By Ed Friedland
WestportNow Community Correspondent
The Wreckers’ season ended on a high note tonight, as Staples defeated Darien by a score of 53 – 40. The JV and Freshmen also posted victories.
Staples senior boys: (l-r) Wes Lemon, Pete Friedland, Sean Milligan Dave Altschuler, and Mike Bruno. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
For the first time this season, the varsity led from start to finish. In the first quarter, the Wreckers were paced with solid three point shooting from Brian Levine and Wes Lemon.
More importantly, the Darien offense, and its leading scoring Brendan Sullivan, was kept in check with swarming team defense. Sullivan was held well below his season average of 25 points per game.
In the second quarter, after Staples went up by 12, Darien tried to make a run, and closed the gap to six points. Staples, however, scored the last four points to take a 30 – 20 lead into halftime.
The Wreckers scored the first five points after intermission, and never looked back. The lead grew to 16 points early in the fourth quarter. Staples scored its last two points with 5:46 left in the game, but it didn’t matter.
Both sides cooled off in the last five minutes, with Staples scoring a total of five points to Darien’s seven in the fourth quarter.
Earlier in the evening, the Staples JV ran away with a 62 – 38 victory. The team was cold early, and fell behind by an 11 – 6 score. Led by Matt Greco’s aggressive defense, the team turned it around and went on a 29 – 8 tear. The JV finishes the season at 12 – 8.
The Freshmen team also finished in style with a 57 – 43 win. Brett Tessler poured in 27 points. Andy Friedland and Mark Nebelung contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
After opening the season with a 3 – 7 record, the Freshman turned it around, going 6 – 3 down the stretch. The Freshman finished the season at 9 – 10.
