Colts Basketball Wallops Mepham in Home Opener

Calhoun wanted to get its fans excited for its home opener, a Tuesday night duel versus the rival Mepham Pirates. 

The Colts did just that, and it didn't take long.

Calhoun came out of the gate on fire, dominating Mepham on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Pirates 20-6 in the opening quarter.  The quick start propelled Calhoun to a 50-30 victory, the first of the new season for the 1-1 Colts.  Mepham is 0-2.

"We came out with real good defensive intensity, [Mepham] found it very difficult to get open looks in the first quarter," Calhoun coach Jay Kreutzberger said.  "We got out and ran effectively, so we turned turnovers into points."

Much of those points came from John Wigand.  The senior center was a non-factor last week at Oceanside due to foul trouble.  No such problems Tuesday as Wigand stayed foul-free in the first half, grabbing 13 boards and registering five blocks to go along with his 21-point effort.

"He gives us a presence down low, penetrating, and we found him for easy layups the whole game," Calhoun forward Andrew Lief (six points) said of his frontcourt mate.

Calhoun's guards simply waited for Wigand to get open, and then dished him the ball.  Chad Fuschillo (eight points) found him for an easy basket early in the second, and Danny Trepel (11 points) did the same shortly after.  A Wigand block led to a Trepel breakaway score after that, as Calhoun opened up a 20-point advantage in the opening minutes of the second frame.  Mepham never fully recovered.

"We just didn't show up tonight mentally," Mepham coach Rich Wojcieski said.  "They were big down low, Wigand had a big game and we just didn't have an answer for him tonight."

J.T. Elsasser led the Pirates with 10 points, and Jordan Gilroy added nine. 

Elsasser's three pulled Mepham closer early in the second half, as Calhoun suddenly went cold, not scoring their first field goal until midway through the third.  Turnovers, largely on travel calls, prevented the Pirates from putting a run together.

"Some teams are going to have fits with [our pressure]," Kreutzberger said.  "Not only do you extend the pressure up the court, as you pull back, they're not comfortable attacking the pressure, and there's going to be turnovers."

Take away the first quarter deficit, and the game was actually closer than it may appear.  The Colts know they need to keep up the intensity for a full 32 minutes, even when they don't have the energy of an opening night, home crowd to feed off.

"We've just got to relax, not force it too much, show some patience, and play smart on defense," Lief said. 

Calhoun resumes play next Tuesday at Valley Stream Central.