West Haven Loses Heartbreaker In CIAC Boys Basketball Title Game

UNCASVILLE, CT — A physical war of attrition became a scintillating CIAC Division II boys basketball title game Saturday, with Windsor High School outslugging a game West Haven High 59-57 in overtime to earn a state championship.

Played at a fast and physical pace, this intense classic matchup was short on outside shooting and long on fast breaks, contact in the paint, and stifling defense.

It also featured a tremendous fourth quarter of lead changes and clutch play down the stretch, both offensively and defensively.

When it was over after West Haven's last-gasp shot in the paint didn't go in, Windsor Coach Ken Smith was left wondering how his squad pulled it out.

On this night, Windsor not only was nicknamed the Warriors, after going down by 14 points in the second half, they played like warriors inside the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

"I don't know. The kids just played hard and never quit," an emotionally drained Smith said after the on-court celebrations.

Smith had to endure a furious rally that saw the Blue Devils cut into a lead deep in overtime courtesy of some Warrior turnovers.

Said Smith, "I was going crazy. I was like what are we trying to do here."

Freshman Missoni Brown was the game's MVP for Windsor, with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Other standouts for Windsor were senior Gyan Davis, 14 points and 16 boards, and senior Anthony Williams, who had 13 points and 17 rebounds.

Second-seed Windsor entered the game 20-3 and were looking for the program's fifth state championship, last winning in 2014.

Meanwhile, the 12th-seed West Haven Blue Devils, at 18-6, were looking to win their second title, last winning in 1987.

West Haven came out running and gunning, opening up a 14-3 lead against the favored Warriors at the game's start.

At the end of the first quarter, the Blue Devils' balanced offensive assault blitzed their way to a frenetic, fast-paced, 19-7 lead over the Warriors.

Windsor, however, opened the second quarter on the run, cutting the lead to 19-14, but the Blue Devils answered with a quick run of their own to go up 24-14.

But when Windsor sliced the lead to 26-20, West Haven coach Tyrese Sullivan called timeout to stop the bleeding.

Despite the fast pace of the game, the half proved to be low-scoring, with West Haven taking a 28-22 lead into the halftime locker room.

The second half started with tough, man-to-man defense on both sides, with West Haven eventually opening up a 37-23 lead halfway into the quarter.

But Windsor fought back and, playing tenacious defense, cut the lead to 37-34 after a 10-0 run with about a minute left in the quarter to close out the third quarter.

The teams entered the fourth with momentum definitely on the side of the Warriors, who faced being blown out of the arena but fought back to make it a game.

With West Haven mired in a shooting slump, Windsor eventually went up by a basket with a three-pointer by freshman Misani Brown, giving the Warriors a 39-37 lead via an eventual 15-0 run.

From there it was game on and Windsor carried a 41-40 lead after a timeout with five minutes left in the game.

Free throws by senior Bernet Scott of West Haven gave the Westies a 42-41 lead, thus beginning a back-and-forth finish to the end.

The lead exchanged hands five times as the clock ticked down with the nearly full lower half of the arena erupting on each possession.

With players on the brink of exhaustion, West Haven held a 48-45 lead with a minute left in the game.

Two free throws by Windsor cut the deficit back to one, with West Haven now nursing a 48-47 lead with 58 seconds left.

When West Haven fouled Windsor on a loose ball under the basket, senior Anthony Williams for Windsor tied the contest at the free throw line, 48-48.

Windsor got the ball after the missed free throw was off West Haven and had a chance to take the lead.

Following a time-out by the Warriors, Windsor missed a shot and lost possession on a tie-up, giving the ball back to West Haven with 5.8 seconds left.

But West Haven couldn't get a shot off in time and the game went into a four-minute overtime tied at 48-48.

The Warriors took a 50-48 lead in OT with a driving shot in the middle of the paint, then Brown made a layup for a 52-48 lead.

Windsor then stretched the lead to 55-48 and never looked back, winning the championship down the stretch.

But it didn't come easy.

Junior Ethan Grifin's dunk for West Haven cut the lead to 55-50 after a missed slam by Windsor.

The Blue Devils cut the lead to 55-51 at the line, then got the ball back with a minute and a half left on a traveling violation by Windsor.

Playing ferocious, pressing defense and taking advantage of Windsor turnovers, West Haven was able to cut the lead to two at 57-55 with 26 seconds left.

But West Haven's attempt to tie failed, touching off delirium for Windsor, who came back after being down for much of the game.

When it was over, Windsor's coach said it was easily the most memorable win in his career.

"It's been the best because of the kids," Smith said.

For the game statistics and wrap-up, click on this link.