Stratford Sophomore Boys – Week of 1/1

The Stratford Sophomore Boys Team kicked off 2024 in dominating fashion against Cypress Ridge, winning 66-30. They scored the first 16 points of the game, as an effective trapping 1-3-1 zone led to several takeaways and easy baskets, and ended the first quarter up 20-7. Jay Frazier, Anderson Fitzgerald, William Ubell,  and Ben Harris all had 4 first quarter points as part of a balanced attack. The onslaught continued in the second quarter. The Cy Ridge defense cratered due to effective interior passing, leading again to a string of layups that resulted in a 37-17 halftime lead. The second half saw much of the same, while a 15-3 4th quarter advantage extended the Spartans’ final margin to 36, its largest of the game. Anderson Fitzgerald led the Spartans in scoring with 20, as his spot atop the zone allowed for several runouts after forced Cy Ridge turnovers. Ben Harris added 10, William Ubell 7, and Jay Frazier, AJ West, and Jack Seely scored 6 each with Jack Seely’s scores coming on two 3-pointers. The team moved to 10-2 on the season and looks to carry momentum into a matchup with Memorial on Tuesday.

SHS Sophomore Boys Week of 12-18

Stratford’s Sophomore Boys Team closed out 2023 with a decisive 79-37 victory at Spring Woods. The win moves the team to 9-2 on the season. Tuesday’s game started a bit slow, as 8 team fouls led to many foul shooting opportunities for Spring Woods and slowed Stratford’s transition game, which was effective in creating open layups or three pointers. Stratford moved the lead to eight points in the 2nd quarter as time wound down, but Ben Harris closed the quarter with 5 points in 3 seconds. He first hit 2 foul shots. Stratford was content to let Spring Woods dribble out the half, but a late clock start stopped the game and allowed Stratford to set up pressure. B. Harris tipped the inbound pass and recovered the ball behind the 3 point line and just beat the buzzer to put Stratford up 34-21 at the half.

Stratford was able to really get things going in the 3rd quarter. Aggressive defense without fouling produced easy transition buckets, and good interior passing against a Spring Woods zone led to several layups. Stratford started the quarter on a 15-0 run to push the margin to 28 and outscored Spring Woods 28-5 to lead 62-26 entering the fourth quarter. Stratford continued to build on its lead in the 4th quarter to get to the 79-37 final. The Spartans were paced by season highs from Beckett Swilling (19 with 15 in the 2nd half) and Ben Harris (14 total including the aforementioned 5 in 3 seconds). Jay Frazier made some timely 3-pointers to finish with 12, and Anderson Fitzgerald added 12 as well. Luke Johnson chipped in 6 off the bench with a variety of reverse layups.