Panthers Inch Past Noises

In a game that went down to the wire, the Cromwell High School boys basketball team managed to squeeze past Hale-Ray High School for an overtime win Monday night in East Haddam. 

Hale-Ray took as much as a seven-point lead in the first quarter, but Cromwell fought back, making it difficult for the Noises to get past the 20-point mark. The first quarter ended with the Panthers just one point behind.

Cromwell took a short-lived, one-point lead early in the second quarter. Hale-Ray's work to change Cromwell's momentum resulted in one of Hale-Ray's best shooters, Pat Miett, getting into foul trouble. With Miett benched midway through the second quarter, Cromwell finished the half with the lead.

Cromwell held Hale-Ray scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter. Then midway through the third, Miett returned to work the boards for Hale-Ray. His string of three-pointers closed a 10-point gap and Hale-Ray regained the lead by one point. 

To the angst of fans, the lead continued to bounce back and forth in the fourth quarter as both teams dug in and worked hard. With 28 seconds left in regular play and the scoreboard reading 52-51 in Hale-Ray's favor, Pat Miett, Hale-Ray's lead scorer with 19 points, fouled out. 

Cromwell regained the lead but with just four seconds left, Hale-Ray's JT Smith, with a total of 13 points in the game, lobbed an off-balanced, underhand lay-up that found its mark sending the game into overtime. 

During overtime play, neither team managed to score from the floor. Free throws gave Cromwell a two-point lead. With three seconds of overtime remaining, Hale-Ray made a valiant scoring attempt but came up short, leaving Cromwell the victors, 58-56.

"This was a great high school basketball game," said Hale-Ray coach Marty Ryczek.  "We came out on the short end, but I can't fault my kids' effort." 

"Both teams played hard," said Cromwell coach John Pinone. "I've got to give my kids credit, though, we hung in there to find a way to win."

Cromwell's record now stands at 2-1, Hale-Ray's at 1-2.