The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Comeback Acs
Hillhouse overcomes slow start to beat West Haven
NEW HAVEN — It took a little more than 13 minutes and some defensive adjustments for Hillhouse to take control, but then it became all Academics Friday night.
And that was enough as Hillhouse knocked off West Haven, 85-73, in front of a capacity house in the small confines of the Academics’ gym in a Southern Connecticut Conference boys’ basketball contest.
“We were a little hyper from the jump ball and we needed to settle down,” Hillhouse coach Renard Sutton said. “We needed to execute our plays. We were rushing and turning the ball over.”
Sutton also changed from a man-to-man defense to a zone to keep West Haven big man Ethan Griffin in check. Griffin went to the free throw line 11 times in the first half alone.
“They have size and they dominated us with it,” Sutton said. “By going to a zone, we wanted to see if it could help. The big guy (Griffin) was chewing us up and we had to slow down the interior passing.”
West Haven took control early in the first quarter, taking a 7-4 lead after three straight free throws by Griffin.
The Blue Devils took their biggest lead of the opening quarter when Bennett Scott hit a free throw to make it 14-6 with 3:10 to play in the period. Scott’s bucket just 31 seconds into the second quarter gave West Haven its biggest lead, 21-12.
Hillhouse followed with a 16-5 run climaxed by a three-point from the left corner by Loshon Roman as the Academics grabbed a 28-25 edge with 3:09 to play until halftime.
A layup by Thomas Glover and a follow by Eric Jones gave Hillhouse a 32-28 lead just under the two-minute mark before intermission. The Academics extended their lead to 41-35, but a bucket by Scott just before the buzzer closed the Blue Devils to within four, 41-37, at the break.
Hillhouse guard Eric Jones said the Academics played much better defense from midway in the second quarter on.
“We weren’t playing solid defense and weren’t rebounding well as a team,” Jones said. “We had a big time out and changed our defense.”
Griffin sat most of the third quarter thanks to foul trouble which made West Haven a smaller team and the Blue Devils suffered on the glass.
“The game plan was working out, but we never really recovered after my big guy (Griffin) picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter. Had he been able to play a little bit more, things would have been different.”
Hillhouse took advantage by sending the ball into the paint where Coleman could do some damage. In fact, he had all 13 of his points in the second half.
It also enabled the Academics’ outside game to get going as well.
“We started hitting shots and when our shots start falling, we’re a better team,” Sutton said. “We’re run and gun and shooting the long ball.”
In the third, Hillhouse outscored the Blue Devils, 20-12, closing out the quarter on a 9-5 run to take a 6149 edge.
The Academics took their biggest lead of the night, 69-52, with 6:29 left on a Jones’ layup.
West Haven closed it to eight points, 79-71, in the final 90 seconds but it was too late.
Hillhouse improved to 2-1.
“We’re getting better every game,” Sutton said. “It’s all about finding out who we are.”
West Haven fell to 2-2. “We’re going to be a very good team that a lot of people won’t want to see at the end in March,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to be a much a better team down the stretch.”
HILLHOUSE 85, WEST HAVEN 73
(at West Haven)
WEST HAVEN ............ 19 18 12 24 — 37 HILLHOUSE .............. 12 29 20 24 — 85 WEST HAVEN (73): Isaiah Jackson 4 1-1 9, Ethan Griffin 3 7-13 13, Bennett Scott 4 4-4 12, Jayce Perry 4 2-3 11, Mike Singleton 4 4-4 13, Adam El Kharraz 2 1-3 5, T.J. Ogletree 1 0-0 2, Bryan Tillman 4 0-0 8. Totals 26 19-28 73.
HILLHOUSE (85): Avery Sutton 1 8-8 10, Eric Jones 5 7-10 20, Thomas Glover 7 4-8 20, Giovanni Rosario 5 0-0 11, Jared Coleman 6 0-0 13, Trejon Williams 0 0-2 0, Lamont Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Loshon Roman 3 0-0 9. Totals 28 19-28 85.
Three-point field goals: West Haven — Perry 1, Singleton 1. Hillhouse — Jones 3, Glover 2, Coleman 1, Rosario 1, Roman 3.
Records: Hillhouse 2-1, West Haven 2-2.