The Morgan boys’ basketball team has had what most would call a pretty successful season. They went well over .500, dominating a lot of opponents along the way. But after all the victories and celebration of good wins, the Huskies are now locked in and ready to make a positive postseason run.

Head Coach Frank Rossi and the Huskies finished the regular season 13-7, with Cromwell being their final opponent of the slate.

“Having lost two of our last three games heading into our final game at Cromwell, we were just looking to finish strong and try to regain some of the momentum we had to start the month. With a week between games we were able to hit the reset button so to speak, take a couple of days off, and really focus on what we needed to do to bounce back,” said Rossi. “We ended up beating Cromwell on the last day of the regular season, snapping their 12-game win streak and handing them only their second loss within the conference. We played one of the best, most complete games we’ve played all season.”

Notable players from the game included senior captain and guard Eddie Dwake, who led the Huskies with 23 points and four rebounds, making 11/13 free throws in the fourth quarter. Junior forward Jack Nye added 16 points and ten rebounds. Senior captain and guard Matt Reed also contributed 14 points in the win.

Besides the standouts, Rossi also knows how important all players on the roster are to a basketball game, a sentiment that was displayed in the victory.

“It really was a complete team effort on both sides of the floor — every player that checked in contributed to this win in some way,” said Rossi. “Even though the game didn’t mean anything in terms of the conference tournament seeding, that game seemed to get us back to where we were a few weeks earlier — playing at a pretty high level, with a tremendous amount of energy and confidence.”

After coming off a win that left Morgan feeling confident, the Huskies began the Shoreline Conference Tournament as the 3 seed. They squared off in the quarterfinals against the 6-seeded East Hampton Noises, hoping to continue the momentum from the Cromwell meeting.

“That energy carried into our Shoreline Conference quarterfinal game against East Hampton,” said Rossi. “They beat us the last time we played a couple of weeks back, so this game was important for us to get off to a good start. Unfortunately, we started the game down 7-0, but found our rhythm defensively to take control of the game.”

The Huskies walked off the court with a 74-59 win. Nye had 19 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Dwake had 18 points and six rebounds and juniors Robbie Estabrook (guard) and Kolby Clifton (forward) added 10 points each off the bench.

The quarterfinal win secured the Huskies’ fifth straight Shoreline Conference semifinals appearance and another meeting with the Cromwell Panthers. This time, Morgan wasn’t so lucky as they fell by a score of 68-43.

Although the Huskies did not come away with a victory this time, they took the loss as not only something to learn from but also as a way to gain inspiration for the state tournament.

“We tried to emphasize that achievement considering Morgan’s recent history prior to that. It was Cromwell’s night, and they went on to win the Conference Championship after that,” said Rossi. “Again, with a little less than a week to get ready for the state tournament, we need to focus on that and what we need to do to bounce back. We need to have short memories with the clock ticking on our season. This was a setback, but we emphasized what we can take away from this game to prepare for the state tournament.”

Three players from the Huskies were named to the All-Shoreline Conference Team this season. Dwake and Nye were named to the Second Team, and Reed was named Honorable Mention.

Even though the trio of All-Conference players has been the Huskies’ statistical leaders over the course of the postseason so far, Rossi also acknowledged the team unity and the fact that every player has been stepping up since their loss to the Valley Regional Warriors on Feb. 14.

“We’ve had some of the best practices we’ve had all season during these last couple of weeks leading into the end of the regular season and the postseason,” Rossi said. “The kids have been focused and really competing in practice. Our strength all season has been our team and that has been so evident during these last few games. Eddie Dwake (Second Team) is averaging 16 points per game and three rebounds, Jack Nye (Second Team) is averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Matt Reed (Honorable Mention) is averaging 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists.”

As the Huskies look to focus on the postseason portion of their campaign, Rossi hopes to see his team stay focused and remember what they’ve worked hard on all season to get into a good rhythm early.

“I think if we could remain disciplined and consistent, we have the ability to win some games in the tournament. We’ve worked very hard to earn a home game in the first round, which is so important in getting off on the right foot. There are a lot of very good teams in Division IV, but we have to take it one game at a time,” said Rossi. “We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves because it could be all over in a snap. If we can maintain that energy and play at a high level, we could be successful. I want this to be a memorable tournament for our seniors, but on the other hand, we are junior-heavy, so this tournament is so important to gain experience.”

The Huskies roster is comprised of Dwake, Reed, Ryan Luciani (senior, forward), Nye, Estabrook, Mason Krott (junior, forward), Ryan Donadio (junior, forward), Patrick O’Neil (junior, guard), Clifton, Noah Conquino (junior, guard), Tyshawn Davis (sophomore, guard), and Logan Ryan (sophomore, forward).