On Friday, Cheshire High School boys’ basketball (2-7) used a fast start to win 54-28 over Career Magnet (1-8) and end a four-game slide. The Rams scored the opening eight points of the game and didn’t give up the lead in earning their first home victory of the year.
Sophomore Matt Jeffery and freshman Tristan Washington tallied six and five points, respectively, to propel the Rams to a 12-2 advantage. Senior co-captain JD Shumilla also hit a foul shot in the spurt.
Cheshire used layups from senior EJ Quint and senior co-captain Eric Levens to take a 16-2 advantage. In a play that brought the crowd to their feet, Quint stole the ball at mid-court and then beat the first-quarter buzzer with a three-pointer.
Career opened the second with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 19-8, but the Rams responded with nine straight points. Junior Jack Markarian kicked off the surge with a layup and Quint drained another three-pointer.
Sophomore Jayden Reid, junior Chris O'Neil, and sophomore Tegan Danaher all netted two free throws to push Cheshire’s lead to 30-10 at halftime. Quint (eight) and Jeffery (six) scored all of their points by the break.
In returning for the third quarter, CHS went on a 13-0 run to extend their advantage to 46-13. Markarian contributed 10 points in the third and finished with a game-high 12.
Washington earned nine points and Shumilla posted a career-high seven. Levens and Danaher scored four points each.
The Rams faced a tough break with just over two minutes left, as Danaher had hard fall and left the game.
Sophomore Mike Singleton led Career with seven points in the second half.
Next Tuesday, Cheshire hosts Lyman Hall (2-8) at 7 p.m.
Boys’ Swim and Dive (2-1)
The Rams dropped their first meet, 97-81, to Daniel Hand (5-0) at the Cheshire Community Pool. Individually, senior co-captain Anmol Sapru captured the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.32) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:00.11).
Sapru also teamed with juniors Kristian Adlianitski, Alex Fang, and Silas Wang to take the first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:31.57). Fang additionally touched the wall first in the 100-yard freestyle (51.07).
On Monday, Cheshire visits Haddam Killingworth to compete against H-K/Morgan/Valley Co-Op at 4 p.m.
Saturday’s varsity schedule:
Wrestling (0-9)
The Rams travel to Middletown’s for a multi-team event at Xavier. Action starts at 9 a.m.
Indoor Track and Field
Cheshire athletes visit New Haven’s Floyd Little Athletic Center for the Southern Connecticut Conference Coaches Invite at 9 a.m.
Girls’ Basketball (5-4)
The Rams play Shelton (1-9) at 6 p.m. In the first meeting on Dec. 21, Cheshire picked up a 49-29 victory on the road.
Boys’ Ice Hockey (3-5-2)
Cheshire hosts North Haven (7-2) at Hamden’s Louis Astorino Ice Arena. The contest is slated to start at 8 p.m.