KHS boys beat St. Bernard in thriller, 76-70

Austin Taylor and St. Bernard's Izzy Davila keep their eyes on a rebound. Photos by D. Coffey.

Senior night was thriller night at the Killingly High School gym on Feb. 17. The Redmen took on the St. Bernard Saints and kept their lead through the frantic closing minutes. Senior co-captain Jeff Clang put on a shooting clinic as he scored 37 points in the game. Max Graves added 17 points and made his presence felt in the paint.

The game was fast-paced and physical from the start, but at the end of two quarters, KHS led 47-31. With only 10 additional points in the third, the Redmen saw that lead cut to nine by the start of the fourth quarter. For the last six minutes of the game, the Redmen and Saints duked it out, with the lead closing to within four points several times. KHS never relinquished the lead.

Coach Scott Derosier had to work around the loss of two key players. “Fortunately we're blessed with a shooter in Jeff Clang,” he said. “If Jeff gets his feet squared with the basket, he's going to knock that shot down.” He knocked down eight three-pointers in the game.

Junior forward Max Graves had his hands full with St. Bernard's Pete Aldrich. “We had to play some sophomores against older, more physically mature kids,” Derosier said. “There was some physical play inside, and that's the strength of inside players, the physical part.”

The Redmen will close out their season on Feb. 21, after a grueling schedule. “Our division is unbelievably tough,” Derosier said. “We're a Class S team playing in the medium division. That's just the way it worked out. Four teams have won 15 games or more.” The losses his team suffered left his players disheartened, he said, which made the Friday night win sweeter.

“I ask them to give me what they have, to always play hard,” said Derosier. “That's all there is. That's all you have. You can't control whether you win a ball game unless you give effort. What they lack in skills and size, they have in heart. They're a great bunch of kids.”