Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Central Loses to Hillhouse

BRIDGEPORT -- Hillhouse coach Renard Sutton insisted last week that the two New Haven-based schools in Monday's Martin Luther King Classic were going to get the better of their Bridgeport opponents.
He turned out to be correct.
Hillhouse rallied from a early deficit against Central and never looked back, pulling away for a 68-51 win in the nightcap of the tournament, which drew 4,673 across four games at Webster Bank Arena.
"We realized in the first half that they weren't even taking as many 3-pointers, let alone making them," Sutton said. "So we decided to go zone second half. We were able to rebound better."
Up by as many as nine points in the first half, Hillhouse (7-1) increased its lead to 57-42 after three quarters thanks to its dominance on the glass. The Academics pulled down 12 rebounds in the quarter, seven of which came on offense.
The Hilltoppers were outscored 29-20 in the second half, leaving coach Barry McLeodquestioning their effort.
"My teams usually compete harder than that," he said. "They didn't. They got beat, and they got beat all over. That team was better than us tonight. Whether it looked like it in warm-ups or not, our big guys didn't play big, our little guys didn't play quick.
"That's a recipe for disaster. It's been a long time since I've been as embarrassed as I am."
John Lewis had 17 points, and Joe Kasperzyk Jr. scored 16 for Hillhouse, which made it two-for-two for New Haven schools in Bridgeport. Wilbur Cross beat Harding 60-45 earlier in the day.
"The prediction was that both New Haven teams were going to go away victorious," Sutton said, "so I'm happy for the city."
Central's Marcus Blackwell finished with a game-high 25 points and Fitzroy Henry had 16, but they didn't get much help offensively. Only three other Hilltoppers scored.
Now 5-4, the defending FCIAC and Class LL champions will carry a three-game losing streak into Wednesday's game against rival Bassick. Although point guard Dyshan Pulliam (five points) returned Monday from an ankle sprain, the Hilltoppers are still far from full strength.
"Last year we went all year without having an injury," McLeod said. "You sort of get bumped a couple times this year, but that's part of the drill. That's life in athletics. They just took it to us."
Trailing 17-15 after one quarter, Hillhouse capitalized on a slew of turnovers and went up by eight thanks to a 14-4 run. Kasperzyk Jr.'s breakaway dunk gave Hillhouse its largest lead of the first half at 33-24.
Although the Hilltoppers struggled from outside with only one 3-pointer, Blackwell kept the Hilltoppers close with 12 first-half points. They weren't so fortunate in the third quarter, however.
"Winning and losing is not the issue," McLeod said. "I don't think we're competing as hard as I'd like."
dbonjour@ctpost.com; twitter.com/dougbonjour
HILLHOUSE (7-1)
Darius Griffin 0 0-0 0 Dontell Glover Jr. 5 1-2 11 Joe Kasperzyk Jr. 7 2-3 16 Troy Walters Jr. 1 2-6 5 Tyler Douglas 1 1-3 4 Christian Adams 4 5-5 13 Donell Allick Jr. 0 0-0 0 Demetrius Smith 0 0-0 0 John Lewis 6 5-6 17 Jalil Wilkerson 0 0-0 0 Tyler Williams 0 0-0 0 Byron Breland III0 0-0 0 Jvaughn Hoover 0 0-0 0 Chauness Johnson 0 0-0 0 Anthony Crenshaw 0 0-0 0 Aaron White 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 16-25 68.
CENTRAL (5-4)
Dyshaun Pulliam 2 0-0 5 Kaysone Washington 0 0-0 0 Dondre Daniels 0 2-4 2 Quinton Ballew 1 1-2 3 Marcus Blackwell 8 9-12 25 Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0 Jordan Edmonds 0 0-0 0 Joaquim Johnson 0 0-0 0 Charles Richardson 0 0-0 0 Oumar Keita 0 0-0 0 Fitzroy Henry 5 6-10 16. Totals 16 18-28 51.
HILLHOUSE 15 24 18 11--68
CENTRAL 17 14 11 9--51
3-pointers: H -- Walters Jr., Douglas; C -- Pulliam. Fouled out: C -- Henry.




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