Hatters Whip Wilton

The Hatters  cruised to a 64-41 victory over the visiting Wilton Warriors Friday at Danbury High School. 

Danbury jumped out to an early lead, going on a 9-0 run in the first two minutes of action.  Wilton was forced to call a timeout early to regroup, and while they were able to cut into the Hatter lead at times, they would never once hold an advantage.

Danbury had a very balanced evening offensively, as 10 players found their way onto the scorecard.  Senior Corey Dean and sophomore Dannyjoel Harris led the team with 13 points each.  Dean scored 11 of those points in an explosive fourth quarter that helped the Hatters pull away for good. 

Dean said that his dazzling fourth quarter played second fiddle to the staunch Hatter defense, which is why he said they were able to pull out the win.

“Defensively we just played hard,” he said after the game. “We got after them in the press and did well rebounding.” 

Danbury Head Coach Casey Bock said that solid teamwork was essential to the Hatters’ victory, evidenced by the fact that 10 different Hatters scored.

“That says we’re playing together, and we’re not selfish,” Bock said after the game.  “It’s starting to come together.  Hopefully we can have a strong push to end the season.”

Adding 9 for the Hatters on 4-8 shooting from the field including one shot from beyond the arc was senior guard Andre Wright.  As a team, the Hatters shot 26-for-46 (57%) from the field.

Mike DiPilato led the Warrior effort with 8 points on 4-for-6 field goal shooting.  Adding 7 points a piece for Wilton were Ian Ross and Matt Reyes-Dunn.  Overall, the Warriors shot just 15-for-39 (38%) from the field, including an abysmal 2-for-10 performance from three-point range. 

With the win, the Hatters snap a four-game losing streak and improve to 4-9 on the season, keeping their hopes of contention in the state tournament alive.  To qualify, they’ll need to win 4 of their remaining 7 games, including at least one on the road.

Danbury will face the Wreckers of Staples High School today.  Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Danbury High School.

 “That says we’re playing together, and we’re not selfish, and it’s starting to come together.  Hopefully we can have a strong push to end the season.”