@DavidGlovach
NEW BRITAIN - Innovation boys basketball head coach Matt Lance called Friday night’s game a tale of two halves.
After allowing Ian Reynolds to score 18 of his 20 points in the first half and being held to just six points in the second quarter themselves, the Ravens dominated the final two frames to cruise to an easy 57-39 win over East Haven at home.
“We made some adjustments in the second half,” Lance said. “And we started to play well defensively. Alonzo Hill and Gabe Matias did a phenomenal job guarding Reynolds and really shut him down.”
Matias finished with a team-high 17 points, including three 3-pointers to go along with 14 rebounds as one of two Innovation players to finish with a double-double. Linwood Hazelwood was the other, recording 15 points and 14 boards to go along with six assists and four blocks.
Michael Blackman also added 10 for the Ravens, nine of which came from beyond the arc.
“In my three years coaching Gabe, this was his best performance he’s had,” Lance said. “He was our sparkplug our there tonight.”
Down 24-22 at the half, Innovation outscored the Yellow Jacks 35-15 over the final 16 minutes of play to move to 2-0 on the season. The Ravens will be back in the gym on Monday when they travel to Wethersfield in a big early-season matchup.
“We still have a lot to work on,” Lance said. “But we’ll be able to take some positives away from this game.”
INNOVATION 57, EAST HAVEN 49
At Innovation
East Haven 12 12 8 7 - 39
Innovation 16 6 18 17 - 57
East Haven: Ian Reynolds 7-0-20, Alias Ford 0-2-2, Nick Furino 2-1-5, Shane Franklin 3-0-8, Shea Carasone 2-0-4. Totals: 14-3-39.
Innovation: Quron Martin 1-0-3, Luther Nowlin 1-1-3, Linwood Hazelwood 6-3-15, Michael Blackman 3-1-10, Gabe Matias 7-0-17, Clinton Allen 4-1-9. Totals: 21-6-57.
3-Point Goals: Matias (I) 3, Blackman (I) 3, Reynolds (EH) 6.
Records: Innovation 2-0, East Haven 0-2.