After Slow Start, St. Joseph Boys Basketball Crushes Norwalk

For players, coaches, fans and reporters,  it is difficult to look at a game with teams that have vastly differing records and not decide who will win before the opening tipoff.

This task also was difficult for the boys basketball, which despite a slow start, rolled over Norwalk 83-45 on Friday night.

However, the game was surprisingly close in the first quarter, with the Bears even leading for a brief period of time. 

“No matter how much we talk about it, to be ready because we always have a target on our back, its difficult for players to get up for these games,” St. Joseph Head Coach Vito Montelli said. “But I was surprised at our lack of effort, because I thought we were ready to play and we weren’t.”

Nonetheless, the Cadets were able to bounce back quickly from their first- quarter woes, completely dominating the remaining parts of the game. The win improves St. Joseph to 12-1 in the FCIAC and 14-1 overall.

Junior power forward Timajh Parker had another monster game for St. Joseph, compiling 14 points to go along with his 12 rebounds and four blocks. 

“We came in sluggish tonight, but its definitely a game that we should win,” Parker said. “Norwalk is a competitive team and it’s just not their year, but we definitely need to come out with more energy.”

Another standout for St. Joseph was senior captain Oscar Assie, who also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Yet Assie seemed more focused on his teammates’ play off the bench, as he believes that this will be very important in the postseason.

“We need our bench to come through,” Assie said. “So the more experience they get in games like this the better it is in the long run.”

As for the Bears, the loss is the team’s seventh straight and drops the team to 2-12 in the FCIAC and 3-13 overall. 

“Every loss is devastating,” Norwalk head coach Bobby Trimpoli said. “We knew that this was going to be an absolute dogfight.  And we were going to have to put together an absolutely perfect game to even be close.”

“Unfortunately, they’re a very good team who has very good players, and we weren’t able to keep up tonight,” he said.

Still, the Norwalk players were proud of their early play, and took it as a moral victory that it could improve upon in its upcoming games.

“I’m upset about the loss,” said Norwalk junior point guard Rasheen Thompson, who finished with nine points. “But I’m proud of my team because we kept playing hard and we never gave up. And I knew at the end of the first quarter that they  were surprised that it was that close of a game.”

On the other hand,  the St. Joseph players continue to look forward toward the postseason, looking at their remaining regular season games as an opportunity to prepare and correct their mistakes. 

“We really have to work on putting teams away early,” said Cadets senior Captain Brandon Jones, who had 14 points. “Teams get better and better as you progress in the playoffs, and we’re really looking to avoid the upset.”

The St. Joseph coaching staff is also focused on the ultimate goal of winning both the FCIAC tournament and the state tournament.

“We’d like to just keep winning,” Montelli said. “And if we keep winning, I think we’ll be in good position for both the FCIACs and the states.”