WILTON — Last Friday night, the Wilton Warriors took on the Harding Presidents

(Bridgeport) in an FCIAC matchup at the Zeoli Field House. Looking to continue their 2-game

win streak, the Warriors did not quite find their rhythm early on. Some missed open jump shots

and poor rebounding left Wilton down by five at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter,

however, yielded entirely different results for the blue-white. A few energizing baskets from

senior captain Matt Shifrin coupled with tenacious defense by co-captain Michael Bingaman

sparked a huge 27-8 run, subsequently giving the Warriors a comfortable 37-23 lead at the half.

The Presidents came out aggressively in the third quarter, fueled by sophomore guard

Tyrone Killings, who proved to be a force in the scoring department. They indeed elevated their

level of play, but Wilton reciprocated each and every point and then some. Harding had a slight

size advantage in sophomore center Keon Evans, but this apparent mismatch was neutralized

due to superb play from Warrior center Lucas Savoie. Savoie contributed in all facets of the

game, for he not only shot 80% from the field, but also managed to grab a team-high seven

rebounds complemented by a couple of blocks. Fellow Wilton big man Miles Elmasry helped the

cause as well, coming off the bench to snatch five boards.

The fourth quarter was more or less a continuation of the previous, as the Presidents

continued on their quest to make up for a lackluster performance earlier. Even though they

outscored Wilton 15-10 in the final stretch, it was far too late for any comeback heroism. Thus,

Joel Geriak’s Warriors triumphed over Charles Clemons’s Presidents 67-53. This victory marks

Wilton’s third straight and bumps its record to 10-4 overall. The Warriors will look to extend their

win streak Tuesday night on the road against a 3-11 Darien team. Harding has now lost four

consecutive games and will aim to bounce back versus 9-3 Fairfield Ludlowe at home on

Tuesday night as well. Furthermore, Wilton’s aforementioned standout Matt Shifrin inches closer

toward a remarkable feat: 1,000 points scored. If Shifrin’s average of 20.8 points per game

persists, he will be the first boys’ varsity basketball player in Wilton history to reach 1,000 in his

career. Stay tuned to find out what will happen!.