Lawmen Score First Conference Win of Season

The Jonathan Law boys basketball team needed a win after earning only one prior victory heading into its home game with Guilford on Saturday.

The Indians also came into the Southern Connecticut Conference-Hammonasset Division matchup with just one win. Something had to give, and the Lawmen earned a hard fought 63-54 victory. Jonathan Law improves to 2-5 overall (1-1 in the Hammonasset Division), while Guilford falls to 1-5 overall (0-2 in the Hammonasset Division).

“A win is a win,” Law Coach Mike Hoggatt said. “We have a tough schedule this year. It’s our first SCC and division win. Over all, we played a good game tonight. We had four days of practice to get ready because earlier in the week, we had a buy. We knew Guilford would have all their guards going after us and looking for three pointers. They did a nice job but we played a little better down the stretch. It was key for us to continue to go down low after No. 11 (Kevin Maguire) fouled out (with 3:30 left in the game).”

The Lawmen relied on the inside presence of their 6-foot, 3-inch senior center Nick Toto (22 points and 16 rebound double-double), the shooting of senior shooting guard Aaron Gambardella (20 points and four three-pointers), and the spark of Jesse Doucette off the bench to defeat the Indians. Andy Fowler, a senior forward, contributed eight rebounds for the Lawmen.

“Nick played a great first half,” Hoggatt said. “He grabbed some key rebounds in the second half down the stretch. He also did a good job at the line at the end of the game.”

“We knew he (Nick Toto) would be a problem for us in terms of points scored,” Guilford Coach Jeff DeMaio said. “Even a team that has one big player gives us trouble. We don’t have a lot of size. The size that we have is young. Our effort and desire is good. We missed some shots tonight that we should have made. We threw the ball away in a couple of key spots.”

Hoggatt added, “When Gambardella gets going, he does real well. He came to play tonight. He played Guilford’s No. 23 (Jake Battipaglia) man-to-man in the second half and shut him down. Aaron is a tall, lanky guy and he had the body to stop him. I also was pleased with some guys off the bench that gave us great minutes. I was really impressed with Jesse (Doucette), who hit a key three-pointer at the end of the third quarter and some key free throws down the stretch in the crucial point of the game.”

Law jumped out to a 14-5 lead with 2:15 left in the first quarter. The Lawmen grabbed the lead by scoring eight straight points on a hoop by Gambardella, two by Andy Fowler and a basket from Zack Toto.

Zack Toto is a sophomore who had a strong showing in the first period and grabbed a key rebound. Guilford then called a timeout. The Indians outscored the Lawmen 9-to-2 as the first period came to an end. At the end of the first period, Guilford sophomore Nick Moretti hit a three to cut the Devonites’ lead to 16-14.

Law got consecutive three-pointers from Gambardella and led 31-21 with 2:18 left in the second quarter. Twenty-six seconds later the Indians got a hoop by Rob Potter, and two successful free throws by Jake Battipaglia to come within eight points (33-25). After Nick Toto scored, Battipaglia hit a three-point hoop to make it a  33-28 tally at the of the first half. Nick Toto scored nine points in the second quarter.

“Law played with a great deal of desire. I think both teams did,” DeMaio said. “They hurt us on the foul line a little bit. They also hurt us from the perimeter. (Law) made shots. I think our effort was pretty good. It was a real hard fought game.”

The Lawmen had a strong third period, outscoring the Indians 18 to 9. Gambardella had eight points, including a pair of three-pointers in the third period and point guard Jon Feliciano added a three-pointer for the Lawmen in a productive third period. Doucette, a junior, came off the bench and hit a three-point basket as the third period expired with Law leading, 51-37.

In the fourth period the Indians outscored Law 17 to 12, but it was not enough. Guilford’s Matt Hoey hit two free throws and Guilford got the game to three points, (53-50) with 3:51 left to play. Gregorio hit two free throws and Moretti added a bucket for Guilford.

A minute and 18 seconds later, Nick Toto hit one of two free throws to give the Lawmen a 56-52 lead. Guilford forward Will Stitilis then hit two free throws and the Indians got within two points (56-54) with 2:16 remaining.

“We got to 56-54 and we finally turn them over and get a run out and I thought JB (Battipaglia) would make it. It was a tough angle shot and not a give me,” DeMaio said. “Give credit to Law. They did enough to win. They did a little more than we did.”

The Lawmen went to work after the Indians got within two points. Kenny Patrick hit two free throws and, after Matt Hoey of Guilford missed two short range shots, Patrick grabbed the defensive rebound. Gregorio then hit a jumper and the Lawmen led, 59-54.

Doucette and Nick Toto each hit two free throws to ice the victory for Law. Doucette replaced John Feliciano after he fouled out and ran the point guard position for the last 3:58 of the game. In the last minute of play, Nick Toto was five for six from the free throw line.

Getting to the line was a big advantage for the Lawmen, and they took full advantage, shooting an impressive 17 for 22 from the line (77 percent). Guilford had fewer chances and shot 9-for-14 (64 percent) from the charity stripe, but had one more basket (21—20) than the Golden Eagles.

“We’ve never shot that well from the foul line,” Hoggatt said. “That is one of the major differences in the game.”

Law changed their defensive scheme in the second half.

“In the first half we played a 3-2 zone,” Hoggatt said. “After they hit threes, we went man-to-man. (Nick) Toto was our man in the middle. If (Matt) Hoey got by our defense, Toto was there.”

In the losing effort, Guilford was led by Battipaglia, who scored 13 points. Hoey and Kevin Maguire added 10 points each.

The Lawmen will face Lyman Hall on the road Tuesday before hosting city rival Foran on Thursday.

“We have a tough week next week,” Hoggatt said. “We need to get better. We can’t look past Lyman Hall. Every game is huge. I hope we come to play. The Foran-Law games are always interesting.”