Bears Have Plenty For Win Number 20

Twenty wins in a season is often viewed as a standard of superiority for a basketball program.

That is 20 wins in college, where teams play nearly 30 regular season games. Twenty wins in high school? It's something that has never happened at Stonington High or many other Eastern Connecticut Conference boys' teams outside of New London.

The Bears improved to 20-6 overall and stayed alive in the CIAC Class M state tournament with a 63-51 win over Woodland Regional in a second round game Wednesday at SHS. Sixth-seeded Stonington plays at No. 3 seed Notre Dame-Fairfield in the quarterfinals 7 p.m. Friday.

"When we came into the locker room, somebody told me 'coach, we've just won won 20 games,'" SHS coach Mike Reyes said. "I'm sure when it's over, whenever that is, we can look back and appreciate it."

A physical Woodland squad from a strong (Naugatuck Valley League) conference dominated rebounding, getting 25 second and third shots after misses.

"We were concerned because they manhandled Bacon (in a 46-43 first round win) and Bacon is bigger than us," Reyes said. "They were aggressive and threw us around."

 But the Hawks were no match for the Bears' perimeter game, led by the shooting of junior guard Sam Donahue (22 points) and his brother, freshman guard Jackson Donahue (16 points). They combined for eight 3-point baskets.

Sam's three with five seconds left in the first quarter gave Stonington an 18-12 lead. Jackson's offensive put-back hoop and Sam's three make it, 28-16, midway through the second quarter, and the Bears held a double digit lead, as high as 21, most of the night.

"We're not big, but we're scrappy, hard-working and do whatever it takes to put the ball in the basket and stop the other team from scoring," Jackson Donahue said. "Twenty wins is incredible. My brother Kevin's senior year (three years ago), Stonington had a great team that made the state semis and they won 19."

Sam Donahue can't hide his delight that the Eastern Connecticut Conference boys' basketball season is behind him. The focus of numerous specialized defenses all season, the shooting guard is enjoying his chance to breathe against cross-state competition, producing his second straight 20-plus point game.

"It's nice not having Kris Dunn's and New London's long arms waving all around you," Donahue said. "Sometimes it's good to get away from teams that know all about you. It seems like I have more room to operate."

Despite lacking any starter taller than 6-foot-2, Stonington parlayed its strengths of ball movement, shooting and quickness on defense.

"Teams that scout us, I'm sure they're worried about how they cover four or five guys who can shoot, dribble and pass," Reyes said. "When we're playing together, which we have for the last 2 1/2 weeks, we've seen how talented they are. What makes us tough is that we don't have to run offense for one player because we have five players who can shoot."

Woodland 6-3 swingman Yamad Rountree scored 23 points on a variety of athletic drives and offensive rebounds. But we was no match for Stonington's multiple scorers. Will DeFanti added 10 points, and senior guard Cody Candelet played a fine all-around game with eight points and six assists.

And of course, there are the Donahues, who are the acknowledged first family of Stonington's recent streak of boys' basketball revival - three quarterfinal berths in Reyes' five years as head coach. Kevin and Sam surpassed 1,000 career points as juniors, and Jackson appears eager and capable of following suit.

"They have the talent but they put in the time," Reyes said. "You can't simply say the talent is passed down through the family. If finish practice week on a Saturday, they're shooting Sunday. They play every day to get better."

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