| Cheshire Basketball |
| Ram Comeback Falls Short Drop 56-53 Decision to East Haven The Cheshire Boys Basketball Team fell behind 26-9 to a sharp shooting East Haven squad after one quarter and could not quite come back all the way. Trailing by eleven at halftime and by twelve after three, the Rams outscored East Haven 17-5 to open up the fourth quarter to tie the game at 51 with 2:26 left. The Easties regrouped to gain a 56-51 lead. On the Ram's next position the ball was tipped by Brian DeBisschop over to Greg Leonetti who hit a runner to bring it to three with 18 seconds left. That's when Star guard Jimmy Gagliardi (25 points) dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds, giving the Rams a life. Matt Bailey forced up a three with about 6 seconds left that was deflected out of bounds with 5.4 on the clock. The Rams moved the ball to get a shot by guard Dan Manke but it was just short and so fell the rally. Brian DeBisschop led Cheshire with 17 points. Leonetti added 8 and Manke 7 for the Rams (2-6), who will play Sheehan Tuesday in Wallingford at 7:00 |
| Rams to Open Housy Play Tonight The Cheshire Boys Basketball Team will open Housatonic League play on Tuesday night when they host Lyman Hall at 7:00. The Rams are off to a 2-4 start this year after defeating Norwich Free Academy 39-32 in the Branford Holiday Tourney. Lyman Hall will come in with a 3-3 record. The Rams have been led by the Senior Duo of G Dan Manke (17 ppg) and Brian DeBisschop (15.5 ppg). Sophomore Nate Howard has had a few strong games and Senior John Kubilus is coming off an injury. Brian Havlicek and Todd Heritage will be counted on for senior leadership as well. A number of juniors are fighting for playing time that include Greg Leonetti, Justin Zovas, and Matt Bailey. Sophomore Kevin Adams has shown that he can handle the ball under pressure. Lyman Hall is coming in having lost all 5 starters from last year's Class L semi-final team. Coach Mike Conner will come to Cheshire with a different style of club this year. They are young but can score. LH is always known for their tenacious defense but you can expect a little higher score than we have seen in the past with these two squads. |
| Early Blitz Leads Cross Past Rams Brian DeBisschop scored a career high 24 and Dan Manke a career high 23 but it wasn't enough to overcome a 20-5 first quarter deficit as Cross defeated Cheshire 70-56 Friday night in Cheshire. The Rams, playing without starting forward John Kubilus( ankle), played the Governors even the rest of the way, outscoring Cross 51-50 in the final three quarters but could get only as close as 9 points with 3:21 left in the game. Gerald McClease led a balanced scoring attack for Cross with 21 points. EJ Murray added 16 and Arthur Tucker had 10. Cross is now 1-1 while the Rams fall to 0-2 and will play at West Haven Monday night. Name Points Assists Rebounds Dan Manke 23 3 6 Brian DeBisschop 24 1 6 Nate Howard 5 1 5 Mike Hathaway 2 0 1 Greg Leonetti 0 7 3 Matt Bailey 0 1 0 Brian Havlicek 2 0 0 Kevin Adams 0 0 0 Todd Heritage 0 0 4 |
| Rams Bounce Back Cheshire 39, NFA 32 Brian DeBisschop scored a game-high 16 points for the Rams in the consolation game of the Branford Holiday Tournament. DeBisschop and Dan Manke (11 points) earned all-tournament honors for Cheshire (2-4). CHESHIRE 39, NFA 32 Cheshire (2-4): Dan Manke 3 3 11, Brian DeBisschop 5 6 16, John Kubilis 1 0 2, Todd Heritage 1 4 6, Matt Bailey 0 3 3, Kevin Adams 0 1 1. Totals: 10 17 39. NFA (N/a): Trevor Bundy 4 5 13, Jake Hynds 1 0 2, Jahmaal Perez 1 0 2, Darrell Ferguson 1 3 5, Jerome Russell 2 2 6, Irving Eggleston 1 0 2, Chad Vincent 1 0 2, Pat Audej 0 0 0. Totals: 11 10 32. Cheshire 10 8 4 17—39 NFA 6 11 7 8 —32 3-point goals: C—Manke 2; NFA—none. |
| Rams Fall to Guilford, Go to Break 1-3 Coming out of the exciting win at West Haven, the Cheshire Rams broke out to a 8-0 lead tonight against the 0-3 Guilford Indians. However, 23 turnovers and a poor shooting performance later, the Indians came out with a 64-52 win at Cheshire. Colton Johnson led a balanced scoring attack for Guilford with 17 points. Jake Battipaglia added 14 for the winners. Brian DeBisschop led all scorers with 21 points. Justin Zovas poured in 8 while Dan Manke chipped in with 7. The Rams tried to get the ball into 6'9" center Nate Howard but could not seem to make the entry pass, turning it over time and time again. On the other end, Guilford played virtually mistake free basketball, scoring on a number of layups and short jumpers extending their lead to 32-26 at half and 51-35 after 3 quarters. The Rams tried to fight back but it was too little to late. Cheshire will play Monday in the Branford Holiday tournament against the host team at 7:45 at the James McViegh Alumni Complex (directions) |
| Manke, Howard Lead Rams over West Haven Dan Manke scored 11 of his 32 points in overtime to lift the Cheshire boys’ basketball team to a thrilling 72-69 victory over host West Haven Monday night. Sophomore Nate Howard made two clutch free throws with no time on the clock to send the game into overtime, for the Rams (1-2). Aaron Vining scored 23 points and Gary Williams 20 points for the Westies (0-3). For most of the night, the Rams had no answer for Vining’s outside game and the slashing of point guard Williams. West Haven led by nine at halftime and eleven going into the fourth quarter. Coach Dan Lee used a combination of Manke and Senior guard Todd Heritage to shut down the hot shooting Vining. Senior Brian Havlicek drew the task of slowing down the tall, lean Williams. Havlicek’s length and quickness were a better matchup for the Rams. While the defense was shutting down the Westies, Manke and Howard were delivering on offense as Cheshire outscored West Haven 18-7 in the fourth quarter, finding themselves down by 2 with 0.3 seconds left in the game. Heritage quickly lobbed the ball to the basket towards the 6’9” Howard, who went up for the ball and was fouled by West Haven’s big man, Derrick Davis at the buzzer. Howard went to the line for two shots and a chance to send the game into overtime, while Davis headed to the bench with his 5th personal foul, ending his productive night(12 points). Howard calmly stepped to the line and drained both free throws in an amazingly exciting moment. The Rams carried the momentum into overtime. Manke hit two deep threes and hit on 5 of 6 free throws in the final stanza to secure the win. He finished with 32 points and 5 assists while connecting on 6 three-pointers and hitting 11 for 12 from the free throw line. Howard finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Brian DeBisschop chipped in with 9 points. Heritage played a solid floor game scoring 6 points with 4 assists and 2 steals. Havlicek, playing extended minute due to the defensive matchup, added 6 big rebounds and 2 assists to go with a free throw. Mike Hathaway had a bucket and 5 rebounds and a couple of big steals. The Rams will try to even their record at 2-2 when they host 0-3 Guilford on Wednesday night at 7:00 |
| Branford Boys Basketball Tourney Branford 58, Cheshire 49 Another tough first quarter found the Rams down 19-11 and could never muster a comeback, losing to Branford in the Holiday Tournament 58-49 Dan Manke scored a team-high 16 points while Brian DeBisschop added 11 points for the Rams (1-4) Taylor Sullivan led Branford (4-0) with 13 points. The Rams will play tonight against Norwich Free Academy at 6:00 at Branford High School. BRANFORD 58, CHESHIRE 49 Cheshire (1-4): Dan Manke 4 5 16, Mike Hathaway 0 0 0, Nate Howard 2 0 4, Brian DeBisschop 5 1 11, Brian Havlicek 2 0 4, Kevin Adams 2 0 4, Todd Heritage 1 0 2, Greg Leonetti 0 1 2, Matt Bailey 1 0 2, John Kilbilus 1 1 3, Justin Zovas 1 0 2. Totals: 13 8 49. Branford (4-0): Taylor Sullivan 1 10 13, Tanner Tamsin 5 0 12, Ryan Figaro 1 0 2, Pedro Boskovic 1 0 2, Kyle Nolan 4 2 10, Buddey Shea 2 0 4, Nick Dummar 3 4 12. Totals: 17 16 58. Cheshire 11 14 11 13—49 Branford 19 13 13 13—58 3-point goals: C—Manke 3. B—Dummar 2, Tamsin 2, Sullivan |
| Boys Drop Opener to Prep 52-51 The Cheshire Boys Basketball team came back from a 12 point halftime deficit to take the lead with less than a minute left in the game on a Brian DeBisschop driving layup. However the good fortune could not be sustained. Following a answer lay-up by Prep to re-gain the lead, the Rams would turn it over and be called for a charging foul. Greg Leonetti made a great play to tie up the Prep point guard, giving the Rams life...but it wasn't to be as a missed front end of a one and one bounced off the rim and into the hands of a Prep player, who smartly ran the clock down to the end. DeBisschop led the Rams with 12 points, 4 rebounds and a block. Dan Manke netted 11 for Cheshire Todd Heritage added 7 points and Leonetti 8 as Cheshire loses it's first game of the season. Sophomore Nate Howard scored 10 points, and had 3 rebounds in the dissapointing loss. Name Points Assists Rebounds Dan Manke 11 1 2 Brian DeBisschop 12 0 4 Nate Howard 10 0 3 Mike Hathaway 2 4 2 Greg Leonetti 8 2 2 John Kubilus 1 1 3 Brian Havlicek 0 0 2 Justin Zovas 0 1 0 Todd Heritage 7 0 2 |
| Sheehan Pulls Away From Rams 75-55 Sheehan went on an 18-0 run at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth after Cheshire pulled to within one point and went on to a 75-55 win in Wallingford. Cheshire was led by Matt Bailey's 18 points and Brian DeBisschop's 13. Sheehan was paced by Christian Colette and Phil Gaetano with 17 apiece. SHEEHAN 75, CHESHIRE 55 Cheshire (2-7): Dan Manke 4 0 8, Mike Hathaway 0 0 0, Nate Howard 0 0 0, Brian DeBisschop 5 3 13, Brian Havlicek 3 0 6, Kevin Adams 0 0 0, Todd Heritage 1 1 4, Greg Leonetti 0 0 0, Matt Bailey 6 4 18, John Kubilus 1 4 7, Justin Zovas 0 0 0. Totals: 20 12 55. Sheehan (5-3): Phil Gaetano 7 1 17, John Wodatch 0 0 0, Brett Biestek 4 4 12, John Songer 5 1 11, Christian Collette 7 3 17, Nick Parillo 1 3 5, Mason Bush 1 4 7, Graham Kelley 0 4 4, Brian Murphy 1 0 2. Totals: 26 20 75. Cheshire 8 29 9 14—55 Sheehan 18 17 25 15—75 3-point goals: C—Bailey 2, Heritage 1; S—Gaetano 2, Bush 1. |
| Rams Drop Heartbreaker at Buzzer Freshman Rich Bronson hit an acrobatic 7 footer with 5.5 seconds left to lift Lyman Hall over Cheshire in the Housatonic Division opener in Cheshire. Bronson's shot capped a Trojan comeback from a 10 point deficit. The Rams (2-5, 0-1) made only 11-of-22 from the free-throw line, including 3-of-8 in the fourth quarter. Lyman Hall was 10-for-14 from the line, including 6-for-7 in the fourth. The Rams were paced by Brian DeBisschop's 12 points and Dan Manke's 11. Matt Bailey hit three 3-pointers for the Rams in the loss. |
| Strobel Leads Lady Rams in SCC Win Cheshire 43, Shelton 41 Julia Strobel scored 13 points to lead the Rams to the SCC win over Shelton at Cheshire High School. Kelly Riddle scored 11 points while Lauren Hague chipped in with 10 points for Cheshire (2-7). |
| Bailey, Manke Lead Rams over Amity 49-42 Matt Bailey went 13-16 from the foul line and Dan Manke buried 5 three's as the Rams started the second half of the season by winning their second straight. Brian DeBisschop added 9 points and 12 rebounds for the Rams (4-7, 2-2). Bailey finished as the high scorer with 17 while Manke scored 16. Six foot nine Sophomore Nate Howard played big again tonight, pulling down 6 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. Howard and DeBisschop also were able to alter a number of Spartan shots in the game. The Cheshire guard should get a lot of credit in this one, as they played strong defense preventing the Amity shooters from getting good looks at the basket. Senior Todd Heritage, sophomore Kevin Adams, and Bailey were in the faces their men all night. Brian Havlicek contributed 5 big rebounds. Heritage also picked up 3 big weak side rebounds in the last few minutes to seal the victory. |
| Rams Compete but Lose to Lyman Hall The Cheshire Rams continue to play well enough to win, but didn't quite have enough against Housy rival Lyman Hall last night in Wallingford. In a physical game, the Rams pulled to within 2 when Brian DeBisschop (14 points) scored and was fouled and hit the free throw with 31 seconds left. Cheshire then got the ball back on a turnover but could not convert on a tying attempt. Lyman Hall hit three of four free throws down the stretch to pull out the 46-41 win. The Rams drop to 4-8 and 2-3 in the conference while Lyman Hall improves to 8-4 and 4-1. Dan Manke added 10 points for the Rams and Matt Bailey chipped in with 9. Cheshire will travel to East Haven on Friday and try to exact some revenge. East Haven came out on top in the first meeting in Cheshire 56-53 on January 8th. That was one of four games the Rams have lost by less than 5 points this year. |
| Holiday Hoops Results Southington Girls Basketball Tourney East Lyme 49, Cheshire 46 Despite Julia Strobel's 17 points, Cheshire dropped a close decision to East Lyme at the Southington Holiday Tournament. Lauren Hague finished with 11 points for the Rams (0-5) and Kelly Riddle scored seven. Branford Boys Basketball Tourney Branford 58, Cheshire 49 Another tough first quarter found the Rams down 19-11 and could never muster a comeback, losing to Branford in the Holiday Tournament 58-49 Dan Manke scored a team-high 16 points while Brian DeBisschop added 11 points for the Rams (1- 4) Taylor Sullivan led Branford (4-0) with 13 points. The Rams will play tonight against Norwich Free Academy at 6:00 at Branford High School. BRANFORD 58, CHESHIRE 49 Cheshire (1-4): Dan Manke 4 5 16, Mike Hathaway 0 0 0, Nate Howard 2 0 4, Brian DeBisschop 5 1 11, Brian Havlicek 2 0 4, Kevin Adams 2 0 4, Todd Heritage 1 0 2, Greg Leonetti 0 1 2, Matt Bailey 1 0 2, John Kilbilus 1 1 3, Justin Zovas 1 0 2. Totals: 13 8 49. Branford (4-0): Taylor Sullivan 1 10 13, Tanner Tamsin 5 0 12, Ryan Figaro 1 0 2, Pedro Boskovic 1 0 2, Kyle Nolan 4 2 10, Buddey Shea 2 0 4, Nick Dummar 3 4 12. Totals: 17 16 58. Cheshire 11 14 11 13—49 Branford 19 13 13 13—58 3-point goals: C—Manke 3. B—Dummar 2, Tamsin 2, Sullivan |
| Ac's Too Much for Young Rams Bria Holmes scored 37 points and added eight steals and three assists to lead Hillhouse, ranked No. 1 in the Register Top 10 Poll, to a 73-30 win over Cheshire in an SCC interdivision game at New Haven on Thursday. Courtney Brown scored 12 points and had seven rebounds and four blocked shots, and Janaya Bradley added 10 points for Hillhouse (2-0). Julia Strobel led the Rams with eight points. |
| Rams Finish Strong, Beat Shelton 56-52 Dan Manke poured in 18 points and sophomore Nate Howard blocked 6 shots and altered a few more as the Rams went on to a 56-52 win against the Gaels. Todd Heritage added 10 points including some acrobatic drives to the basket. Howard got the crowd on it's feet late in the game with a breakaway dunk, giving Cheshire the momentum it needed to finish off Shelton. Howard finished with 6 points 3 rebounds and 4 steals. He showed a bit of a mean streak that made him an intimidating force in the paint. Brian DeBisschop was in foul trouble most of the night but was able to chip in with 7 points and 6 rebounds. He also was able to hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final minutes to help secure the win. Brian Havlicek added 6 points while Matt Bailey added 5 and Kevin Adams 4. |
| East Haven 61 Cheshire 46 Cheshire 18-05-12-11 46 East Haven 15-17-13-12 61 Cheshire: Dan Manke 4 0-0 11, Brian DeBisschop 2 7-9 11, John Kubilus 2 2-3 6, Brian Havlicek 0 0-1 0, Mike Hathaway 0 0-0 0, Greg Leonetti 3 0-0 7, Matt Bailey 3 0-0 7, Nate Howard 1 0-0 2, Todd Heritage 1 0-0 2. 3 pointers: Manke 3, Bailey, Leonetti Record: 4-9 |
| Lyman Hall 59 Cheshire 44 Lyman Hall 19-15-19-06 59 Cheshire 12-05-12-15 44 Cheshire: Kelly Riddle 1 7-8 10, Maria Blois 4 1-2 9, Julia Strobel 3 1-4 7, Lauren Hague 2 0-0 6, Lauren DeBisschop 1 1-2 3, Danielle Desmaris 1 0-0 2, Molly Jalbert 1 0-0 2, Sarah Domshine 1 0-0 2,Lauren Como 1 1-2 3. 3 pointers: Hague 2, Riddle Record: 3-11, 2-4 |
| Rams on Fire, Beat Shelton 58-50 CHESHIRE (3-13) Maria Blois 1 7-8 9 Julia Strobel 6 3-4 15 Kelly Riddle 3 14-16 21 Lauren Hague 3 1-3 7 Lauren DeBisschop 2 2-2 6 Lauren Cuomo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 1 27-33 58. SHELTON (2-13) Erin Chuma 4 0-0 10 Jen Spicer 0 0-0 0 Kelsey Perruse 0 0-0 0 Melissa Brouillette 2 0-1 4 Kelly Larue 0 0-0 0 Melissa Corraro 3 2-3 9 Bianka Bell 0 1-2 1 Molly Hanko 2 2-2 6 Brittany Lampert 0 0-0 0 Megan Burke 1 0-1 2 Kelsey Pendagast 5 2-5 12 Alyssa Eanonotti 3 0-0 6. Totals: 17 3 7-16 50. CHESHIRE 10 12 18 18-- 58 SHELTON 14 9 14 13--50 3-pointers: C--Riddle; S--Chuma 2, Corraro. |
| Rams Fall to Sheehan 58-44 The Cheshire Boys Basketball team could not quite handle Phil Gaetano and the Titans desplte 12 points from Brian Havlicek, 10 points from Nate Howard, and 9 points from Brian DeBisschop. Read more from the Record Journal. |
| Boys Battle but Come Up Short Shots Don't Fall at End for Rams When Dan Manke drained his 5th three pointer of the night to tie the game at 50, it looked like the momentum would carry the Rams past West Haven. However, Gary Williams had other ideas. After Cheshire went up 52-50 on two Nate Howard free throws, Williams drove down the lane and hit a layup and got fouled. He would hit the free throw to put the Blue Devils up 53-52. Howard would then hit a 10 footer from the baseline to put the Rams back up by one. Williams answered. He used his uncanny vertical ability to shoot over Brian Havlicek and make a foul line jumper. When Cheshire missed a three pointer, West Haven made their foul shots down the stretch to hold on for the win 59-54. The loss moves Cheshire to 4-11 and lifts West Haven to 6-9 on the year. Williams led all scorers with 24 while Manke led the Rams with 20. Brian DeBisschop added 12 and Howard 9 for the Rams. Cheshire got outstanding guard play from Greg Leonetti, Matt Bailey, and Todd Heritage to keep the game close. Cheshire will play at Shelton Friday night. |
| DeBisschop Leads Rams Past Gaels 25 Point Effort Sparks Cheshire on Road CHESHIRE (5-11) Manke 5 0-0 12 Leonetti 0 2-2 2 Hathaway 0 2-2 2 Howard 0 3-4 3 DeBisschop 11 2-4 25 Kubilus 1 4-6 6 Havlicek Lassen 0 0-2 0 Trumbo 0 2-2 2 Wright 0 1-2 1 Heritage 1 0-0 2 Bailey 2 3-5 7 Totals: 20 19-29 62 SHELTON (5-11) Craig Dwelle 1 1-2 4 Arron Gagnier 0 0-0 0 Matt Kondor 0 1-2 1 Ray Pendagast 3 1-3 7 Shaquille Holman 5 4-4 15 Bryan Fitzgerald 2 1-2 6 Christian Esposito Christian Pierre 3 0-2 6 Jon Papoli Shanar Lothe 1 0-0 2 Andrew Boretsky 0 0-0 0 Steven Torres 0 0-0 0 Kyle Packnik 1 0-0 3 Totals: 16 8-15 44 CHESHIRE 16 10 17 19 --62 SHELTON 6 16 6 16- -44 3-pointers: C--Manke 2, DeBisschop; S--Dwelle, Holman, Fitzgerald, Packnik Fouled out: S--Kondor, Pendagast |