HVRHS basketball falls to Terryville

TERRYVILLE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) boys basketball lost 71-48 to Terryville High School on Friday, Jan. 19.

The Mountaineers played the Kangaroos even at the start, before a second-quarter run by Terryville put HVRHS behind by double digits. Terryville’s swarming defense forced turnover after turnover and allowed the Kangaroos to hop their way to a win.

HVRHS opened the game with the stretch offense centered around the big men, Wes Allyn and Flynn Ryan, down low. The tall lineup gave the Mountaineers a strong presence in the paint on both offense and defense. After the first quarter, Terryville led 12-9.

In the second quarter, HVRHS subbed out the bigs and switched to gears to play small-ball. Terryville adjusted to full-court press and opened the quarter with four consecutive forced turnovers, resulting in a 13-1 scoring run for the Kangaroos.

Captain Jesse Bonhotel recognized the momentum shift and urged his team to feed the forwards.

“Get the ball to Wes in the post,” Bonhotel shouted to his teammates.

Turnovers continued to plague the Mountaineers and by halftime, Terryville led 32-18.

The pressure persisted into the third quarter, but HVRHS began to adapt and overcome. Passing accuracy improved and the Mountaineers were getting the shots they wanted.

Terryville kept its foot on the gas offensively and pushed the lead to 55-29 by the end of the quarter.

In the fourth, guard Anthony Labbadia hit a hot streak by nailing four 3-pointers. HVRHS outscored the Kangaroos in the final quarter 19-14, but time simply ran out.

Terryville won 71-48.

HVRHS was led in scoring by Labbadia with 19 points and six threes. Allyn finished with 11 points for the Mountaineers.

Terryville’s top scorers were Christian Disapio with 16 points and Deon Dao with 13 points.

HVRHS varsity basketball moved to 1-9 this season and Terryville advanced to 6-3.

The Mountaineers will travel to Gilbert High School on Friday, Jan. 26. Junior varsity is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. with varsity to follow at 7 p.m.

Riley Klein

Jesse Bonhotel battled against a defensive trap set by the Terryville Kangaroos.