Varsity Boys Basketball Wins Big in Silent Night Game

By Will Pegler

The Boys Varsity Basketball team took on New Canaan in the annual "Silent Night" game this past Thursday, February 8th at the Darien High School gym. The Blue Wave student section was instructed to wear ridiculous costumes and stay absolutely silent until Darien scored their 7th point, upon which they would go crazy. The Wave got to 7 points on a Will Rolapp three pointer halfway through the first quarter and the student section did in fact go crazy. Despite a lot of momentum on the Wave's side, New Canaan was able to hang around throughout the first half with timely three's and strong defense.

Senior Andrew Darby said about the first half, "We definitely got off to a sluggish start. We made some sloppy passes and dumb shots, but once we got settled in the game was ours." The Blue Wave's offense definitely looked slow in the first half, as they were held to just 14 points and were down five at halftime.

The 3rd quarter can best be described as fast and furious, with a lot of scoring coming from both sides and a lack of strong defense. New Canaan continued to hit a lot of 3's, mostly from junior Ben Sarda, while the Wave's offense was predicated on transition buckets and hustle for offensive rebounds. The game went into the 4th quarter tied at 32 apiece.

Junior Will Rolapp shuts off a New Canaan player from scoring.
(Courtesy Darien Times) 

In the 4th, the Wave's offense continued to roll while New Canaan's was left at a standstill. Senior Mitchell Pryor was consistently bringing in offensive rebounds and fueling second chance opportunities for the Wave, while guard's Justin Jordan, Will Rolapp, and Henry Williams were able to hit plenty of open shots. Darien ended up putting up a staggering 17 points in the 4th quarter before New Canaan could put up any, giving them a 49-32 lead with just a few minutes to go.

The Rams tried to fight back, but Darien's strong defense, highlighted by junior Peter Brehdal, gave them no room to breathe or even come close to shortening the lead. The final score of the game was 56-41 and was the Wave's 4th win in a row.