The Jonathan Law boys basketball team opened its season against the Hamden Green Dragons in front of a large home crowd in the James Richetelli Sr. Gymnasium on Dec. 17.
Hamden ended up with the win, 85-49, but there are plenty of things for Law to build on moving forward.
Chris Senforth of Hamden opened the scoring with two free throws. Law’s Dylan Vienneau responded with a 3-pointer to give Law the lead. Hamden proceeded to go on a 6-0 run, causing Law head coach Tim Dooley to call a timeout to calm things down.
Dooley’s timeout seemed to work for Law. After getting a defensive stop, junior guard Tim Caldwell scored on a fast-break layup.
Law battled, playing good defense and giving Hamden more trouble than they would like in transition, ending the first quarter with Hamden up 14-11.
The second quarter opened with turnovers by both squads, before Hamden scored two quick baskets that were answered by Law’s Matt Marino, who converted a three-point play after being fouled and making a lay up.
There were plenty of fouls brought on by the open style of play, putting both teams in the shooting bonus from the free-throw line with 5:02 left in the half.
Moving towards halftime Hamden started to break away, going on runs of 10-3 and 13-6 without much of an answer from Law. Hamden’s press and athleticism was proving to be too much for the Lawmen as the game wore on.
Nolan Beardsley, who led Law with 11 points on the night, made a beautiful reverse layup in transition and Destin Johnson knocked down a buzzer-beating jumper, but Hamden led 42-27 at the break.
Law continued to fight in the third quarter, which was scoreless for the first two minutes with quality transition defense by both teams.
Hamden again opened the scoring with five straight points to stretch its lead to 47-27.
The game continued to be very open, with fast breaks on both sides, where Hamden was clearly in control and looked more comfortable.
Law had their moments, but the period ended full of transition buckets and Hamden leading 64-42.
The fourth quarter saw both coaches put their reserves in to get some playing time.
Vienneau finished second in scoring for Law behind Beardsley with 10 points, followed by Justin McFadden at eight. Pat O’Brien, Johnson, Caldwell and Giovanni Marzullo had four points each.
Senior captain Dylan Noble led Hamden with 20 points, followed closely by Senforth with 19.
The score may look bleak at first glance, but Law has things to be positive about. Vienneau is a player, and the Lawmen played well on defense against a more athletic team.
The Lawmen will compete in the Shelton Tournament with the host Gaels, Ansonia and Derby on Dec. 27 and Dec. 29.