Wave Defense Engulfs Trinity Catholic Offense

Picture (contributed by Zarek Swetye): Alex Preston performs a crowd-pleasing jam.

The Darien Varsity Boys Basketball Team has experienced some rough seas this fall season– the peaks have been high and the troughs low, but they are relentless in their pursuit of a trip to states this winter and are using each game as a springboard toward their goal.

Darien (2-4) won big over Trinity Catholic (0-7) and now the wind is at their back as they head into their next matchup with rival New Canaan (2-5) next Monday, October 20 at 6:15PM at the Stamford YMCA.

This past Monday, October 13, Darien faced a rebuilding Trinity Catholic team in a must win game that would keep the Wave’s fall league playoff hopes alive.

Darien jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back as they sailed to a 55 to 36 win.

Carter Scott navigated through plenty of open lanes in the Trinity defense and led Darien in scoring with sixteen points. Scott was able to tack and jibe at will through the paint all night long as Trinity was distracted by the presence of 6’ 7” Alex Preston. Preston’s inside dominance also opened up the perimeter and Scott was able to connect on a couple of twenty-two footers for six of his points.

The right-handed Preston, one of the few big men in the FCIAC who can move like a guard, picked up nine points on the night and got oohs and ahhs from the crowd with a solo fast break that he ended with 360 degree spin move in the paint and topped off with an agile left-handed layup.

Make no mistake, though, the victory was the result of a team effort as every Darien player tallied at least one rebound and protected the ball.

The biggest story of the night might have been turnovers – or rather, lack of. The Wave turned the ball over only three times.

The second biggest story was probably the Blue Wave defense. Darien allowed Trinity to make only five two-point field goals and three baskets from behind the arc for nineteen points total. The aggressive Wave defense came at a price, though. Trinity was awarded twenty-six foul shots and connected on seventeen of them. Darien made only nine trips to the line and connected on six.

Carter Scott had seven field goals, two of them three-pointers, grabbed four rebounds, had an assist and two steals.

Alex Preston had nine points on four field goals, five rebounds and blocked two shots.

Jackson Ryan picked up seven points on three field goals – one a three-pointer, two foul shots, three rebounds and two assists.

Zak Swetye added six points on three field goals, two rebounds, an assist, a steal and blocked two shots.

Jack Richter scored five points on two field goals and a free throw, along with four rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Jack Farren scored twice for four points, had three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Geoff Parnon put up three points with a field goal and free throw and added a couple of rebounds.

Peter Ridder scored a field goal and has become a force under the boards with his uncanny ability to box out much bigger opponents. He grabbed five hard fought rebounds.

Charlie Dean made both his free throws and grabbed two rebounds.

Charlie Miller, averaged nearly seven points through the first five games, has still not fully recovered from a nasty flu virus. He still managed to grab a couple of rebounds, get an assist and block a shot.