Darien Out to Prove They are Contenders

Picture (contributed): Charlie Miller gets the in-bounds pass from Zak Swetye for an easy bucket.

Last year the Darien Boys Varsity basketball team had five starting seniors, achieved one of their best records in many years and qualified for the state tourney for the first time in a generation.

So it is understandable that this year’s members, none of whom are seniors, might be playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulders due to the low expectation of success some people in the basketball community seem to have for them as they seek to prove they can qualify for back-to-back states.

Monday, September 15 was the kind of night the Darien varsity boys would like to erase from their memories because their performance could easily make their skeptics say ”I told you so”.

Darien was beaten down by a faster and more experienced team from St. Luke’s and even though the Blue Wave cagers had trouble finding an answer to St. Lukes’ constant pressure, they showed a lot of heart and refused to capitulate – a trait that will serve them well in their quest for states.

Two nights later, a much improved Wave took the floor and for 36 minutes matched-up well against a very tough Westhill High School team.

Charlie Miller of Darien hit a 15 foot jumper from the baseline to tie the score at 47 apiece with about 4 minutes remaining in regulation prompting Westhill’s coach to call a timeout. The timeout was effective and Westhill went on a 13 to 1 run and handed Darien a 60-48 defeat.

Even though the two teams were evenly matched, the difference in the number of turnovers was the biggest factor in Westhill’s victory over Darien. Westhill committed 6 turnovers to Darien’s 18 and too many of Darien’s turnovers were converted into easy layups by the boys from Stamford.

Darien out-rebounded Westhill 23 to 18 -- 10 to 9 offensively and 13 to 9 defensively. Darien was 5 of 9 from the charity stripe while Westhill was 5 of 10. Darien went 5 for 11 from behind the arc while Westhill went 5 for 17. Darien hit 14 of 25 from two-point range while Westhill hit 20 of 29. The two-point field goal differential of 6 was the decisive factor in determining the outcome.

The Mighty Wave are in the midst of a transition. They will have five new starters and a new head coach when they take the court this 2014-2015 winter season. However, given their competitive performances against the first two FCIAC schools they faced this fall season, Blue Wave opponents would be wise to be well-prepared.

Charlie Miller led Darien in scoring with 16 points including going 2 for 2 from three-point range. He also added a rebound and a steal.

Jackson Ryan put up 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

Alex Preston led Darien in rebounds with 9 and tallied 8 points.

Carter “Mr. Everything” Scott scored 6 -- including a 3-pointer -- grabbed a rebound, had 2 assists, blocked a shot, had a steal as well as a couple of tipped balls which resulted in Darien possessions.

Zak Swetye put up 5 points, had 3 assists, a steal and a rebound.

Jack Farren hit a two-point field goal, grabbed 2 rebounds, had an assist and a steal.

Theo Moore nabbed a couple of rebounds, had an assist and blocked a shot.

Jack Richter blocked a shot, had a steal and a rebound.

Geoff Parnon helped with 3 rebounds.

Peter Ridder chipped in with a beautiful assist and his defensive hustle helped Darien keep the game close throughout.

Darien is now 1-2 in the Fall High School Varsity League and sits in the middle of the standings. Their next game is Wednesday, October 1 at 6:15 P.M. against Greenwich High School at the Stamford YMCA. The redoubtable Wave should match-up well against a Greenwich team that has a record of 1-1.