SMSA Comes From Behind, But Falls To Windham In Basketball Finals

UNCASVILLE, CT — Seeking its first state boys basketball championship in school history, the Sport and Medical Science Academy found itself in a game of scoring streaks against Windham High School Saturday morning at the Mohegan Sun Arena. In the second quarter, the Whippets netted nine straight points to grab an 11-point advantage, only to have the Tigers finish the half with 11 unanswered points to knot the game at 27-all heading into intermission.

Unfortunately for SMSA, Windham opened up another 11-point margin with 4:37 to play. Refusing to throw in the towel, the Tigers battled back, trimming the deficit to three on a basket by Abijah Miller with 23 seconds remaining. The Whippets sealed the victory on the free throw line in the waning moments, however, emerging with a 62-56 victory in the Division V title contest.

Isaiah Mangual led the winners with 21 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Malcolm Hunter canned five 3-point shots en route to 20 points, while Travis Mangual had 11 points and six rebounds.

For SMSA, Daniel Hernandez led the way with 18 points, Kemani Thompson had 14 points and Miller contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.

Windham won its second title in school history, but first since 1941, months before the U.S. entered World War II.