Old Lyme boys begin Shoreline title quest with rout of Westbrook

Old Lyme — The Old Lyme boys' basketball team can do so many things well.

That's why the Wildcats went undefeated in Shoreline Conference play, are favored to win the league tournament and should be a strong contender for a Division V state title.

Their unselfish play and stingy defense stood out in Saturday's 70-53 rout of eighth-seeded Westbrook in the Shoreline tournament quarterfinals.

The top-seeded Wildcats (20-1) shared the basketball, assisting on 17 of 29 field goals, and harassed the White Knights into 20 turnovers, many of which were converted into transition baskets, and a tough shooting game.

One first quarter play highlighted both of those strengths.

After senior Aedan Using blocked consecutive shots on one possession, he bolted up the floor and a teammate rewarded him for his hustle, setting the talented big man up for a fastbreak layup.

"Our defense gets underrated," Using said. "We're pretty conservative with our aggression, but when we choose to be aggressive it's in smart situations. We can force turnovers and get out. We have a pretty athletic team and can finish well in transition. It definitely helps us out.

"We have some of the most unselfish players in the whole league. Everybody is looking for everybody . ... That's what makes us great."

The Wildcats resisted the temptation to stray away from their teamfirst mentality despite roaring a 17-0 lead and holding a comfortable lead throughout the game. The starters watched the fourth quarter from the bench.

In yet another dominating performance, Using contributed 27 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in just three quarters. Jared Ritchie chipped in 11 points and fellow senior Ray Doll added 10. Senior Brady Sheffield dished out six assists.

Coach Kirk Kaczor was happy with his team's assist total.

"At some point, we were looking at assists on field goals during the season and it was a pretty high rate most of the games," Kaczor said. "We create a lot of opportunities for each other. There's nobody on this team that's selfish. They play together. The one common goal is to win."

The game was basically over by halftime.

The Wildcats scored the game's first 17 points, including nine by Using, and held the White Knights with

out a point for just over seven minutes.

"We respect every opponent that we play, so we want to, if we can, try to take them out of the game early," Kaczor said. "They've got some good players on that team."

The White Knights came to life, going on a 9-0 run that started late in the first quarter and carried into the second. Jesse Whitney's basket cut the gap to 17-9. That's as close as Westbrook would get. Old Lyme closed the quarter with a 24-8 run to grab a 40-17 edge at halftime.

Saturday's win was just the first step for the Wildcats, who reached the league tournament final last season and lost in overtime. They've won 13 in a row.

Old Lyme will host fifth-seeded Cromwell, which beat No. 4 East Hampton (46-33), in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Wildcats won the regular season meeting, 7046, on Monday. But they lost to Cromwell in last year's Shoreline Conference title game, 52-46, in overtime.

"We know we really want to do big things this tournament," Using said. g.keefe@thday.com