Ridgefield Boys Basketball Rebounds To Rout Wilton

Coming off its worst game of the season, the Ridgefield boys basketball team was in a sultry mood.

Kurt Steidl scored 23 points Wednesday as the Tigers took out their frustrations on rival Wilton, routing the Warriors 72-46 in Ridgefield.

The Tigers, who have already a clinched a spot in the FCIAC playoffs, rebounded from Monday' 75-57 defeat at Trinity Catholic to improve to 14-2 and 16-2 with two games left in the regular season next week.

“This was a good bounce-back game for us,” Ridgefield coach Carl Charles said. “They (Wilton) played hard, but we play a pressure defense all game that they are not used to seeing.” 

Chris Esemplare added 20 points for Ridgefield, which dominated throughout after building a 20-12 first-quarter lead.

“(Wilton's) gas tanks ran a little low, and it showed on foul shots and outside shooting,” Charles added. "I don’t think they made one outside shot in the second half."

In the second quarter, Steidl scored 10 points as Ridgefield pushed its lead to 39-25. The Tigers continued to pour it on in third period, extending its cushion to 55-38.

 “Wow, did Kurt Steidl have a great night," Esemplare said.  "He is getting more and more confident and it showed."

Ridgefield then finished off the rout by outscoring Wilton 17-8 in the final period. The Warriors dropped to 1-15 and 2-16.

"This was (Wilton’s) playoff game, and they wanted to try and spoil our season on senior night,” Esemplare said. "Coach always tells us to respect our opponent and take care of business. We did that tonight.”