Jackets Win Thriller

The No. 2 seeded Gilbert boys basketball team scrapped and fought their way to an 84-70 overtime win over Rocky Hill March 3 at the Gilbert gym in the first round of the CIAC Class S State Tournament.

Gilbert players were on the verge of being eliminated as they found themselves trailing 61-58 with just nine seconds left in regulation. Head coach Mark Douglass had just used the team’s last timeout and when the Jackets went back onto the court, they had a simple plan — get the ball to either of their senior all-stars, Jim Bunel or Adam Vaccari, for a three-point attempt.

Bunel in-bounded the ball to Vaccari, who was unable to get free for a shot, so he passed the ball back to Bunel. Bunel, who had no time to waste, proceeded to launch a long three-point attempt from near mid- court that found nothing but net to send the game into overtime.

The outcome of this game, however, was all about guts and determination. Bunel was in foul trouble the entire game and his teammates were called upon to step it up while their leader sat helplessly on the bench. They did just that.

Junior Zac Tuozzo was relentless as he worked feverishly rebounding, defending and scoring in Bunel’s absence. Senior Raul Diaz was equally outstanding in the same three categories. Vaccari came up huge on the boards and did a great job running the offense as well. T.J. Monka’s defensive presence and rebounding, in addition to a couple of great passes, proved invaluable, while Diego Cevallo’s provided quality minutes off the bench. Yes, it was truly a team effort.

Bunel ended up with a game-high 24 points but the entire starting five scored in double figures for the Jackets. Diaz finished with 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Tuozzo scored 16 to go along with 16 rebounds. Vaccari finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Monka added 12 points.

With the victory Gilbert, 22-2, moves on to the second round of the tournament against Windham Tech on Wednesday at Gilbert.