Immaculate, Bunnell out to dethrone Notre Dame
The chase to end Notre Dame-Fairfield’s three-year rule of the SWC is close to underway.
Unlike a season ago — when ND-Fairfield ran through the league before finishing a 27-0 season with the Division I state championship — parity is threatening to take over the league this winter. The Lancers lost their three-headed monster as Tyler Bourne and Nore Davis graduated and Joshua Reaves transferred to the prep ranks.
Three SWC clubs — The Lancers, Immaculate (Division II) and Kolbe (Division IV) — are coming off state championship wins. Immaculate returns three of its fab five that almost went the distance in the Division II final while many coaches pegged Bunnell as the team to beat heading into the winter.
5 TEAMS TO WATCH
⏩ IMMACULATE: The SWC finalists from a year ago return three of its five starters — Mike Basile, Jack Woods and Quinn Guth — to help put them atop the list of teams to watch. Immaculate is searching for a first conference title since 2012.
Sean Guiry, Joey Rios, Keelan Doherty and Chris Beal are also in the rotation for the always fundamentally sound Mustangs.
Immaculate is in Division I after winning Division II last season. A potential test early in the season against Danbury would be one of the games of the year.
⏩ BUNNELL: The Bulldogs return virtually their entire roster from a year ago, including juniors Maximus Edwards and Tyler StaggsBurgess. The two are rim hunters who might be the best No. 1-2 punch in the league.
Bunnell ruled the SWC before the Lancers’ three straight championships and will look to get back on top under first-year coach Dannie Powell. Bunnell will also be one of the top squads in Division III; the Bulldogs fell in the second round by one point against East Lyme last season.
⏩ NEWTOWN: The Nighthawks found their identity
just in time for last season’s state tournament, making a run all the way to the Division II semifinals. Newtown lost a close game to Amity there, and will return most of last year’s contributors.
Point guard Riley Ward will pull the strings while forwards Todd Petersen and Robert DiSibio could potentially form a dominant tandem inside. The ingredients are there for an outstanding season for the Nighthawks, who have yet to win the league.
⏩ NOTRE DAME: Last season was one for the ages in Fairfield. A remarkable 21-point, fourthquarter comeback in the state quarterfinals against Danbury proved to be the catalyst for the school’s first title after losing the previous three finals.
Just what will the Lancers look like with an entirely new roster remains a mystery, though. Senior captain Philip Conner will lead the new crop; not one starter returns. Sharpshooter Max Mitchell is a transfer from Greens Farms Academy.
⏩ KOLBE CATHEDRAL: It took exactly one season for coach John Pfohl to completely change the fortunes of the Cougars, who reached the SWC playoffs and won 20 games en route to the Division IV championship. More of the same is likely in Bridgeport this year.
Senior Quinton SneedLott is one of the top players in the league and will be counted on as Kolbe integrates several new faces into the starting lineup.
5 PLAYERS TO WATCH
⏩ Mike Basile, Sr. Immaculate: Will likely develop into the top facilitator of the Mustangs’ balanced offense; the allaround playmaker can beat defenders from inside and out.
⏩ Robert DiSibio, Sr. Newtown: One of the top forwards in the conference was named first team AllSWC last season. Standing 6-foot-5, DiSibio is a matchup nightmare for several teams.
⏩ Maximus Edwards, Jr. Bunnell: The 6-foot-3 swingman is a nightmare to defend going to the basket and adds another year of experience to impressive career. Was named second team AllState last season while averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.
⏩ Jack Ryan, Sr. Stratford: A first team AllSWC selection who averaged 14 points per game last season, Ryan will lead an experienced Red Devils squad. Stratford reached the postseason last year with a 11-9 record and returns several starters.
⏩ Quinton Sneed-Lott, Sr. Kolbe: A tough force on both ends of the court, Sneed-Lott will be key to a Cougars encore following the departure of first team All-SWC Anthony Senior.
5 GAMES TO WATCH
⏩ Newtown at Pomperaug (Jan. 9, 7 p.m.): Border rivals meet twice this season, the second of which comes in Southbury. The Panthers graduated almost 90 percent of their scoring from last year and bring back a host of seniors with limited varsity experience.
⏩ Immaculate at NDFairfield (Jan. 22, 7 p.m.): A rematch of last year’s final will provide the Mustangs to notch a win over their rivals, a first since 2015-16. Immaculate was one of few teams to give the hosts a competitive game a year ago.
⏩ Brookfield at Stratford (Feb. 4, 7 p.m.): Both squads made the playoffs last year and have hopes again. Both lost key pieces to last year’s runs and a late-season matchup could be a decider.
⏩ New Fairfield at New Milford (Feb. 6, 7 p.m.): A battle between a pair of teams that missed the playoffs a year ago; the Rebels were competitive in a majority of their defeats last season and hope to take a step forward.
⏩ Bunnell at Barlow (Feb. 12, 7 p.m.): Pat Yerina spent 21 years at Bunnell before resigning after last season. He landed with the Falcons, with who he spent the first four years of his coaching career. Barlow has several interesting pieces and could contend for a playoff spot.