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01/09/2016 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
After opening the season 0-3, the Morgan boys’ basketball squad won twice last week to move to 2-3 on the year. On Jan. 5, the Huskies squared off with East Hampton and won a tight contest, 55-52. East Hampton came into the contest at 4-1, while averaging 74 points per game. The Huskies got up early, 17-12, in what turned out to be a seesaw battle. Morgan held a one-point halftime lead at 26-25. In the second half, the Huskies kept up the defensive pressure and made clutch plays down the stretch to hold on for the 55-52 victory.
“Having to play East Hampton after dropping our first three games was not an enviable position, but one we put ourselves in,” said Morgan Head Coach Ken Beeman. “East Hampton has been having a great early season, winning games with some impressive scoring totals. It has been a long time since I have seen a collectively better shooting team at the Shoreline level.”
Morgan was led by senior Dylan Ketch, who scored 21 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. Gabe Eriksen scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards, plus Anthony Choronzy added 10 points in the Huskies’ victory.
“We were very proud of the way our boys played tonight,” Beeman said. “Were we perfect? Absolutely not. But we were composed mentally and executed our approach very well. Our goal was to run their shooters off the three-point line and force them to do something differently than simply shoot long-range jumpers.”
Next up for the Huskies was a home date with non-conference foe Grasso Tech. Morgan fell behind quickly 7-0, but woke up to take a 21-18 first quarter lead. The Huskies expanded on that in the second frame and led 37-26 at the break. The defining stretch of the game came in the third as Morgan outscored Grasso 31 to 5 and blew the game open to finish with the 79-46 victory. Ketch again led the way in scoring with 19 points, three rebounds, and four steals; Eriksen filled the stat sheet with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals; and senior Mike Murray came close to a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds.
“It was an interesting first couple of minutes as Grasso jumped out to their quick lead. It was clear that we thought we could simply show up, have the opponent roll over, and win a ballgame. It is a nice lesson to learn that you have to come ready to compete every day,” said Coach Beeman. “That third quarter was one of the best I have seen this group play. I know the boys were a bit frustrated by being in a close game and their desire to win certainly manifested itself after halftime. Our defense was fantastic in the third, causing turnover after turnover and leading to very easy buckets. It was a good win.”
Girls’ Basketball
The Huskies girls’ hoops squad split their two games last week versus a pair unbeaten teams by defeating East Hampton and then losing to Cromwell.
First up was a road game against 6-0 East Hampton and the Huskies came out strong by taking a 17-10 first quarter advantage that led to a 34-21 halftime lead. Morgan was never really threatened and finished with a 58-41 victory. Sami Ashton led the team with 27 points and seven assists, Josie Sullivan 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Riley Thompson had 10 boards for Morgan.
Next on Jan. 7, Morgan went up against 7-0 Cromwell and lost 58-40. It was a close contest in the first half with Morgan down just 21-19 at intermission. However, Cromwell broke the game open in the third by outscoring the Huskies 19-7 and went on to the 18-point win. Ashton had 17 points in the loss and Sullivan notched another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies, who are now 7-2 on the year.