LOOKING BACK | BY GEORGE ALBANO

10 YEARS AGO

The city of Norwalk was well represented when the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball team met Holy Cross at the Pitt Center in Fairfield while players from the Norwalk Biddy League and Carver Center faced off during halftime. They were there along with several other fans from Norwalk to cheer on SHU freshman guard Evan Kelley, a product of both local youth basketball programs growing up. The former FCIAC scoring champ from Norwalk High gave his hometown fans plenty to cheer about as he scored 10 points, all in the first half, while also recording three steals and a blocked shot to help the Pioneers win 77-75 and give veteran head coach Dave Bike his 500th career victory.

Junior center Pat Odierno and senior defenseman Dylan Byrne each scored two goals as the Norwalk-Brien McMahon co-op hockey team beat Housatonic-Northwestern co-op 7-2 to improve to 2-0 and surpass last year’s total win output. Junior forward Mike McRoy added three assists for the Norwalkers, who led 5-0 after one period.

In the Norwalk Recreation Adult Basketball Tuesday ‘C’ League, the Bluefish topped the Knights 57-52 behind 22 points from Dan Cunningham.

25 YEARS AGO

Shorehaven’s Jerry Courville Jr., coming off one of the best years in his amateur golf career, began the new year by being named the state’s 1995 Male Athlete of the Year by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance. The Norwalk native was one of three non-professional golfers to qualify for the 1995 U.S. Open and then won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships to earn a spot at the 1996 Masters in Augusta. Among his other achievements, Courville won medalist honors at U.S. Amateur Championships and played for the U.S. Walker Cup team. He will be honored at the Alliance’s 55th Gold Key Dinner in April.

Olivia Dardy of the Brien McMahon girls basketball team scored her 1,000th career point, including two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining, to lift the

Senators to a 38-36 win over Greenwich. Dardy, only a junior, tallied 13 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and also had 13 rebounds and four blocks as McMahon, after an 0-4 start, improved to 3-4 ... Dardy then scored 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Senators’ 51-43 loss to Ridgefield.

Norwalk High upped its record to 4-3 after a 53-36 win over New Canaan as Kelley Walsh scored 12 points, Tridina Williams added 10, and Tori Fogle had eight points and six rebounds.

The NHS boys basketball team ran its record to 6-0 with a 90-66 win over Danbury as three players scored their season high, led by Karrem McClendon with 24 points, Keith Sellers with 22 and Zack Wrentz with 18 ... McMahon is now 3-1 after beating Ridgefield 69-47. Kenji Tillman led the Senators with 17 points.

50 YEARS AGO Calvin Murphy,

Norwalk’s whom many had thought was too small to play in the NBA, continues to make believers halfway through his rookie season after scoring a career-high 36 points for the San Diego Rockets in their 116-103 loss to the Chicago Bulls. The 5-foot-9 former Norwalk High great, who also had five rebounds and four assists, connected on 14 of 18 field goal attempts and 8 of 9 from the free throw line. The hot-shooting Murphy fired in 30 of his gamehigh 36 points in the second half.

After going undefeated last year, the Brien McMahon girls basketball team picked up where it left off as the Lady Senators opened the 1970-71 season with a resounding 72-11 win over Darien. Coach Mary Kehoe played all 10 girls on her roster and all 10 scored, led by junior Lynn Spagnesi with 17 points. Darlene Dawson added 12 points while

Donna Spencer scored eight points.

Meanwhile, the McMahon boys trailed Stamford Catholic by nine points in the fourth quarter, but the Senators rallied to beat the defending FCIAC champs 49-46.

Gary Lawrence had 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, while Robert Little and Fred Paulin added 13 points apiece. McMahon improved to 5-1 in the conference and 6-2 overall.

Central Catholic placed five players in double figures as the Norwalkers turned back Joel Barlow 78-66. Don Gustafson led the Cavaliers with 20 points while John Fullam had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Bob Kramer added 14 points and eight rebounds, Bill Blankemeier posted 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Jamie Flynn finished with 10 points and seven steals as CCHS improved to 5-4.

Norwalk High bounced back from heartbreaking 75-74 overtime loss to Stamford to defeat Andrew Warde 77-57. Sammy Miller poured in 32 points as the Bears evened their record at 4-4.

In hockey, the Home Oilers swept a home-and-away weekend series from the Fitchburg (Mass.) Hornets, winning 7-5 at the Wonderland of Ice on Saturday night and 8-5 on Sunday in the Bay State. Ex-Boston University star

Larry Davenport sparked the first win with a hat trick, including the go-ahead goal early in the third period, while Dick Toomey scored four goals and Davenport recorded five assists in the Sunday victory. The Oilers improved to 5-1 under veteran coach