New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Hamden Hall rallies past Brunswick
GREENWICH — The rapidly approaching FAA Boys Basketball Tournament includes just four teams this season, instead of the six squads it featured in previous years, so for Hamden Hall Country Day School and Brunswick School, each game is like a postseason matchup.
The Hornets and Bruins entered Friday’s FAA game in a duel for the fourth and final berth into the FAA Tournament and the game resembled a postseason affair, with each squad extra focused on every possession down the stretch.
For Hamden Hall, it was their dynamic backcourt duo of Jackson Benigni and Corey Walters that made the difference.
Benigni and Walters scored 25 points apiece to power Hamden Hall to an exciting 59-58 win over host Brunswick in a criticial late-season league game.
With the victory, Hamden Hall, which is 10-8 overall, moved its FAA record to 5-5 with two league matchups remaining. The Hornets are in fourth place in the league. Brunswick
(7-13 overall) dropped to 3-8 in FAA play with just a conference game against Greens Farms Academy left. The Bruins are in fifth place and saw their chances of postseason action hampered with the tough loss.
“We had a really hard loss at home against Rye (Country Day School) and we had a really tough practice yesterday (Thursday),” Hamden Hall coach Sean Doherty said. “I really got on the guys on making defensive stops and how that would get you back in games and it transferred into today’s game. We were able to get some steals and turn them over, which helped us get some energy.”
Trailing 58-57, the Hornets took a 59-58 lead when Benigni drove the lane and converted a right-handed layup with 20.8 seconds remaining in the second half.
Brunswick called a timeout and worked the ball around the perimeter for a last shot, but Benigni made a steal in the final seconds and the Hornets pulled out the victory.
The second half saw the Bruins open leads of 40-34 and 46-38.
“I feel like with us, we just need to have energy the full 32 minutes, whether we are up, or down,” said Benigni.