Warriors run ends with loss to Cougars

DIVISION IV BOYS BASKETBALL: KOLBE CATH. 67, VALLEY REG. 59

FAIRFIELD — It had been a long time since Kolbe Cathedral had been in this position. The Cougars shook their early nerves and turned around their CIAC Division IV boys basketball quarterfinal on Monday.

The fifth-seeded Cougars won 67-59 over 13th-seeded Valley Regional, outscoring the Warriors 23-10 in the third quarter at Notre Dame-Fairfield.

The Warriors led by as many as 16 in the first half, but with center Mitch Holdmeyer in foul trouble most of the night, they couldn’t hold it.

“He’s our best player. Not playing with him, to still be where we were at, that was the turning point,” Valley Regional coach Kevin Woods said.

“That definitely helped them out. They hit some big shots, too. What are you going to do?”

Fifth-seeded Kolbe Cathedral (19-6) is scheduled to play Wed-

nesday in the semifinals, site and time to be announced. It will face topseeded Northwestern (22-3), which beat eighth-seeded Lewis Mills 58-35.

Both teams were in the middle of their deepest runs in a few years. The Cougars were in a CIAC tournament for the first time since 2014, after going 9-51 in the three years since. But before that,

they’d been at least quarterfinalists every year since reaching the 2007, including a 2008 appearance in the Class S final.

Valley Regional, which played for a championship four out of five years from 2011 to 2015 and champion in 2011 (Class S) and 2013 (M), missed last year’s tournament a year after being bounced in the Class M first round in 2016. The Warriors finished 16-9.

“Realistically, we’re a petition away from being

state champion,” Woods said. “They were supposed to be Division II. They petitioned, a Catholic school, down to D-IV. what are you going to do? We pride ourselves on beating good teams.”

Kolbe Cathedral spent more time turning the ball over in the first half than it did scoring.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Kolbe Cathedral’s Anthony Senior had 12 of his 28 points in the third quarter.