New Canaan sophomore Nick Crovatto drained a pair of clutch free throws with less than a minute left to break a 43-43 tie and help lift the Rams to a 46-43 win over the Blue Wave Monday night at Darien High School.
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Editor’s note: This article originally was published by NewCanaanite.com.
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The Rams were led by junior Tyler Sweeney who scored 21 points, 17 of which came in an exhilarating second half that saw multiple lead changes and swings of momentum.
“I’m really proud because things weren’t going our way,” New Canaan head coach Mike Evans said. “We created our own momentum and got it done.”
Darien started the game strong, building an 11-9 lead in the first quarter. Junior two-guard Jackson Ryan hit two three-pointers for six of his team-high 15 points on the night to help the Wave to their early advantage.
New Canaan kept the game within reach in the second quarter with strong play from the tandem of sophomore Jackson Selvala and senior Sam Larson, who were faced with the unenviable task of guarding Darien’s star center, the 6’9” Alex Preston.
The Rams came out of the break making significant adjustments on offense. Sweeney began attacking the hoop, scoring seven points—including a huge conventional three-point play—despite the considerable presence of Preston, who altered or blocked multiple New Canaan shots all night. After trading leads throughout the third, the Rams had a 30-28 heading into the final quarter.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the fourth, with Sweeney and Darien junior Zak Swetye traded three’s on consecutive possessions. Preston tied the game twice by converting five of six free throws down the stretch, while New Canaan countered at the stripe with James Crovatto and Sweeney sinking foul shots of their own. All of this set up Nick Crovatto with his heroics, just minutes after missing a pair of free throws in a similar situation.
“There’s probably no more mentally tough kid than Nick, except maybe his brother,” Evans said. “And I don’t want to get involved in that feud.”
After Crovatto’s conversions Darien failed to score on their ensuing possession, ultimately fouling Sweeney with 6.1 seconds left. The junior made one of two foul shots, and after a desperation Darien three missed its mark, New Canaan escaped with a nail-biting win.
“I think we proved something to ourselves,” Evans said, as New Canaan improved to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the FCIAC. Meanwhile Darien fell to 2-4 on the season and 0-3 in conference play. “When you’re 1-5 in New Canaan, your season is over mentally. And they came in tonight and were not okay with that, and I’ve never seen that before.”
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Meanwhile, the New Canaan girls basketball team looked to avenge last month’s 46-31 loss to the Blue Wave, just as they had against McMahon last Friday.
Darien had other ideas, as the Wave overcame a 15-14 halftime deficit to beat the Rams 28-23 at New Canaan High School.
Kate Fiore and Katie Ramsay led the way for Darien, scoring six points apiece. Kaeliegh Morill scored all five of her points in a decisive third quarter, as the Wave took a 19-17 lead into the fourth quarter. It was a lead they would not relinquish.
Campbell Armstrong helped the Rams to an early lead, scoring 10 of her 11 points on the night in the first half. Kylie Murphy added 7 points, including five in the second half to keep New Canaan within striking distance.
Other Rams scorers were Leigh Charlton and Elena Aliapoulios with two points apiece and Olivia Hunsinger with one point. Darien scorers included Christine Fiore with four points, Emily DeNunzio and Emily Coyle with three and Casey Ryan with one.
Darien improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the FCIAC. New Canaan dropped to 1-7 and 1-5 in the conference.
