TORRINGTON — After slogging through an ice-cold first-half along with Woodland (3-5; 25 NVL), Torrington’s boys basketball team (6-2; 6-1 NVL) lit the afterburners for a monster third quarter, sailing to an 83-38 buzzkill Friday night at Torrington High School.
With a marked height advantage over the young Hawks, the Raiders had multiple chances on misses in the first half and often needed them while Woodland, with no such forgiveness, suffered the same chill.
Adrian Gonzalez (14 points) lifted some of the Torrington funk with 8 super-active points in the second quarter, but despite a 34-13 halftime lead, ice still stuck to the hoops at both ends.
“We went into the locker room and said, ‘We’ve gotta keep pushing,’ ” said Torrington guard Chris Jimenez.
The third period started with the same Torrington height advantage doing its job after a Dontae Thomas three-pointer. Center Kevin Dixon scored inside; Jordan Henneberry (10 points) had a put-back.
But Coach Eric Gamari wasn’t satisfied.
“Our first unit wasn’t talking on defense, so I put in our second unit and they’re explosive,” Gamari said.
Working a much faster second half pace, Woodland’s Mikey Meier (team-high 10 points) and Justin Marks outscored Torrington 8-4 in the early going. Then the Raiders’ candles touched off.
Pushing the pace several more notches, Jiminez (14 points, including 4 threes) hit from the corner. Hunter Murphy (10 points) made a steal, then a three-point play. Jiminez hit two in a row from the corner after a Torrington block and steal. Gonzalez scored inside. Murphy led a fastbreak.
Inside of two minutes, the Raiders scored 16 unanswered points. The 32 points for the quarter almost matched their entire first-half production, leaving the game in tatters at 61-32 at the end of the third quarter.
“We expected that the whole game,” said Woodland coach Tom Hunt. “We knew it was going to come. They run (Gamari’s) system to perfection.”
“It’s fun to get up and down the court,” Jiminez beamed.
Torrington 83, Woodland 38
(At Torrington
)
|
Woodland |
4 |
9 |
19 |
6 |
— |
38 |
|
Torrington |
12 |
22 |
32 |
17 |
— |
83 |
Woodland (38): Zack Bedryczuk 4-0-9; Kyle Macek 2-0-5; Mikey Meier 5-0-10; Just Marks 4-0-8; Jack LaPerriere 0-0-0; John Frasco 1-1-4; Mike Szturma 0-0-0; Tyler Bulinski 0-0-0; Nick DeLucia 1-0-2; Totals: 17-1-38.
Torrington (83): Dontae Thomas 2-0-6; Ricky Rodriguez 2-1-6; Chris Jimenez 5-0-14; Nick Balducci 2-0-6; Joel Villanueva 3-0-6; Jordan Henneberry 4-2-10; C.J. Root 2-0-5; Hunter Murphy 4-1-10; Justin Mattiello 0-0-0; Kevin Dixon 3-0-6; Adrian Gonzalez 6-2-14; Billy Cook 0-0-0; Adam Vanotti 0-0-0; Zac McLaughlin 0-0-0; Brian Ballesteros 0-0-0; Totals: 33-6-83.
3-point goals: W — Bedryczuk; Macek; Frasco. T — Thomas 2; Rodriguez; Jiminez 4; Balducci 2; Root; Murphy.
Records: Woodland 3-5; 2-5 NVL. Torrington 6-2; 6-1 NVL.