Collective effort lifts Coventry past Somers
Jan. 30—COVENTRY — It was a collective effort.
Offensive balance across the board with three players in double figures.
That balance and effort led by Aidan Hecht (13 points), Wyatt Wendry (12) and Dylan Aloisa (11) helped the Coventry boys basketball team past Somers, 54-41, in a North Central Connecticut Conference game Friday night at Matthew J. Hurlock Gymnasium.
The win secured a spot in the Division V state tournament for the Patriots (8-5).
"It was a really good team effort for us tonight," Wendry said. "Everyone got involved. Everyone was scoring and that's what we're going to need down the stretch."
Coventry pulled away in the second half with its defense and ball movement on offense.
"I thought we were patient, kind of found our rhythm a little bit more offensively and got a little more confident in our shooting," Coventry second- year coach Lois Hasty said. "The change to our zone defense helped us. We were a little bit undermanned and undersized but I think that kind of changed things up and helped shore up the rebounding for us.
"It was a big help." Providing that interior help late came from juniors Nate Cordner (9 points) and Gavin Covell (7 points, 9 rebounds).
Covell — who scored five of his seven points in the fourth quarter — had a key offensive rebound and putback while adding a free throw to convert an and-one — while Cordner had a key coast-to-coast drive following a timeout by the Spartans (9-5) with 2:30 remaining as Coventry extended what was a 6-point advantage — 40-34 early in the fourth — out to 13 points — 49-36.
"When they play well inside it's a big advantage for us," Wendry said.
Said Hasty — "Gavin [Covell] was tremendous. He's undersized for a posttype player but he is so strong. On both ends of the floor he did a great job.
Hecht hit a 3-pointer that closed out the third quarter, with an assist from Wendry, at the top of the key that closed out a 13-5 run as Coventry, which led by three at the half (20-17) took a 40-32 lead into the final eight minutes.
Troy Maia led all scorers with 19 points for Somers (9-5).
It's been a challenging season for the Patriots after losing junior point guard Aiden Jeamel for the season after a torn anterior cruciate ligament in their second game of the year — on Dec. 16 against RHAM.
"Aiden's one of the best players in the conference," Wendry said. "Losing him that early hurt, but we've all rallied together.
"He handled a lot of the ball-handling duties. We all have to play our part, do our roles well and step up."
Follow Rich Zalusky on Twitter — @ rmzaluskytc.
