score By Quarters
H-K………….13 12 13 6–44
Cromwell….30 18 24 6–78

3-pointers: H-K–Powers 4, Giaccone 1, Crayton 1; Cromwell–Gagnon 4, Albert 3, Payne 2, Feehan 1, Salafia 1, McMillan 1.
Up next: Cromwell vs. Morgan, Friday, 7; H-K at North Branford, Wednesday, 7.

Old Saybrook 60, Hale-Ray 46

HALE-RAY (10-4)
Drew Conroy 2 0-2 5, Loudon Chupas 7 3-5 17, Mamush Ciccarello 5 0-0 12, Nate Matetich 2 2-4 6, Miles Gagne 2 0-0 6, Braden Lankrage 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 5-11 46.

OLD SAYBROOK (8-4)
Ajdin Cecunjanin 1 0-0 2, Wes Nobile 2 2-4 6, Jake Butler 1 0-0 2, Riley Lawson 3 0-0 6, Ryan Stratton 9 0-0 18, Auggie Albert 7 1-2 15, Aaron Tolve 5 0-0 11. Totals: 38 3-6 60.

Score By Quarters
Hale-Ray…………6 17  9 14–46
Old Saybrook…16 11 15 18–60

3-pointers: Hale-Ray–Ciccarello 2, Gagne 2, Conroy 1; Old Saybrook–Tolve 1.
Up next: Hale-Ray at Westbrook, Friday, 7; Old Saybrook at Coginchaug, Friday, 7.

Portland 60, Westbrook 42

PORTLAND (8-6)
Joe Rusczyk 5 0-0 14, Harrison Collins 5 5-5 15, Jake Thompson 2 0-0 6, Evan Johnson 1 1-1 3, Eli Evison 8 1-3 20, Ben Fecteau 1 0-0 2, Ryan Kerr 0 0-0 0, Tyler Wydo 0 0-0 0, Carson Nicol 0 0-0 0, Aidan Peterson 0 0-0 0, Parker Thompson 0 0-0 0, Nico Oliva 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 7-9 60.

WESTBROOK (5-8)
Ryan Engels 1 0-2 2, Bran Naccarato 4 3-6 11, Joey Caslin 6 2-2 16, Sammy Freeman 1 1-2 3, Evan McIntyre 2 1-4 5, Jesse Whitney 2 1-2 5. Totals: 16 8-18 42.

Score By Quarters
Portland……18 12 21 9–60
Westbrook….7 12 15 8–42

3-pointers: Portland–Rusczyk 4, Evison 3, Thompson 2; Westbrook–Caslin 2.
Up next: Portland vs. Conard, Thursday, 6; Westbrook vs. Hale-Ray, Friday, 7.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

East Hampton 45, Morgan 23

MORGAN (9-5)
Maeve Madura 1 2 4, Caeley Ayer 1 2 5, Ava Johnson 1 0 3, Katie Martin 2 3 7, Sofie Passante 1 0 2, AJ Luke 0 0 0, Victoria O’Neill 0 2 2, Eva O’Sullivan 0 0 0. Totals: 6 9 23.

EAST HAMPTON (13-1)
Liana Salamone 7 3 18, Delaney Russell 1 1 4, Jackie Russell 5 3 16, Jordan Murphy 1 0 2, Amber Murphy 1 0 2, Katie Ireland 0 0 0, Madison Yorker 1 0 2, Olivia DeMartino 0 1 1, Katherine Searles 0 0 0, Liz MacDonald 0 0 0. Totals: 16 8 45.

Score By Quarters
Morgan……….6 10 0 7–23
East Hampton….13 12 12 8–45

3-pointers: Morgan–Ayer 1, Johnson 1; East Hampton–J. Russell 3, Salamone 1, D. Russell 1.
Of note: East Hampton has won 10 straight. The loss ended Morgan’s 8-game winning streak.
Up next: Morgan vs. Cromwell, Friday, 7; East Hampton vs. Valley Regional, Thursday, 6.

Middletown 51, Plainville 22

MIDDLETOWN (12-2)
Shalyn Smith 4 0 9, Jada Bryant 2 1 5, Alexa DeSena 0 0 0, Tyah Pettaway 6 3 16, Jahne Carrenard 0 0 0, Tajahnae Brock 2 3 7, Shadae Bushay 3 0 6, Kaila Torres 3 0 6, Bryonna Bell 0 2 2, Ava Studinski 0 0 0, Cadence Manning 0 0 0. Totals: 20 9 51.

PLAINVILLE (1-14)
Lilly Wazorko 1 2 4, Cooke Montanez 1 0 2, Elyse Brown 4 1 11, Marissa Miller 1 1 3, Tamia Chapman 1 0 2. Totals: 8 4 22.

Score By Quarters
Middletown….20 16 9 6–51
Plainville………7 5 0 10–22

3-pointers: Middletown–Smith 1, Pettaway 1; Plainville–Brown 2.
Up next: Middletown at Wethersfield, Friday, 6:45.

Cromwell 53, Haddam-Killingworth 42

CROMWELL (10-2)
Grace Mikan 1 0-0 2, Kayla Nappi 2 1-2 5, Cameryn Hickey 2 3-6 7, Jessica Grodzicki 6 0-0 15, Nevaeh Clark 3 0-0 8, Adela Cecunjanin 7 2-5 16, Leah Pepe 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 6-13 53.

H-K (4-10)
Kaleigh Bodak 3 0-3 6, Julia Favalora 8 2-4 21, Audra Yazmer 1 0-2 3, Ella Commerford 3 0-0 6, Ana Garcia 2 0-0 4, Ella Geissler 1 0-0 2, Brenna Lonergan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 2-7 42.

Score By Quarters
Cromwell….16 12 17 8–53
H-K………….6 10 11 15–42

3-pointers: Cromwell-Grodzicki 3, Clark 2; H-K–Favalora 3, Yazmer 1.
Of note: Bodak had 11 rebounds and Garcia 9 for the Cougars; Cecunjanin led the Panthers with 11 boards, Hickey had 9, Grodzicki 8 and Clark 7. Grodzicki also had 8 assists and 4 steals and Hickey had 4 steals.
Up next: Cromwell at Coginchaug, Thursday, 7; H-K at North Branford, Friday, 7.

Portland 39, Westbrook 35

WESTBROOK (6-8)
Jami Sacco 4 6 17, Sadie Susi 0 1 1, Adriana Stranieri 2 2 6, Alex Zanzalari 4 0 9, Gianni Salisbury 1 0 2. Totals: 11 9 35.

PORTLAND (3-9)
Izzy McClelland 2 0 4, Hannah Brunk 3 0 6, Kendra Schoeps 2 2 6, Morganne Pineda 4 3 11, Sam Lasky 6 0 12. Totals: 17 5 39.

Score By Quarters
Westbrook…..13 12 6 4–35
Portland……..10 8 10 11–39

Old Saybrook 54, Hale-Ray 23