Colts Exhale: Back in the Win Column With Victory Over Mepham

On a night that was special for the senior athletes, cheerleaders and fans in attendance, the Calhoun boys stepped up their game and cruised to a 64-39 victory over the Mepham Pirates. 

The Calhoun seniors, which include Alex Morra and Kevin Correa, were thanked before the start of the action, as were the senior cheerleaders and kickliners.

Calhoun (4-12) had four players in double figures. Danny Trepel led the way with 14, and Andrew Lief contributed 13. John Wigand and Chad Fuschillo had 11 and 10, respectively.

The victory was Calhoun's first in 11 games.

"It's nice to finally get the monkey off of our backs," Trepel said. "We can finally exhale, and now we need to string a few more together."

The story for the visiting Pirates (2-14) revolved around sophomore J.T. Elsasser. In only his fourth game on the varsity level, Elsasser had a team-high 11 points. Mike Woolfson also contributed seven points to the cause.

"It was a wild game," Elsasser said. "The competition when these two rivals meet is intense."

Elsasser wowed the crowd in the ladder stages of the second quarter when he converted two straight three point plays in a five second period. After completing the first one, he intercepted the inbound pass and drove to the lane, and the rare feat was accomplished.

"It was awesome," Elsasser said. "Coach told me to press, so I was in the right spot at the right time."

Aside from Elsasser, the Colts did a good job shutting down the Mepham attack. Calhoun applied constant pressure, and that led to forced shots for Mepham.  And not many of those went in.

"You can't win when you don't put the ball in the basket," Mepham coach Pat Fallon. "It's plain and simple. You need to hit your shots."

For Calhoun, the story was much different. It was their first victory in a long while, and coach Jay Kreutzberger could not have been prouder.

"They played well in every facet of the game," he said. "We minimized turnovers and played very well. We have been missing consistency, but it was definitely there tonight."

It was a true team effort for the Colts, who saw many players contribute. Devon Pazmino was stellar from beyond the arc, and Fuschillo was flying on all cylinders.

What was most impressive about the Colts may have been their defense. When they forced the Pirates into some bad mistakes, it would lead to fast breaks, and that was how Calhoun cashed in on many easy baskets. That was the theme from the tip-off.

The Colts will conclude their regular season on Monday when they visit powerhouse Plainview. Mepham wraps up their season on Tuesday when they take the short trip to East Meadow.

Mepham: J.T. Elsasser, 11; Mike Woolfson, 7; J.C. Brandmaier, 6; Chris Shevins, 6; Kyle Wechsler, 5; Matt Morrow, 3; Jay D'Auria, 2

Calhoun: Danny Trepel, 14; Andrew Lief, 13;  John Wigand, 11; Chad Fuschillo, 10; Devon Pazmino, 9; Chris Murphy, 5; Alex Morra, 2