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Schools

Windsor Boys Rout Unbeaten Northwest Catholic, 90-65

Windsor dominates matchup of top-rated teams in CCC boys basketball semfinals.

Late in the third quarter as Windsor was stretching an almost unfathomable 30-point lead, Tony Seldon tried to do something. He went in for a dunk. With nothing else working, Seldon took it to the rim like enough was enough.

“He kept fighting, it’s part of him,” coach John Mirabello said. “It’s going to take a little while for them to get over this.”

In a matchup between the No. 1 teams in Class L and Class LL, Northwest Catholic was knocked hard from the unbeaten ranks Tuesday, losing 90-65 to once-beaten Windsor in the CCC boys basketball semifinals at Bulkeley High School.

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The tournament showcased four of the top 10 teams in the state. In the second game, Maloney (23-0) prevailed 73-67 in overtime against Hartford Public (21-2) to remain one of two undefeated teams in the state. The CCC final is Thursday.

“The state tournament’s coming up next,” Mirabello said. “And we’re still alive.”

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You almost had to be there. And at least 1,600 left packed Babe Allen Fieldhouse as real believers in Class LL’s top-rated Windsor (22-1), which has not lost since Dec. 18 – and that was to Glastonbury, a team that NWC (22-1) beat by 39 points in the CCC quarterfinals.

Mike Fraylon scored 19 points to lead six Windsor players in double figures. Greg Andrade and Jared Wilson-Frame scored 12 each and Andrew Hurd had 11.

“[Windsor] just made plays. They were a step quicker than us all night,” Mirabello said. “I mean, it was complete. It wasn’t just here and there; it was complete [domination]. They dominated pretty much in every phase of the game.”

Seldon led NWC with 19 points. After a flurry in the first four minutes, Kuran Iverson was held to one field goal for more than 20 minutes and finished with 15 points. Zach Lewis had 13.

“Defense has been our forte for a long time,” Windsor coach Ken Smith said. “If we don’t play defense, we don’t have a chance.”

That’s debatable. Windsor sank seven three-pointers, converted second-chance rebounds, scored off turnovers and outran NWC for layups. Hurd sank three extra-long threes, two in the first quarter, which Windsor closed with a 10-0 run.

“No doubt, we were knocking our shots down and the kids were getting some stops,” Smith said.

A 15-2 run in the second quarter helped Windsor open a 41-20 lead at halftime. A 12-0 run in the third quarter stretched the lead to 63-33. That’s when Seldon went to the free-throw line after getting fouled on his dunk attempt.

“They started making some shots and then our kids couldn’t get a good feel,” Mirabello said. “The other day we were shooting lights out and today we couldn’t make layups. The kids were getting a little frustrated.”

Windsor made sure of that. NWC struggled against a mixture of full-court pressure, zone, man-to-man and half-court traps. JC Carr, who averaged more than 17 points in his previous three games, was held to eight.

“I just told them that I was very pleased that this wasn’t the last game,” Mirabello said. “You find out what you’re made of when you deal with these situations.”

The CIAC is scheduled to release the tournament brackets today. Northwest Catholic, Maloney and New London (21-0) are clear front-runners in Class L.

But 90 points? Mirabello couldn’t remember the last time that happened, or if it's happened, in .

“We’ll have a little chip on our shoulder, which is good,” Mirabello said. “I told the kids, adversity does something to you or for you. So we’re going to make it do something for us. We’ll get better from this.”

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