The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Cougars erupt, to play for title
WATERBURY — Start slow, finish with authority.
Fifth-seeded Kolbe Cathedral followed that familiar script in Wednesday’s Division-IV boys basketball semifinal, blitzing past top-seeded Northwestern 65-51 to book a spot in the state finals.
Northwestern (22-4) led 12-9 after one quarter, but Kolbe, which overcame a 16-point deficit in its quarterfinal win over Valley Regional, answered with an 18-3 spurt that changed the game for good. A halfcourt buzzer-beater by Anthony Senior sent the Cougars into halftime up 31-20.
“Going in, I knew they were obviously going to try to play one tempo and we were going to try to play another tempo,” Kolbe coach John Pfohl said. “They’re good at it. I said to my guys all along, ‘Listen, this is not a team that’s going to go up in two seconds, we’re going to turn you over and be done. This is going to take some time.’”
The pace was to Northwestern’s liking for most of the night. The result wasn’t.
“We got the pace we wanted,” Northwestern coach Doug Sebach said. “We just needed to execute a little more on the offensive end.”
The Cougars eventually became too much to handle for Northwestern — even in the halfcourt. The Highlanders had no answer for the Cougars’ depth of talent. Four Cougars scored at least nine points, led by Senior with 19.
“When you’re in the first quarter, you’re getting used to everything,” Senior said. “You’re feeling everything out. We know who we are as a team. We know after we get set … good things will happen.”
The Cougars (20-6) were rewarded for their patience with a trip to Mohegan Sun Arena. They will play No. 26 Rocky Hill — a 66-51 winner over third-seeded Wilcox Tech in Wednesday’s other semifinal — on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
This will be the pro-
gram’s first appearance in the state finals since the 2008 Class S championship against Bloomfield, which the Cougars lost 78-71. Pfohl retired from his first stint coaching Kolbe shortly after that final. His return has revitalized a program that was 9-51 over the previous three seasons.
“I would be lying if I said to you I think we’re going to get to the state finals my first year,” Pfohl said.
Northwestern guard Benjamin North (17 points) tried to wreck those plans, scoring 11 straight points in the third quarter to slice Kolbe’s lead to 35-33. But Taeshaun Sanchez halted the Highlanders’ momentum with a 3-pointer.
The Cougars led 46-39 after the third quarter. A 12-0 run by the Cougars in the fourth all but ended the Highlanders’ hopes of a comeback.
Demetrius Gordon
scored 18 points for Kolbe and Kyle Federici added 10.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Anthony Senior, Kolbe Cathedral, G: The senior scored a game-high 19 points, including a buzzerbeating 3-pointer from halfcourt to send the Cougars into halftime up 11.
HISTORY AT A GLANCE
This will be Kolbe’s 10th trip to the state finals in program history. The Cougars won in 2004, 1999, 1985 and 1971 and lost in 2008, 2003, 2001, 1987 and 1972.