GRANBY – Saturday is normally a day off for the Ellington boys basketball team but then Sunday there was a snowstorm and there was no school Monday.
“They’re calling me during the snowstorm – is there a gym we can go to?” Ellington coach Bob Freitas said.
The school was closed so the answer was no. So there were three straight days of no practice.
But junior Jack Curtis and a few others found a place where they could meet and got some shooting in Monday and then the whole group of varsity players came to freshman/JV practice early on Tuesday to shoot some more before their practice, which went two hours and according to Freitas, was “intense.”
“They are really self-motivated,” Freitas said. “They want to get better.”
Ellington went undefeated last year and won the Division IV state title last year, its first state championship in boys basketball since 1972. Wednesday, the Knights (13-0) won their 40th straight game, beating Granby 82-47.
Curtis had 29 points for Ellington. Reese Nicol and Jack Weigand added 17 each.
Ellington’s Jack Curtis (left) drives past Granby’s Brody Liss (11) during Wednesday’s game at Granby High School. Ellington won its 40th straight game, 82-47. (Photo by Lori Riley)
“We ran really hard (Tuesday),” Curtis said. “We worked on our plays, we worked on fine-tuning stuff. The time off wasn’t really time off.”
Jake Teclaw, Granby’s 6-foot-8 junior center, was in foul trouble much of the game but led Granby (12-2) with 13 points.
“Our game plan was to slow them down, give them less possessions,” Granby coach Wally Hansen said. “That didn’t happen.
“They can shoot. Their length, their connectedness, their unselfishness – they make the plays and even when they don’t make plays, they have guys who can crash the offensive glass and get extra shots. You give a good team extra shots, it makes it more difficult.”
Ellington, which moved up to Division III this year, has had one close game this season, a 57-55 win over NFA on Jan. 3. Freitas added higher division teams such as NFA, Newington (Ellington won 67-48) and Xavier (Feb. 14) to his schedule as well as Old Lyme, which won the Division V state championship two years ago and was the runner-up last year.
Ellington’s Dylan Killoran (left) and Reese Nicol (right) defend Granby’s Jake Teclaw Wednesday night at Granby High. Ellington won its 40th straight game, 82-47. (Photo by Lori Riley)
“We’re just trying to get better each day with individual work, team work – there’s always a higher level where the kids and the coaching staff can get better,” Freitas said. “And we’re trying to stay focused.”
Which means nobody really pays attention to the win streak.
“Is that how many we have?” Freitas said of the 40 straight wins.
“I didn’t even know that,” Curtis said.
The Knights have a ways to go before they can reach the state’s longest win streak in boys basketball – 80 by Middletown High (1975-78). They’re young still (Curtis is a junior, Nicol is a sophomore, another key player Ty Fieldhouse is a junior).
They’re not feeling any pressure, Curtis said. But he thinks the Knights are better than last year’s 27-0 team.
“We have four starters back so there’s more chemistry, because we’ve been playing together longer,” he said. “We have matured physically – we’re stronger and faster. I think our defense is better and we’ve become more consistent with our shooting this year. Last year we had stretches where we had three games in a row where nobody could hit a shot. This year we’ve been better about that.”
Ellington 82, Granby 47
Ellington 22 15 21 24 – 82
Granby 8 12 16 11 – 47
E-Reese Nicol 5 6 17, Ty Fieldhouse 5 0 11, Colin McKee 2 0 4, Jack Curtis 9 6 29, Dylan Killoran 1 0 2, Jack Weigand 7 3 17, Ryan Laughlan 1 0 2. Totals: 30 15 82.
G-Aidan Ellrod 4 3 12, Carmelo Roman 0 2 2, Oliver Douglas 3 0 7, Will Auer 1 1 3, Brady Liss 1 2 5, Lamarr Brodie 1 0 2, Sam Melnik 1 1 3, Jake Teclaw 5 2 13. Totals: 16 11 47.
Records: Ellington, 13-0; Granby, 12-2.
