There are five undefeated boys basketball teams in the NVL after two games, and all of them reside in the Brass City.
Crosby, Holy Cross, Kennedy, Sacred Heart and Waterbury Career Academy are all 2-0 after last night’s action.
In Bristol, there’s one undefeated team, and that is Bristol Central, also 2-0.
Here’s how each team has gotten to 2-0:
Crosby
Wins: vs. Torrington (89-63), at Ansonia (74-46)
Tough trio to stop: Senior Jeremiah Kendall (27.0 points per game), senior Miguel Rivera (20.5) and junior Ivan Craig (18.0) have been lighting up the scoreboard for Nick Augelli’s Bulldogs so far. Kendall is also the leading rebounder (11 per game) and steal man (6.0). Crosby is averaging 15.0 steals and 5.5 blocks per game, proving it’s not just offense doing work.
All numbers are from MaxPreps.
Holy Cross
Wins: vs. Seymour (81-62), at Derby (85-42)
Lord of the Boards: How’s this for rebounding? Junior DeAndre Wallace yanked down 22 rebounds in the season-opening win over Seymour.
High-scoring threesome: On offense, Wallace was also one of the leading scorers at 15 points in that game against the Wildcats. Junior Nyzair Rountree was tops at 29 while senior Kerson Etienne hit for 22. Wallace also had four steals and four blocks while Rountree added nine rebounds and four thefts.
All numbers are from MaxPreps.
Kennedy
Wins: vs. Naugatuck (63-39), at Watertown (112-44)
Five for 10 or more: The Eagles saw five different players get 10 points or more in the win over Watertown, according to a box score reported to the Waterbury Republican-American. Lashawn Smith (19 points), Tyairus Sands (16), Chomari Joseph (16), Tyvon Stenson (10) and Evel Pacheco (10) all reached double figures for Kennedy. Smith, Stenson and Sands combined to fill the stat sheets with rebounds, assists and blocks.
Smith was the lone player in double figures against Naugatuck (12 points).
Sacred Heart
Wins: vs. Wolcott (82-39), at St. Paul (75-40)
New faces, familiar results: The two-time defending NVL champs have rolled to victory in their first two games, even with new personnel. One returning player, the talented Raheem Solomon, led the Hearts with 26 points in the opener against the Eagles. Newcomers Tariq Price and Isaiah Gaiter had nine points each against Wolcott. Solomon (14) and fellow returnee Courie Stevenson (13) both hit double digits in points against the Falcons, but it was newcomer Nate Tabor (15) who led the Hearts in scoring. All those numbers were reported to the Rep-Am.
Waterbury Career Academy
Wins: at Oxford (95-70), at Torrington (68-58)
Two road games to open NVL play: The Spartans have begun their first league season on the road, but that hasn’t mattered. Head coach Ronan O’Leary and his bunch are off to a great start.
Bombs away, but also fundamentals: WCA proved it can run away from an opponent, but it can also hit foul shots to close out a close game. The Spartans canned 14 3-pointers against the Wolverines, then sank 25-of-30 free throws against the Raiders in Torrington. Marquan Watson has been a double-double machine so far, while Jadan Battle has dished out assists and stolen the ball. Watson had 15 rebounds against Torrington, while Kyren Petteway dished out 10 assists. Those numbers were reported to the Rep-Am.
Bristol Central
Wins: at Maloney (54-48), at Wethersfield (43-37)
Two close road games, two wins: All the Rams have done is win in the other team’s gym, twice. In the first game at Maloney, Jaekwon Spencer scored 21 points while Alex Bernier added 14, according to a box score reported to the Hartford Courant. Spencer (15) and Bernier (11) were again the leading scorers against Wethersfield.
