Esemplare Carries Ridgefield Boys Basketball Into Second Round Of Class LL State Tournament

Chris Esemplare could not have picked a better time to play his best game in a Ridgefield uniform.

The senior guard and captain scored a career-high 26 points Monday as the ninth-seeded Tigers routed No. 24 Simsbury 66-46 in the first round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

Ridgefield (19-3) rebounded from a 39-31 setback to Stamford in the FCIAC playoffs to advance to Wednesday's second-round contest against another FCIAC rival in Staples, a 52-37 winner over Amity on Monday.

Esemplare knew he was going to be in for a good night after hitting his first two shots, one of them a 3-pointer.

“It’s all about hitting your first few shots and then you can see it," he said. "You are set for the game."

Esemplare registered 12 points in the second quarter, helping the Tigers build a 32-22 lead at the intermission.

“It made it easier that they were  leaving me wide open on many plays," he added.

Seth Von Kuhn added 10 points for Ridgefield, giving workhouse point guard Bryan Galvin a breather on occasion.

After falling behind 45-24 in the third quarter, the Trojans (9-12) made a brief run as guards Adam Ziewacz and Jake Downy drilled three 3-pointers to reduce the deficit to 15.

But Simsbury got no closer, pulling within with 15 once more in the fourth quarter. Ziewacz paced the Trojans with 19 points.

"That was a tough 9-11 team we faced," Ridgefield coach Carl Charles said. "They kept hitting 3-pointers on us and we were never able to put them away. I thought we could have covered their outside shooters better, but all in all, it was a great effort and I am proud of our kids."

This may not be the last time Galvin, who is headed to Wesleyan, sees Ziewacz.

"I told Bryan, No. 42 (Ziewacz) is going to Springfield next year and you will probably face him again," Charles said.