Islanders' Boys Fall To Huskies

The  boys basketball team (3-3, 3-4) played host to the Middletown Islanders in a Division III South matchup on Thursday night in Bristol.  The Huskies held the lead most of the game, defeating the Islanders 69 - 61.

The Huskies jumped out to claim the lead early in the first half with a 16 - 4 run. Rebounding and effective passing were key in the game plan.  Although the 12-point lead slowly decreased to one point late in the half, the Huskies managed to score 7 points opposed to the Islanders two points as halftime approached, giving the Huskies a 33 - 27 advantage leading in to the second half.

Early in the second half, the Huskies allowed the Islanders to close the deficit and take the lead 38 - 37.  That would be short-lived as the Huskies increased their hustle and intensity, which resulted in regaining the lead and not losing it again. With a 16 - 2 run on offense, the Huskies took their biggest lead of the game, 53 - 40, with 5:46 remaining in the game.  The lead would not dip below 8 points for the final stretch.  

Forcing turnovers, being aggressive on defense and creating fast-breaks resulted in the Huskies holding on and winning a hard fought and well executed game, 69 - 61.

Captain senior guard Ben McDonnell scored 23 points while sinking 7 of 8 shots from the foul line.  Teammate junior guard Mike Head scored 16 points, hitting two 3-pointers and 6 of 9 shots from the foul line.

For the Islanders, sophomore Randolph Butler Jr. was the games leading scorer, putting up 28 of his teams 61 points (46%) on the night.

The Islanders next play Rogers High School Monday Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. at Portsmouth High School in the holiday basketball tournament.