Stratford Spoils Senior Night

Through quarter one it looked like the Bethel High boys basketball team would be able to handle Stratford High’s athleticism, but as the game went on, the Red Devils proved to be too much. After an evenly played first, the Wildcats’ (13-6, 7-6) turnovers began to pile up, allowing the Red Devils to pull away with a 64-54 win on senior night.

“We haven’t seen a team as quick as that,” Coach Ray Turek said. “A lot of balls that were thrown through the air aren’t usually picked off, but they were there to get their hands on them. They’re quick, they’re athletic, they jump and they defend hard, so it’s tough.”

At the end of the first, the game was tied at 14, but when the second quarter began the Red Devils quickly took over. Aided by a 9-2 run, the Red Devils were able to take a six point lead into the half.

The Red Devils outscored the Wildcats 21-13 in the third, to take a 14 point lead into fourth. After struggling to go on a run of their own throughout the game, the Wildcats quickly shaved five points off the Red Devils’ lead.

With the deficit at its lowest point since the opening minute of the third, the Red Devils responded with an 8-4 run, dashing any hopes of a comeback.

Senior Jon Byrnes led the Wildcats with 16 points, while fellow senior Kevin Galvin added 10.

“Jon’s scoring has picked up in the second half of the year, he’s really found his rhythm,” Turek said. “He got back to the midrange jumper and that’s helped him settle in. It’s nice for him to score, he’s been one of our leaders all year and it’s good for him to go out on a note like that.”

Byrnes and Galvin, are just two of seven seniors who were honored before the game, and will certainly be hoping for another game on their home court when the state playoffs begin.

“You always want to go out at home with a win,” Turek said. “The good part is, we should be able to get a home game for a state tournament, so this won’t be the last game here for the seniors.”

The five other seniors on the roster are Ryan Conroy, Kyle Schlogl, Alexander Amararu, Alexander Barry and Zach Bangs. All seven seniors were able to play as Turek shuffled his lineup throughout the game.

“This is probably as a group, the hardest working class that I’ve had,” Turek said. “From the end of last season to the first day of practice this year, they were as a unit doing as much as they can to make themselves better, and I think the record shows. Thirteen wins in the regular season is the most we’ve had since I got here. All that work in the summer, the summer league, fall league, all the individual practice. They play a lot together in the park, and it really helped them come a long way.”

Bethel’s next game is Wednesday, at New Fairfield with tipoff set for 7 p.m. The Wildcats will need to win in order to qualify for the SWC playoffs, which start Saturday at Pomperaug.