CIAC Crowns Champions

by Mike Yagmin | Sunday, March 17th, 2013

Valley Regional kicked off the CIAC Boys Basketball State Championships with a win over Weston on Friday night but it only turned out to be an appetizer for what was a tasty main course on Saturday.

Class M

Rallying behind the reinstatement of their head coach, who had previously been dismissed at mid-season, Weston's Cinderella post-season run finally came to an end Friday night.  Valley point guard Jon Luster scored only 6 points but was steady throughout, setting up his teammates, playing tight defense, and showing great poise.  Chris Polo and Chris Connor each had 12 points to lead Valley. Charlie DiPasquale continued to lead Weston, scoring 24 points with a series of quick drives, smart cuts, and deep jumpers.

Class S

Saturday morning isn't an ideal time for a high school state championship game but once Granby woke up to find themselves down 38-19 to Weaver, one heck of a game broke out! The Bears fought back to cut the lead to 15 going into the fourth quarter, then the turnovers started flowing and the threes started falling. While Granby was red hot from beyond the arc, Carlin Champion's length and full court pressure was making the Beaver's uncomfortable on the defensive end.  Brett Buser, a transfer guard from New York, forced overtime in dramatic fashion, going coast to coast to drain a three at the buzzer.  It wasn't until just 28 seconds were remaining in the second OT that Buser would steal the ball and hit a free-throw to put Granby up for good, 83-81, capping a 21-point comeback that amazed fans at Mohegan Sun.  Buser paced Granby with 23 points while Mike Noyes and Champion poured in 19 and 15 respectively.

Class L

#2 seed Woodstock Academy slowed the pace and got 23 points and 11 boards from Ian Converse to beat #1 seed Trinity Catholic, 52-49, and capture their first state title. Woodstock's other big man, Sullivan Gardner, chipped in with eight points and 14 rebounds of his own, giving the Crusader's fits in the post, while point guard Chris Lowry set the tone in the backcourt with 11 assists. Converse would hit two free-throws with 5.7 seconds remaining to ice the game for his squad. Trinity Catholic guard Schadrac Casimir finished his stellar high school career with 15 points but was only 6 for 20 from the field as Woodstock's length and timely defense gave Trinity trouble all day. Tremaine Fraizer had 17 points to lead the Crusaders, who finished the season at 25-3 to continue their rich basketball tradition.

Class LL

In what was hyped to be the main event, the top two teams in the state battled for, not just a state championship, but also the title of Connecticut's best high school team, as Fairfield Prep and Hillhouse met in LL. Hillhouse's Raiquan Clarke poured in 26 of his team's 52 total points as the Academics left no doubt in the minds of Connecticut basketball fans, securing a 52-42 win.  Paschal Chukwu led the way for Fairfield Prep with 12 points and 16 rebounds while Chase Daniels battled him valiantly for Hilllhouse, adding 10 points.  Hillhouse held Prep to 24% shooting in the first half and didn't look back from there, holding a 13-point advantage going into the fourth quarter, and fighting off a potential run down the stretch.