WESTPORT — Senior Scott Cunningham has been the best player for Wilton for much of the season and he proved it once again during the Warriors’ 86-65 win over Staples on Tuesday night.
“It’s a blessing,” Wilton coach Joel Geriak said. “(Scott) has only been in the program for two years. Last year, he got some roles for us, but this year he has stepped up. He has worked harder than I’ve ever seen, as a coach you can’t not love a kid that works that hard.”
Cunningham led Wilton with 26 points, three assists, and two rebounds as the Warriors made 15 3-pointers in the game — including eight from behind the arc in the first quarter.
“I don’t know what it is but we’ve always played well in this gym,” Cunningham said. “Last year we did a similar thing, I think we scored 45 points in the first half. We just have a ton of shooters on this team and when we’re hot from 3, we’re very tough to guard.”
The Warriors scored 52 points in the first half as Staples fell behind early and struggled defensively to stop the red-hot shooting from Wilton.
“I thought Wilton shot lights-out,” Staples coach Colin Devine said. “If Wilton shoots like that, I don’t see many teams beating them. But I’m proud of our effort.”
The Wreckers were able to find their stroke from behind the arc as they made 10 3-pointers as a team, including four from senior Max Sussman who finished with a team-high 16 points.
Senior forward Stedman van Arsdale added 15 points and five rebounds as the two provided the bulk of the scoring for Staples.
“Max worked extremely hard to get himself open,” Devine said. “His teammates found him and got him open looks and Stedman is just finally getting healthy and played great tonight.”
The Wreckers have faced a tough schedule to open the season since knocking off Bullard-Havens in the first game of the year, Staples has dropped six straight with opponent’s record at 27-9.
But it can be a tough mountain to climb when a team shoots the way the Warriors did.
“I think we’re a better shooting team than we have been in the past,” Geriak said. “For us to be well against zones we have to shoot well and that takes teams out of it and you can attack.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Scoring over 20 points in a fourth straight game, Scott Cunningham led the Warriors to their fifth win of the season with 26 points, three assists, and two rebounds. He made a game-high six 3-pointers.
WHO NEEDS THE PAINT?
The teams combined for 25 made 3-pointers including eight in the first half from Wilton.
QUOTABLE
“We have a lot of offensive weapons, so it’s really nice to see different looks and be able to do well against them because it really shows how good our team is. We’re not just shooting, we can beat people off the dribble.” — Wilton senior Scott Cunningham on the versatility of the Warriors’ offensive attack.
ajohnson@hearstmedia
ct.com; Twitter: @aronJohnson_
WILTON 86, STAPLES 65
WILTON 30 22 18 16—86
STAPLES 16 15 14 20—65
WILTON (5-2)
Nick Kronenberg 5 2-2 15 Antonio Brancato 3 1-2 8 Zach Pozzi 0 0-0 0 Kyle Phillips 1 0-0 2 Kyle Maatallah 6 0-0 15 Kyle Shifrin 0 2-2 2 Scott Cunningham 7 6-8 26 Robbie Hermann 2 4-5 8 Matt Olson 1 0-0 2 Andrew Smith 0 0-0 0 Reilly Bingaman 0 0-0 0 Tucker Walden 0 0-1 0 Kyle Hyzy 0 1-2 1 Zayvion Eusebe 1 0-0 2 Ryan Schriber 1 0-0 3 Ryan Biberon 1 0-0 2. Totals: 28 16-22 86.
STAPLES (1-6)
Luke Murphy 2 1-2 7 Ben Pearl 2 1-1 5 A.J. Konstanty 4 0-0 8 Max Sussman 5 2-2 16 Tristan Hochman 0 0-0 0 Stedman van Arsdale 7 1-1 15 Dylan Ward 0 0-0 0 Lefty Pendarakis 1 0-0 2 Evan Vishno 1 0-0 3 Sam Maged 1 0-0 3 Dylan Honig 2 0-0 6 Theodore Dienst 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 4-6 65.
3-pointers: W—Kronenberg 4, Cunningham 6, Maatallah 3, Schriber, Brancato; S—Sussman 4, Murphy 2, Honig 2, Maged, Vishno.