Fitch boys outlast Ledyard 78-70 in overtime

Ledyard — If anyone wondered just how much an abbreviated sports season means to players during a pandemic, the Fitch and Ledyard boys' basketball teams showed just how much they care in Friday night's season opener.

Yanie Hernandez made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 26 as young Fitch rallied back one time after another for a 78-70 overtime win in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Southern Division game.

The Falcons trailed 12-0 to start the game and 66-60 with 55 seconds left in regulation.

"The kids were so resilient," Fitch head coach Charles Silvan said. "They were able to come back and focus on the next play. We tried to talk to them a lot about staying in the moment, and that's exactly what they did. They didn't let anything get them down."

Khyol Kershaw scored 17 and Justin Porter scored six of his 10 points in overtime for Falcons, which started three sophomores and a junior.

Fitch's defensive pressure (16 steals) too often flustered the Colonels.

"We got a lot of work to do," Ledyard head coach Dave Cornish said. "I knew that our backcourt was inexperienced, and I even said (before the season) that we have to get them up to speed very quickly because of the shortened season.

"We'll shore up some things. This is a reality check for some of the guys.

Jabari Jones scored 20 and Dorell Cagle 14 for Ledyard.

Fitch managed to force overtime despite trailing 66-60 with 55 seconds left in regulation.

Hernandez made two free throws and Kershaw had a transition layup with 33.3 seconds left.

Chris Kershaw tied the game with a steal and layup with 22 seconds remaining. Khyol Kershaw's offensive rebound led to the first points in overtime — a wide-open 3-pointer by Porter from the left corner.

Hernandez and Seamus Greaves followed with layups to push Ledyard's lead to 73-66.

Ledyard's Jones started the game with a layup and ended a 12-0 run with a three-point play with 4:52 left in the first quarter.

Fitch used a little long ball to get back into the game. It went on a 14-3 run with Kershaw making one three and Hernandez making two, the second of which cut the Falcons' deficit to 15-14.

Austin Chapman closed the quarter by making a heave from beyond half court to put Ledyard ahead, 2516.

The Falcons flipped the script on Ledyard as they started the second quarter with an 11-0 run. They scored four off of turnovers and Hernandez concluded the run with a three to give Fitch its first lead, 27-25, with 5:13 left in the half.

Ledyard ended the half with yet another big run.

Lebron Maurice started a 13-2 run with a layup and ended the quarter with a three to push the Colonels back ahead, 40-31.