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03/29/2023 07:18 AMThe Guilford boys’ basketball team had a season full of obstacles. With a good chunk of the team battling sickness early on, it was tough for the squad to fight through and win games. Despite the early-season struggles, Head Coach Jeff DeMaio and the Grizzlies defined the meaning of resilience, making a push toward the postseason.
After falling in the first round of the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) tournament (a 68-64 loss to Wilbur Cross), the Grizzlies were seeded at number six for the Division II State Tournament. They defeated the Maloney Spartans in the first round on March 7 by a score of 65-58 before falling to Stamford in the second round on March 9 (52-47). Even though the boys came up short of their championship goal, DeMaio was still proud of the way his team carried themselves this campaign.
“We had a great year, you never want it to end, and you always want to go as far as you can,” said DeMaio. “All of our losses all year were to really good teams. Certainly, to finish 16-7, I thought we had some really good quality wins along the way. We were very happy.”
Further echoing the sentiment of playing strong and competitive teams throughout the winter, DeMaio knew his team had a tall task ahead of them when it came to the postseason.
“We won our first game against Maloney, 65-58; it was a tough first-round game. In Division II, everybody is pretty strong,” said DeMaio. “After that, we had a second-round game where we got knocked out to Stamford, 52-47, another very close game. We just fell a little bit short and ended up at 16-7.”
The Grizzlies had a few days off in between the SCC tournament and the beginning of the state tournament. In those few days, DeMaio and the team spent their time studying their opponents by watching film to prepare for the games to come.
“We felt that we were prepared, and we were ready to go for each of those games. Thankfully the first one we won, and unfortunately, the second one we lost,” said DeMaio. “At that point in the year, guys know what they need to do; they know how we need to play. It was just a matter of going over the scouting reports to know what to expect from the other teams.”
Throughout the season, there were many players who stepped up for the Grizzlies, including two who earned special recognition for their efforts. Senior captain and guard Justin Hess was named to the All-SCC First Team, and Riley Swan (senior, guard/forward) was named to the All-SCC Second Team.
“In terms of recognition, those were the two guys that won those accolades. We had other guys too; Luke Ste. Marie had a great year; he easily could have been all-league as well,” said DeMaio. “We were fortunate, and we had eight seniors; always tough to graduate that many kids.”
Hess averaged 14.1 points per game this season, Swan averaged 14 points and Ste. Marie averaged 9.8.
Besides the All-Conference honor he received, DeMaio also recognized Hess’ ability to be a strong leader and captain for his teammates to help push them towards prominence this season.
“I have been coaching 31 years, and Justin, I think, is one of the best leaders that I have been around. He just did everything the right way, he was a cheerleader for other players, he was demanding of other players, holding guys accountable,” said DeMaio. “He is a very good practice player, a good organizer, communicator; all of the things on the checklist of what being a high school captain is really about. I think that he checked all of those boxes.”
Along with Hess, Ste. Marie and Swan, the other seniors on the team include Ryan Alviti (guard), Kevin Goldberg (forward/center), Isaac Ott Hill (guard), Brendan Skoglund (forward), and Josh Violette (guard). As a core group of veterans who have been playing basketball together for years, they all served as integral pieces on the court this winter.
“We were able to honor them not only at their Senior Night, which was a great night but also, we had a terrific banquet. I was able to talk a little bit about all eight of them,” said DeMaio. “The parents were really able to see all of them together. They have been terrific, and it has just been a really memorable 2023 class.”
Looking back on the regular season, the Grizzlies were faced with an impactful obstacle during late January. The team had an unbelievable amount of sickness going around, and DeMaio was proud of the resilience and dedication his team showed to push through it and come out victorious.
“We had guys that missed games, that played through a lot of sickness. I had never seen anything like this before, and it was probably close to half the team. That was our biggest challenge,” said DeMaio. “Once we got healthy, and by the beginning of February we were able to do that, we made a great late-season push.”
The Grizzlies closed out the regular season winning their last five games to improve their overall record to 15-5 heading into postseason play.
Although Guilford will be graduating the eight seniors this year, DeMaio has high hopes for the team going into next season and beyond.
“I am looking forward to the fact that it is going to be a huge challenge. It is going to be a very different team, one that does not have a lot of varsity experience. To me, I am excited about what the year can bring and the changes we are going to have to make,” said DeMaio. “I think we have huge holes to fill but I look forward to it, and the boys are excited and looking forward to it as well. We hope to keep the program in a really good place, we have been pretty successful over the years, and we want to keep it that way.”
Along with the seniors that will be graduating this spring, the Grizzlies roster also includes Jaco Corso (junior, guard), Jaden Iannaccone (junior, guard), Lucca Rivera (junior, guard), Jameson Benben (sophomore, guard), Liam Cain (sophomore, forward/center), Anthony Cerino (sophomore, guard), Max Freeman (sophomore, guard/forward), Matages Ivy (sophomore, forward), Noah Young (sophomore, guard), and Zachary Young (sophomore, guard).