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03/20/2016 12:00 AMFirst-year Head Coach Justin Falcon and the North Haven boys’ basketball team had aspirations of returning to the postseason after missing it the past two years. Halfway through the season, North Haven sported a mark of 2-7 and the prospects of that happening looked dicey. However, the Indians responded by winning eight of their last 11 regular season games to make the SCC and Class L tournaments, while also making Falcon one happy coach.
“Overall, it was definitely positive. The kids saw what it was like to deal with adversity at 2-7 and finished 10-10 [for the regular season] and it was great to have people at the school tell me that we were doing great and we were excited we got to the postseason,” said Falcon. “I wish we went further, but I preached to the kids that it was a step in the right direction for the program.”
Coach Falcon said the turning point of the season came in a 52-50 victory against Lyman Hall on Jan. 29. It avenged an earlier defeat to the Trojans and North Haven went on to beat a few other teams it previously lost to in Career and West Haven.
“We got to a part of our schedule where we knew we could compete with all the teams and, seeing some teams a second time, the kids went in and believed in themselves more,” Falcon said. “It was a big turning point to get a win at home against Lyman Hall. Anthony Beretta hit a layup and they had a chance to tie it, but missed a layup, and it was the loudest I’ve ever heard our gym. From that point on, the kids believed in themselves and we knew we could compete in every game and get to to the State Tournament. They told me they wanted to do it for me in my first season, but I told them it was for them. They only get two or three opportunities to do this. We got our eight wins [to qualify] and then we got 10, which was even better.”
North Haven featured five seniors and its senior captains were power forward David Mikos and shooting guard Matt Sordi. Mikos averaged 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and Coach Falcon complimented both he and Sordi for the attitude they brought to the floor and the locker room.
“Matt is a reliable kid who never complains. He probably wanted more playing time than he got, but he’s a class act who never complained and always did his job. He worked hard at practice every day and I’ll have a seat on the bench for him if he wants to coach. He gets it and asks all the right questions,” Falcon said. “Mikos was our leader on the floor and the heart of the team. He plays harder than any kid I’ve coached. Moving forward, anyone in our program has to be ‘Mikos-strong.’ That’s the phrase I used. They have to be ‘Mikos-strong’ if they want to play for us. Overall, he’s a great kid.”
The Indians’ three other seniors were point guard Chris Watson, power forward Emadi Okwuosa, and small forward Eddie Wenzel. Watson recovered from a torn ACL that cost him his junior year to average 11.5 points and 2.2 steals a game, Okwuosa was the leader in rebounds (6.6) and blocks (1.8) per game and won the team’s Sportsmanship Award for the second-straight season, and Wenzel made the most of his opportunity to run the floor on Senior Night.
“Chris was a kid we depended on and who his teammates looked up to and, when he turned the switch on, he really did. I’ve coached him since 7th grade, when he was asking for playing time, and now he’s starting as a senior and a high scorer. He’s matured into a great young man who I’ll have contact with in the future,” Falcon said. “Emadi has one of the biggest hearts. He’s the first one to tell you do better or that everything will be alright. He’s not there for himself. He roots for his teammates and, on the floor, he jumps like he has springs in his shoes. He’s so quick and explosive—a pure athlete and a great kid. Eddie started on Senior Night and, when I asked him how it felt when he got his name called, he said it was awesome. Then when [Jack] Steinman had a fast-break and found Eddie for the basket, the entire place went bonkers.”
North Haven’s junior class was led by two athletes who came away with some postseason plaques. Shooting guard Jack Steinman led the team in multiple categories by averaging 12.8 points, three assists, and 2.3 steals to go with his 6.3 rebounds a night. Steinman was named the Indians’ MVP and played his way to a spot on the All-Oronoque Team. Beretta made his varsity debut for North Haven after transferring from Notre Dame-West Haven last year and sealed his spot in the starting lineup en route to Most Improved Player honors.
“Jack is a well-rounded kid and definitely and impact player. You’d hear other teams say that he’s the kid they had to stop and that helped Chris because nobody knew about him after he missed last year, so having those two was great. Jack can do everything. He had tons of rebounds, steals, points, and is definitely a leader on defense. He also has a great attitude,” Coach Falcon said. “Anthony handles the ball better than anyone on the team and, when Tommy Dodge went down with a torn labrum, Anthony got the opportunity, took advantage of it, and never came out of the starting lineup. He hit some big shots and was a huge role player for us.”
North Haven’s junior class also featured forwards Preston Young and Paul Murray, along with guards Mike Gagliardi, Billy Sgro, Dodge, and Tom Myjak. Dodge was averaging 6.3 points a game before getting injured and Myjak hit two big threes in a win over West Haven. Sophomore forward Jarrod Sancho scored 6.7 points a game and Jamorea Hooks was a freshman guard on the squad.
Coach Falcon was assisted by JV coach Matt McPartland, freshman coach Mike Lombardi, and volunteer coach Scott Sheeley.
From the Sidelines
North Haven went 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the Oronoque Division for the regular season. In division play, the Indians swept East Haven by winning 62-50 and 74-67, split with Career by losing 67-57 and winning 57-47, and lost twice to Cross (73-45 and 64-62) and Branford (35-32 and 54-41). In non-Oronoque games, North Haven won twice against Law (62-56 and 64-40) and Whitney Tech (75-53 and 64-46) and split with West Haven by losing 46-38 and winning 41-32, as well as Lyman Hall, which the Indians lost to 58-53 before winning 52-50. North Haven also beat Kaynor Tech 70-59 and took defeats to Hamden (55-47), Guilford (46-35), and Brookfield (65-57). In the SCC Tournament, the Indians lost to Amity 62-55, after which they took a 90-53 defeat against Pomperaug in the Class L State Tournament for an overall record of 10-12.