The Coginchaug boys basketball team traveled to Bristol, Connecticut on Thursday, March 9 to take on the No. 8 ranked St. Paul Catholic High School.
The Falcons team is a part of the NVL conference, which is arguably one of the most competitive conferences in the state. This division consists of teams such as Ansonia, Crosby, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart, who has won three straight state titles. The boys last played Sacred Heart in 2015, where they were defeated by a score of 75-30, and knew they would have to work very hard to come out on top with the win.
The Blue Devils were off to a terrific start in the first quarter, leading the Falcons by as much as nine points. They held the team to only three points total in the first five minutes of play (where the Devils led 12-3). The Falcons slowly fought their way back, as Coginchaug led 16-10 after the first quarter. The beginning of the second quarter was much similar to the Devils’ performance in the first. They continued sinking all their shots and extending their lead, but the Falcons continuously came back, keeping the game close. Eventually the Falcons fought their way through the Devils to tie the game at 22. Thanks to an extra effort by Vallone and Jameson, the Devils quickly extended their lead to 26-22 as they headed into the half.
The third quarter was very intense, and the tension showed among the players on the court. Each team went cold to start the quarter and couldn’t get much to fall, but the Devils continued to hold onto the lead, and to this point did not let the Falcons take the lead once. The third quarter ended with the Devils leading 33-32.
Entering the fourth, the Falcons got off to a 5-0 run, earning their first lead of the game. Suddenly out of nowhere, Vallone hit a three and was fouled in the process. Vallone sank the foul shot and tied the game at 37-37, bringing some much needed hope to the players and fans. Unfortunately for the Devils, the Falcons sank two consecutive threes to go up six over the Devils.
In the final minutes, Coginchaug was able to hold off the Falcons from scoring and sank their own consecutive shots, cutting the score to 49-52 with 4.6 seconds remaining. A push-off foul on the Falcons’ inbound allowed the Devils to gain possession, get a shot to tie the game and head into overtime. The Devils put their trust into Jameson, who previously was able to force an overtime against Windsor Locks with a deep three. The shot was not able to go down for the Devils, and they were forced to foul the Falcons. The Falcons made both foul shots, and the Devils were unable to make another last-second three.
Coginchaug fell 49-54 to St. Paul, ending their 2017 playoff campaign. When asked about his thoughts of playing his final game for Coginchaug, senior captain Griffin Murphy stated, “I was just happy that I was able to go out fighting until the last second with all of my brothers that night.”