March 12, 2012
Members of the New Haven Rockets were all smiles after claiming the district championship trophy Friday. (Photo by DAVID DALTON)
By Shelley Watkins, For The Voice
Members of the New Haven Rockets were all smiles after claiming the district championship trophy Friday. (Photo by DAVID DALTON)
During warm-ups, New Haven coach Tedaro France II said the keys to beating Vassar would be defense and flat out hustle.
He wasn’t kidding!
His Rockets did just that and much more Friday night to claim the Class C district championship against the Vulcans 58-31 in front of the home crowd. The victory was a second-straight title for New Haven and ensures the district trophy remains in the hallway on Gratiot Avenue for another year.
The Rockets held Vassar to just nine points in the first half, while helping themselves to 27 before hitting the locker room. New Haven’s defense was pressing and tenacious, leaving little room for the Vulcans to move or think.
“We played very, very hard on defense and that was the key to the game,” France II said. “The whole year these kids have buckled down and sacrificed themselves to play great team defense. They played great team ball, coming out and setting a great tempo. I preach defense, defense, defense in practice and they came out and did it.”
Junior standout Rayshawn Griffin ignited the gym in the first half by scoring 18 points and added another eight in the second for a total of 26 on the night.
“Winning the championship means a lot to me,” said Griffin. “I did it for my team and my coaches and I’m glad it happened. Coach stresses defense and says defense wins championships; that’s what we do. We were prepared.”
Griffin also grabbed six steals in the course of the evening, a fact that France II is quick to highlight.
“Rayshawn has been a sparkplug for us all year; he’s a prolific scorer,” said France. “But the one thing about him is that he plays defense. A lot of big scorers don’t play defense. He’s a great player, a great kid and he works really hard.”
New Haven’s Jamael Bell was huge on the boards grabbing 11 and added eight points, while juniors Vantrell Williams (seven steals, six assists, four points), Tedaro France III (five assists, five points), Sychar Sterling (six rebounds, five steals, six points) and Rico Cook (seven points) all had strong outings.
“This title means a lot to me,” said France II. “When I first took over the team, the program was down. The last four years we’ve brought it back. Now we have a back-to-back and it’s great to see the fans back out here. We have great fan support from the parents and the whole town. I’m so proud of the school, the town and the kids. They’ve worked so hard for this.”
Senior Gavin Greer topped Vassar’s scoring list with eight points in the loss.
“We had 30 turnovers and it lead to a lot of easy buckets for them,” Vassar coach Chuck Fabbro said. “The turnovers killed us. I thought when we were able to get them in a half-court game we were able to defend them a little and we beat them on the boards. We’ve had some trouble scoring this year and that’s sort of been our nemesis.”
Vassar graduates five seniors this spring including Zachary Case, Kevin Pratt, Gavin Greer, Tim Palmer and Joshua Peplinski.
“Our seniors have meant so much to our program,” said Fabbro. “A few years back we were 2-19 and this is their third district championship in four years. We’ve come a long way in five years and we’re going to miss them big time. These five guys are as good of human beings that I’ve ever coached.”
“One of these days we’re going to win one,” added Fabbro. “But it wasn’t going to be today.”
New Haven advanced into the regional semifinal Monday, squaring off against Reese at 6 p.m. at Vassar. That game was played after press time for this edition. To find out how it turned out, go tovoicenews.com.
New Haven 12 15 14 17 - 58
Vassar 6 3 16 6 - 31
NEW HAVEN: Rico Cook 7, Rayshawn Griffin 26, Tedaro France III 5, Sychar Sterling 6, Jamael Bell 8, Vantrell Williams 4. Totals: 24 (4) 6-7 - 58.
Members of the New Haven Rockets were all smiles after claiming the district championship trophy Friday. (Photo by DAVID DALTON)
By Shelley Watkins, For The Voice
Members of the New Haven Rockets were all smiles after claiming the district championship trophy Friday. (Photo by DAVID DALTON)
During warm-ups, New Haven coach Tedaro France II said the keys to beating Vassar would be defense and flat out hustle.
He wasn’t kidding!
His Rockets did just that and much more Friday night to claim the Class C district championship against the Vulcans 58-31 in front of the home crowd. The victory was a second-straight title for New Haven and ensures the district trophy remains in the hallway on Gratiot Avenue for another year.
The Rockets held Vassar to just nine points in the first half, while helping themselves to 27 before hitting the locker room. New Haven’s defense was pressing and tenacious, leaving little room for the Vulcans to move or think.
“We played very, very hard on defense and that was the key to the game,” France II said. “The whole year these kids have buckled down and sacrificed themselves to play great team defense. They played great team ball, coming out and setting a great tempo. I preach defense, defense, defense in practice and they came out and did it.”
Junior standout Rayshawn Griffin ignited the gym in the first half by scoring 18 points and added another eight in the second for a total of 26 on the night.
“Winning the championship means a lot to me,” said Griffin. “I did it for my team and my coaches and I’m glad it happened. Coach stresses defense and says defense wins championships; that’s what we do. We were prepared.”
Griffin also grabbed six steals in the course of the evening, a fact that France II is quick to highlight.
“Rayshawn has been a sparkplug for us all year; he’s a prolific scorer,” said France. “But the one thing about him is that he plays defense. A lot of big scorers don’t play defense. He’s a great player, a great kid and he works really hard.”
New Haven’s Jamael Bell was huge on the boards grabbing 11 and added eight points, while juniors Vantrell Williams (seven steals, six assists, four points), Tedaro France III (five assists, five points), Sychar Sterling (six rebounds, five steals, six points) and Rico Cook (seven points) all had strong outings.
“This title means a lot to me,” said France II. “When I first took over the team, the program was down. The last four years we’ve brought it back. Now we have a back-to-back and it’s great to see the fans back out here. We have great fan support from the parents and the whole town. I’m so proud of the school, the town and the kids. They’ve worked so hard for this.”
Senior Gavin Greer topped Vassar’s scoring list with eight points in the loss.
“We had 30 turnovers and it lead to a lot of easy buckets for them,” Vassar coach Chuck Fabbro said. “The turnovers killed us. I thought when we were able to get them in a half-court game we were able to defend them a little and we beat them on the boards. We’ve had some trouble scoring this year and that’s sort of been our nemesis.”
Vassar graduates five seniors this spring including Zachary Case, Kevin Pratt, Gavin Greer, Tim Palmer and Joshua Peplinski.
“Our seniors have meant so much to our program,” said Fabbro. “A few years back we were 2-19 and this is their third district championship in four years. We’ve come a long way in five years and we’re going to miss them big time. These five guys are as good of human beings that I’ve ever coached.”
“One of these days we’re going to win one,” added Fabbro. “But it wasn’t going to be today.”
New Haven advanced into the regional semifinal Monday, squaring off against Reese at 6 p.m. at Vassar. That game was played after press time for this edition. To find out how it turned out, go tovoicenews.com.
New Haven 12 15 14 17 - 58
Vassar 6 3 16 6 - 31
NEW HAVEN: Rico Cook 7, Rayshawn Griffin 26, Tedaro France III 5, Sychar Sterling 6, Jamael Bell 8, Vantrell Williams 4. Totals: 24 (4) 6-7 - 58.
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