Pomperaug High School’s Chase Belden, No. 24, takes it to the rack in the team’s 90-53 first-round Class L victory over North Haven March 7. (Ken Morse photo)
Panthers crush North Haven, advance to 2nd round
By KEN MORSE Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer #MIDDLEBURY
It’s called March Madness for a reason. When tournament time comes to the hardwood every March, some teams shine when their lights burn a little brighter and others fade in the heat of the spotlight.
That was the case Monday night at the Panthers Den in Southbury as the No. 6 seed 18-5 Pomperaug Panthers shot the lights out in a convincing 90-53 win over the No. 27 seed 10-10 North Haven Indians.
Pomperaug did what they do best. They toed the line behind the three-point arc and blistered the nets with 12 3-pointers while North Haven tried to keep up. The Indians were very much in the game at 5:32 to go in the half. Then they weren’t.
The Panthers, armed with four players averaging double figures, scored from every angle and every spot on the court. Rich Pugliese led the way with 22 points, hitting on six 3-pointers, while Chase Belden scored 19 points, Noah Miree made 18 points and Josh McGettigan checked in with 13 points.
“I didn’t like our energy when we came out and North Haven had us in a battle,” said Pomperaug head coach Dave Yachtis. “I don’t know if it was nerves from being in the state tournament, but it took us a while to get going.”
The first four baskets of the game were all 3-pointers, as North Haven appeared to be up for the challenge in a game tied at 6-6. The Indians did grab the lead four times in the opening quarter with Dave Mikos (17 points) and Jack Steinman (11 points) providing the firepower.
North Haven was very much in the game tied at 12-12, and then they weren’t. Pomperaug came out of a timeout and just unloaded on the Indians. Three-point shots began to rain down on North Haven from every direction.
First it was McGettigan from the top of the key. Then Grant Wallace (seven points, eight assists, six rebounds) buried one out on the wing. As the first quarter horn sounded, Pugliese buckled the Indians’ knees, beating the buzzer in the corner to open a 21-16 advantage.
“Once we went to a 1-2-1 we were able to make some steals up top,” said Yachtis. “And when that happened we were just shooting the ball like crazy.”
The Indians began to attack the boards, trying desperately to stay in the game. But the Panthers relied on Matt Wynne (8 rebounds) and Wallace to crash the boards and keep the momentum.
North Haven went into a time out at the 5:32 mark of the second quarter trailing 26-20, and that’s when it began to slip away. Miree hit a turn-around jumper in the lane and on the next trip brought the fans to their feet with a two-fisted jam that got everyone’s attention.
McGettigan converted a pair of free throws at the line, and then Wallace hit a 10-foot floater in the lane and nailed the ensuing free throw to extend the 9-0 run. At 4:19, the Panthers were ahead 35-20.
It happened that quickly, and once Pomperaug revved the engine there was no stopping the Panthers as they outscored the Indians 53-18 over the second and third quarters.
“We have a lot of guys who can shoot the three,” said Yachtis. “You come down and hit three in a row that’s a 9-0 run and you can take a team right out of the game.
“We knew coming in that North Haven likes to play a man-to-man defense and they have a lot of speed. I think once we changed our defense and they began to struggle to score points, that really opened it up for us.”
Pomperaug closed out the first half on an 11-4 run sparked by Belden and Miree hitting back-to-back threes as the Panthers headed to the locker room in complete control with a 46-26 lead.
The Panthers defense got even stronger in the second half with Wallace and McGettigan teaming up to block a shot under the North Haven basket. That quickly dispelled any notion of an Indians comeback.
Tom Satkowski and Jacob Mendicino played key roles in a defense that shut down North Haven as Pomperaug outscored the Indians 28-8 in the third quarter, opening up a 74-34 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Coach Yachtis brought on his bench to finish out the game with Noah Taylor, Dylan Coxon, Zach McGettigan, Will McDonald and Mario Paniccia finishing off the Indians. North Haven held a slight 19-16 fourth quarter advantage to account for the 90-53 final score.
Pomperaug will host Lyman Hall Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at the Panthers’ Den in the second round of the Class L state tournament. The winner will move on to Friday’s quarterfinals.
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