NAUGATUCK — Naugatuck rode a dominant fourth-quarter performance Tuesday night to open the boys basketball season with a win.
The Greyhounds trailed Kennedy by as many as nine points in the third quarter, and the Eagles held a 47-40 lead heading into the fourth. But the fourth quarter belonged to the Greyhounds, who outscored Kennedy 19-4 in the quarter to secure a 59-51 win.
Naugatuck (1-0) trailed the entire game until Caleb Scott hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50, and the Greyhounds didn’t look back.
“That was the most I’ve ever sweated coaching a game,” Naugatuck assistant coach Jamal Francis said. “Our defensive effort and our defensive intensity really stepped up in that fourth quarter. We focused on finishing the possession and limiting them to just one shot.”
Francis was filling in for head coach Mike Wilson, whose wife, Naugatuck girls soccer coach Lisa Mariano, was expecting a newborn child sometime Wednesday.
Limiting Kennedy (0-1) to one shot a possession was important to Francis, who said the Greyhounds will have to focus on rebounding in order to be successful moving forward.
“That’s going to be the key to our success, playing solid man-to-man defense and rebounding the basketball,” Francis said. “I thought we did a great job finishing that game rebounding the basketball.”
Naugy secured 30 total rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end. Jean Lukau led the team with 23 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Jagello chipped in with nine points and six rebounds, while Shane Carey grabbed three offensive rebounds and added six points of his own.
It was a big win for the Greyhounds as they open up the season against three Waterbury schools. Naugatuck will play Wilby on Thursday and host Holy Cross on Dec. 27.
Beginning the year with a win versus a team like Kennedy is a huge start for the ‘Hounds, and Francis gives his team a lot of credit. However, he realizes there are still some things the team will have to work on to keep the momentum going.
“The one thing I think we have to continue to work on is our help defense and not leaving guys alone on an island,” Francis said. “But these guys showed a lot of grit, a lot of fight and a lot of heart tonight. They played basketball the right way, and I’m so proud of them right now.”
