LOOKING BACK
10 YEARS AGO
The Norwalk High girls basketball team captured the Shelton Holiday Tournament with backto-back victories. The Lady Bears defeated Jonathan Law 50-40 in the opening round as Alexis Noonan had 17 points and 10 rebounds while Rottisha Lewis recorded six blocked shots to go with her 11 points ... NHS then beat host Shelton 54-49 in the final as Lewis rang up 18 points, 12 rebounds, six more blocks and four steals while named to the all-tournament team. Briana Ruffin, who was voted tournament MVP, scored 14 points and
Katie Schmidt netted 11 as Norwalk improved to 5-2 ... Ruffin had scored a career-high 24 points in a 66-23 win over Bassick just prior to the tournament.
The Norwalk High boys posted their first win of the season 69-60 over Shelton in the first round of the Masuk Holiday Tournament.
Rasheen Thompson scored a career-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and had six steals, while Bobby Stringfellow added 12 points and 13 rebounds ... The Bears lost to Masuk 47-38 in the title game. Delshawn Wilson paced NHS with 12 points while Stringfellow had 11 points and nine rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.
Unbeaten Brien McMahon passed its first big challenge of the season as the Senators beat Bassick 66-57 in the opening round of the Paul Kuczo Holiday Tournament in Stamford. T.J. McCrae fired in a career-high 24 points while Tyler Shular scored 14 as the Senators improved to 4-0 ... McMahon faced Stamford High on the second night of the round-robin tourney and Shular’s running jump shot at the buzzer gave the Norwalkers a thrilling 50-49 victory. Stamford had taken a 49-48 lead with 14 seconds left. The 5-0 Senators moved up to No. 9 in the weekly state poll.
25 YEARS AGO
The Norwalk High hockey team celebrated the holidays with its first two wins of the season, including a 5-4 thriller over city rival Brien McMahon. Jason Faucher had plenty to celebrate as the senior standout recorded three goals and three assists in the Bears’ 9-3 win over Masuk in the FCIAC Holiday Tournament at Darien Ice Rink. Jed Wisniewski added two goals and two assists while Keith Belward also scored a pair of goals and assisted on another ... The FCIAC tourney continued the next day and Faucher scored another hat trick as NHS rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to nip McMahon. Wisniewski had a goal and three assists while Belward tallied the other goal. Jeremy Salley scored a hat trick for the Senators while Simon Thorsen had the other goal.
For the second consecutive year the Norwalk High boys basketball team travelled to New Hampshire and returned home with the championship trophy from the Concord Classic. The unbeaten Bears defeated Pembrook Academy 88-47 as TJ Trimboli scored 17 points, Keith Sellers and Karrem McClendon each had 16 and Zack Wrentz tallied 10 points while Paco Fabian handed out six assists ... NHS improved to 5-0 with a 74-66 win over host Concord High in the title game. McClendon scored 20 points and Trimboli 19 while both had six assists and Wrentz added 15 points and nine rebounds. All three Bears were named to the all-tournament team.
The Norwalk High girls advanced to the finals of the Greenwich Holiday Tournament with a 60-33 win over Harding as nine players scored led by Tori Fogle with 11 points ... The Bears lost to Greenwich High 39-34 in the championship game as Krista McCrae scored a team-high 10 points. Fogle, who had six points, was named all-tournament.
The Brien McMahon girls picked up their first win of the season as Michelle Audet nailed a 3-point bucket with 10 seconds left to give the Senators a 51-48 victory over Stamford. Her sister Felicia Audet tied the game with 25 seconds remaining. Olivia Dardy led McMahon with 19 points while Michelle Audet finished with 12 points.
50 YEARS AGO
History was made as the city’s three high school boys basketball teams took part in the inaugural Brien McMahon Christmas Tournament. The opening night doubleheader featured a rematch between Norwalk High and McMahon with the Senators defeating the Bears for the second time in three weeks, this time 65-59.
Gary Lawrence led the way with 26 points and 23 rebounds while
Robert Little scored 25 points. Sammy Miller and Doug Peoples led NHS with 13 and 12 points, respectively ... In the first game of the twinbill, Central Catholic lost to Greenwich 77-61 despite 21 points and 11 rebounds by the Cavaliers’ Bob Kramer.
Another sellout crowd packed the McMahon gymnasium two nights later and saw Norwalk beat Central Catholic 84-63 in the consolation game. Levan Dawson led the Bears with a careerhigh 25 points while Miller had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Peoples scored 14. John Fullam topped CCHS with 17 points while Kramer registered another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
In the championship game, McMahon rolled to a 90-62 win over Greenwich as Little scored 34 points and Lawrence had 33 to go with 24 rebounds and was named tournament MVP.