Between some accurate long-range shooting on the part of its opponent as well as some scoring troubles of its own, the Joel Barlow High boys varsity basketball team was at a disadvantage early in its game against Immaculate.
The host Falcons struggled to sink shots early in the evening on Jan. 25. Immaculate would also make effective use of the three-point shot in getting the upper hand in a 57-40 win.
With a 7-3 lead early, the taller Mustangs then embarked on a 10-0 scoring run in the first period. Following baskets by Abel Morales and Tyler Fahey, the visitors hit back-to-back threes by Justin Bartley. Ben Noome stopped the run with his first points of the night but Hartley followed with another trey, his fourth of the period, for a 22-5 lead.
“That was a big problem,” said Barlow head coach Pat Yerina. “We thought we were contesting him. It turned out he knocked it down.”
Barlow’s Jack Lippoth, who had hit one three-pointer earlier in the frame, added another in the time remaining as his team trailed 24-8.
“We missed a lot of shots,” said Yerina. “We had a lot of turnovers too. We need a lot of possessions if we’re not shooting great.”
The Falcons picked up their game both offensively and defensively in the second quarter, holding the Mustangs to single digits. Despite trailing 29-10 early, they outscored the competition 13-2 for the rest of the frame, which featured Lippoth, Grayson Vanderburg and Sean Gabriel leading the charge. Lippoth’s three-pointer with 1:11 to go got the Falcons to within 10 points (31-21) of catching the visitors going into halftime.
“Our defense was better,” said Yerina. “We rebounded well against their size. They’re big.”
Barlow’s defense came up with 10 steals in the second half, which helped it to close the gap a bit. It held Bartley scoreless but the Mustangs had center Abdul Akewushola step up, scoring all but two of his team’s points in the third quarter.
Vanderburg in turn stepped up for Barlow. His 10-point effort in the third quarter allowed the Falcons to come within seven points (41-34) of the Mustangs heading into the last quarter.
Lippoth’s layup early in the period got the Falcons to within five of catching the Mustangs, the closest they came since the first quarter. In the last six minutes, however, Immaculate went on a 10-0 scoring run, capped off by Fahey’s three-pointer to stay out of reach.
“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Yerina. “Every time we cut it down to five or six, and they got a couple of three-point baskets.”
Lippoth led Barlow with 15 points, including three three-pointers. Vanderburg was next with 14, including two threes.
Noome finished with five points and Gabriel sank three. Will Gregor hit two free throws.
Barlow, which lost 55-29 to Newtown on Jan. 29, is at New Fairfield tonight and Bunnell on Monday. Both games are at 7 p.m.
