West Haven’s Jordan Sirabionian (14) drives to the basket in Saturday’s Division I title game at Mohegan Sun Arena. West Haven won in three overtimes.
Among the 10 basketball state championship games at the Mohegan Sun over the weekend, there were a pair of overtime thrillers. There were plenty of contributions along the way to recall and celebrate.
The Bristol Central girls basketball team erased a five-point deficit in OT to beat Rocky Hill, 58-52 to win their first state championship in the Division II title game.
In the boys Division I championship, West Haven outlasted Staples, 79-72, in the first triple OT championship game since 1992.
So many memorable plays, crucial rebounds and big shots.
Memorable Championship for Bristol Central
Bristol Central and Rocky Hill are both members of the Central Connecticut Conference but never met this season. BC led by nine points at halftime and by eight with 2:14 left in the third quarter.
But the Terriers led by their quick guard Kelsey LaMay rallied. She hit a three-point shot and went 3-of-4 from the line in the final minute of the third quarter.
And then, she hit teammate Katherine Harding with a super pass allowing Harding to sink a layup at the buzzer and the Terriers trailed by one after three quarters.
Rocky Hill’s Kelsey LaMay was outstanding for the Terriers in Saturday’s Division II championship game. (Photo courtesy CIAC)
Lamay hit a jumper with 3:08 remaining in regulation to give Rocky Hill a one-point lead but Bristol Central’s Kamaria Bowens hit her second three-point shot of the quarter to give the Rams a two point lead, 47-45, with 1:06 left.
Lamay responded with a driving layup to the basket with 45 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 47-47.
In overtime, Rocky Hill grabbed a five point lead after Arianna Daley sank a three-point shot with 3:07 left, 52-47. The Terriers had missed two shots and pulled down two offensive rebounds before Daley sank her shot.
A basket from Bowens on a drive to the basket cut the lead to three and a foul shot from Nicole Riemer with 1:57 left cut the lead to two, 52-50.
The Rams defense forced a 24-second shot clock violation by Rocky Hill.
Bowens drove to the basket and missed but Riemer was there for the offensive rebound, put it up and in and was fouled with 59 seconds left. She hit the foul shot to give BC a one point lead, 53-52.
Lamay missed a three-point attempt but Riemer was there to pull in the rebound. Riemer took the ball and went coast-to-coast driving to the basket, scoring and getting fouled with 38 seconds left. She hit the foul shot to complete the three-point play and extend the lead to 56-52.
Lamay, who scored a team-high 21 points for Rocky Hill, missed on another three-point attempt with 19 seconds left and Riemer was there again for the rebound and was fouled. Riemer sank both to extend the lead to 58-52.
The Rams scored the final 11 points of the ballgame with Riemer scoring nine points and pulling down six rebounds. Riemer finished 25 points and 22 rebounds. Bowens finished with 15 points while Laylani Cespedes scored 16 for the Rams.
Bristol Central’s Nicole Riemer (24) took over in overtime to lead the Rams to a state championship. (Photo courtesy CIAC)
“She was unbelievable. She took over. She absolutely got every rebound, got out in transition, made clutch free throws. She did what Nicole Riemer has done for four years,” Bristol Central head coach Steve Gaudet said.
Added Riemer, “It comes down to what our team is made of. We don’t give up. We push to the very end. (Those four minutes of OT) showed who were as a team. We kept working and we didn’t give up.”
“We just really wanted it,” Gaudet said. “They believed. You could see the focus at the end of the game. You could see they were locked in to what I was saying and what the assistant (coaches) were saying.”
Bristol Central achieved this with four players who finished the game with four fouls.
Riemer played the final 15:45 of the game with four fouls after picking up her fourth with 3:45 left in the quarter while Bowens played the final 19:41 of the game with four fouls after getting her fourth with 5:41 left in the third quarter.
Sydney Ray picked up her fourth with 34 seconds left in the third quarter while Olivia Louis picked up her fourth foul with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter.
“Being able to stay together as one comes down to friendship and sisterhood that is Bristol Central basketball and being able to rely on one another,” Riemer said.
Bristol Central’s Nicole Reimer celebrates after the Rams won their first state championship with an OT win over Rocky Hill on Saturday.
Staples vs. West Haven: A Battle of Wills
The Division I championship game between previously undefeated Staples and West Haven was a battle of wills.
West Haven (23-4) led by eight in the third quarter only to see the Wreckers erase that lead.
West Haven had a three-point lead with 2:46 left in regulation, a four-point lead with 1:07 left in the first OT and a five-point lead with 1:33 left in the second OT. The Wreckers came back each time.
“This was a classic. This is one for the books,” West Haven coach Tyrese Sullivan said.
With 2:32 remaining in regulation, Staples’ Dhilan Lowman hit his fourth 3-point shot of the game to tie the game at 48-48. The Wreckers missed two shots in the final 44 seconds but the game moved into overtime.
“I knew it would be tough,” Sullivan said. “These guys (Staples) are good. Great coach over there. Great program. I have utmost respect for coach (David Goldshore). I just knew it would be war today. It would be a battle and it was going to come down to the last few possessions.”
West Haven took a four-point lead, 57-53, with 1:07 left in OT when Loshon Roman scored off a nice assist from Jordan Sirabionian.
Staples’ Dhilan Lowman had 17 points and five 3-point goals for the Wreckers in Saturday’s Division I title. (Photo courtesy CIAC)
But Staples (26-1) rallied again. Matthew Corrigon scored off an inbounds play with 51 seconds left and Austin Heyer drove to the basket with 15 seconds to tie the game, 57-57. West Haven missed four foul shots in the final 32 seconds, and the game went into a second OT.
West Haven’s Aaron Johnson hit a pair of three-point shots and scored in the lane off a nice feed from Roman with 1:33 remaining in the second OT to give the Westies a 65-60 lead.
Again, Staples rallied. Samson Clachko hit a floater in the lane with 1:15 left and Corrigon hit a three-point shot with 53 seconds to tie the game at 65-65.
Sirabionian and Clachko each went 1-for-2 from the foul line in the final 33 seconds, and the game moved into the third OT tied at 66-66.
Roman had West Haven’s first six points of the third OT with two foul shots and two jumpers. Clachko hit two free throws with 1:11 remaining to tie the game, 72-72 – the 12th tie in the game.
Sullivan said that Roman came to his on the bench and implored him to give him the ball. “He said, coach, I will get you out of here,” Sullivan said. “My players made the plays and got it done.”
Finally, West Haven was able to separate. Roman scored on driving layup with 57 seconds left for a 74-72 lead. Eleven seconds later, Johnson was able to block the shot from Staples’ Mason Tobias.
At the other end of the floor, Tobias stole the ball from Roman. But with 22 seconds left, Roman blocked Staples’ Austin Heyer. Sirabionian got the rebound and was fouled on the play. He hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to three, 75-72.
Clachko missed a three-point attempt with eight seconds left and West Haven sank four-of-five free throws in the final six seconds to secure the victory.
How did West Haven survive? “Stamina and defense,” Johnson said. “We were running out of steam. We had to stick together for moments like this.”
West Haven’s Loshon Roman (4) and Trew Kitson (0) celebrate after West Haven’s triple OT win over Staples in the CIAC Division I championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night.
It was the first triple OT game in a CIAC boys championship game since 1992 when Somers beat Haddam-Killingworth, 82-81 in the Class S final.
Roman finished with 20 points for West Haven, including eight points in the third OT. Johnson had 27 for West Haven with Sirabionian adding 19 points and pulling down a team-leading 12 rebounds and dishing out a team-high six assists.
It was the first title for West Haven since 1987.
Tobias led Staples with 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Lowman, who fouled out at the end of the second OT, had 17 points. Corrigon scored 13.
“The kids just battled, and sometimes results don’t go your way, and the world judges you sometimes on results,” Staples head coach Dave Goldshore told Inkling News.com. “I judge this team on their heart, and I judge this team on their ability to be resilient. That’s what the heart of a champion is.”
Staples was looking for their first title since 1937.
BOYS: Division I championship
West Haven 79, Staples 72, 3 OT
At Uncasville
West Haven (79) Trew Kilson 1-0-2, Aaron Johnson 11-1-27, Loshon Roman 9-2-20, K’nann Morris 2-0-5, Jordan Sirabionian 4-11-19, Ricardo Harris 2-1-6, Matthew Morgan 0-0-0, Makell Hailey 0-0-0, Jakari Harris 0-0-0. Totals 29-15-79
Staples (72) Austin Heyer 4-0-9, Mason Tobias 8-5-21, Dhilan Lowman 6-0-17, Samson Clachko 3-6-12, Matthew Corrigon 5-0-13, Jack Jacob 0-0-, Henry Veissid 0-0-0, Drew Hill 0-0-0. Totals 26-11-72
West Haven (23-4) 13 11 15 9 9 9 13 — 79
Staples (26-1) 16 10 9 13 9 9 6 — 72
Three-point goals: West Haven 6-7 (Johnson 4-4, Roman 0-1, Morris 1-1, Harris 1-1), Staples 9-30 (Heyer 1-3, Lowman 5-13, Clachko 0-7, Corrigon 3-5, Jacob 0-1, Hill 0-1)
Full game statistics
GIRLS: Division II championship
Bristol Central 58, Rocky Hill 52, OT
At Uncasville
Bristol Central (58) Laylani Cespedes 5-3-16, Olivia louis 0-1-1, Lamaria Bowens 5-2-15, Molly McMahon 0-1-1, Nicole Riemer 9-6-25, Sydney Ray 0-0-0, Gabriella Bernier 0-0-0, Bria Rossi 0-0-0, Olivia Stafford 0-0-0. Totals 19-13-58
Rocky Hill (52) Kelsey LaMay 6-8-21, Arianna Daley 1-0-3, Madisyn Aurigemma 3-0-6, Jill Rhouddou 2-0-4, Katherine Harding 5-2-14, Isabella Tucker 1-2-4. Totals 18-12-52
Bristol Central (22-5) 12 17 9 9 11 — 58
Rocky Hill (25-3) 17 13 19 8 5 — 52
Three-point goals: Bristol Central 7-18 (Cespedes 3-5, Bowens 3-7, McMahon 0-3, Riemer 1-2, Bernier 0-1); Rocky Hill 4-29 (LaMay 1-9, Daley 1-2, Harding 2-10, Tucker 0-3)
Of note: Down five in OT, Bristol Central ran off 11 straight points to win their first state championship. Nicole Reimer scored 25 points and pulled down 22 rebounds. The Rams finished the game with four players with four fouls on the floor.
Game statistics
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