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Brookfield High School's Joseph Brown pushes his way to the basket in a game against Joel Barlow High School, played at Barlow. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019
Photo: Scott Mullin / For Hearst Connecticut MediaBrookfield High School's Joseph Brown pushes his way to the basket in a game against Joel Barlow High School, played at Barlow. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019
Brookfield High School's Joseph Brown pushes his way to the basket in a game against Joel Barlow High School, played at Barlow. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019
Brookfield High School's Joseph Brown pushes his way to the basket in a game against Joel Barlow High School, played at Barlow. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019
REDDING — He kept getting open, and he kept shooting.
And for a few-minute stretch at least, he didn’t miss.
Barlow senior James Menapace sparked a third-quarter run for his side with five 3-pointers, helping the Falcons pull away from Brookfield 61-40 and sending the Bobcats to their first loss.
Brookfield held a 28-25 lead at the break but the Falcons came out scorching to start the third. Menapace scored all 15 of his points in a very short span as Barlow pulled ahead 44-32 and held a double-digit lead heading into the fourth.
Barlow leads 48-36 in the fourth #ctbb pic.twitter.com/rzmWQxhUtz
— Ryan Lacey (@RyanLacey11) January 10, 2019
“We started to move it around and reverse it on offense,” Menapace said. “I was able to knock them down; when I hit the first two I started getting momentum to keep shooting.”
From there the Bobcats played the possession game, holding the ball for long spells before attacking the basketball. Brookfield’s defense allowed four points during a five-minute stretch in the frame but was unable to hit shots to get close.
“You have to work the clock a little bit but you have to take advantage of a couple of mistakes, otherwise you’re probably looking at a turnover,” said Barlow coach Pat Yerina, whose team is off to a 3-4 start in his first year at the helm. “It’s tough to hold the ball when you’re not used to doing it.”
Walker hits shot in final seconds, Brookfield leads 28-25 at the break #ctbb pic.twitter.com/R2Li7C7UnL
— Ryan Lacey (@RyanLacey11) January 10, 2019
Brookfield entered the matchup at 6-0 but fell partly due to cold shooting during Menapace’s barrage. The Bobcats led 21-13 late in the second quarter but only scored 12 points after halftime.
“We played really hard and played a great first half,” Bobcats coach John Fleming said. “The second half we just couldn’t hit a shot. We had looks; they got hot, we got cold. They’re a good team and they beat us.”
Barlow trailed by 8, rallies to tie 23-23 late second #ctbb pic.twitter.com/TgofR9sGmL
— Ryan Lacey (@RyanLacey11) January 10, 2019
BIG-MAN BATTLE
The two leading scorers for both sides were the tallest hoopsters on the court. Tom Richetelli scored 18 points to lead the Falcons while Joe Brown had 15 for Brookfield.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Clark Gilmore, Barlow: Scored 10 points and helped run the show at point guard, setting teammates up for open looks.
QUOTABLE
“It’s been great, I love it,” said Yerina of his fresh start with the Falcons after two decades at Bunnell. “These guys have been playing hard. It’s an adjustment with different players and with what we’re running compared to last year. It takes time, hopefully (we’ll) be ready by February.”
“We’re more fast-paced and press the whole game,” Menapace said. “(Last year) was about possessions and this year is more about a fast pace and shooting.”
BARLOW 61, BROOKFIELD 40
BROOKFIELD (6-1): Marcus Dalton 0 0-1 0 Steven Cioffi 1 0-0 3 David Walker 4 0-0 9 Joe Brown 7 1-2 15 Gavin Borges 3 0-0 7 Harry Albanese 0 1-2 1 Zack House 1 0-0 2 Brian Ritter 1 0-0 3. Totals: 17 2-5 40.
BARLOW (3-4): Danny Mangieri 2 0-0 6 Clark Gilmore 2 6-6 10 James Menapace 5 0-0 15 Sebby Hurlbut 1 0-0 3 Carter Janki 1 2-2 4 Austin Deluca 1 3-4 5 Tom Richetelli 8 2-6 18. Totals: 20 13-16 61.
BROOKFIELD 16 12 8 4 — 40
BARLOW 11 14 21 15 — 61
3-pointers: Br—Cioffi, Walker, Borges, Ritter; Ba—Mangieri 2, Menapace 5, Hurlbut.
