Sports
E.O. Smith Boys Advance to Second Round of Tournament
The E.O. Smith Panthers boys basketball team beat the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons 51-47.
The eighth seed Panthers knocked 25th seed Fairfield Ludlowe out of the Class L boys basketball tournament on Monday night, sending the Falcons from Fairfield home with a 51-47 loss.
Point guards Min Lin of the Panthers and Erik Krumins of the Falcons set the tone for the game, battling each other for the full 32 minutes. The first quarter was a chess match between the two as they tried to establish their offenses and find the other team’s weak spots. The Panthers led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The even play continued in the second quarter and E.O. Smith led by a bucket with 45 seconds to go. Lin quarterbacked a classic show of working the ball around the perimeter, in to the big men who kicked it back out and with two ticks left on the clock, connecting with Craig Hodgins who laid one in for a 23-19 lead at the half. Alec Malecki led the Panthers’ scoring with nine, while Krumins led the Falcons with eight.
Malecki got E.O. Smith off and running in the third, taking a lead pass from Carder Chatey for a lay up and was fouled. After making the foul shot, he streaked to the other end to block a shot. As the quarter closed, Krumins stole an inbound pass and passed to shooting guard Kevin Bentivegna who drained a three, his second of the frame. E.O. Smith led by three; 38-35.
The fourth quarter was a back and forth exchange that gave one the feeling that whichever team had the ball last would win the game. With under two minutes to go, the Falcons took their first lead in the game, 45-44 on a Krumins' jumper.
Hodkins took the lead back with a pair of free throws. From there it was the Lin show as he was repeatedly fouled while trying to dribble out the clock. Lin calmly drained six of eight free throws to seal the game away.
Malecki led the Panthers with 18 points while Lin finished with 12. Krumins and Bentivegna each finished with 16 points for the Falcons.
E.O. Smith now moves on to the second round to face Bassick on March 10. Both teams are 16-5 this season. E.O. Smith's overall No. 8 seed in the tournament is one higher than Bassick's No. 9.
