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Sports

ECC Title: Dunn Deal For New London

23-0 Whalers Cruise Over Stonington, 80-41, Await Quest For State Title

Now the real season begins for the No. 1 ranked New London High School boys' basketball team.

The Whalers rose to 23-0 with an 80-41 win over Stonington in the Eastern Connecticut Conference championship tonight at NL's Conway Gymnasium. New London (23-0) made it a Dunn Deal early, riding the defense and all-around play of tournament most valuable player Kris Dunn (24 points) to take leads of 23-10 after one quarter and 46-24 at halftime.

Stonington (18-6) was unable to control tempo with a slow pace the way it while leading New London at halftime, 20-16, in an eventual 51-38 NL win last month, one of the Whalers' tougher games. Dunn and the Whalers used their long arms to trap the Bears at halfcourt, steal passes, block shots and generate offense with their defense.

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After Sam  Donahue's three opening the scoring, New London's defense spurred an 11-0 run. Bear turnovers led to dunks by Dunn, Torin Childs-Harris (21 points) and a three-point play by Dunn. A large and loud Stonington student section among the sellout crowd of 1,500 was poised for an upset, but the buzz ended early.

"Stonington brought a large contingent of fans, but I told the kids before the game that jumping on them early was the best way to take the steam out of the team and the crowd," New London coach Craig Parker said. "Our emphasis was if we were going to win tonight, it was going to be on the defensive end. We needed good solid defense all over the court."

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Falling behind early derailed Stonington's plans to slow the tempo the way it did in a 51-38 loss last month to the Whalers in one of New London's tougher games. The Bears do not like to play slow, but it was an effective style to manage a tighter game.

Bear center Jake Berkowitz stepped up with 14 points, twice his scoring average, but New London's pressure contained Stonington's backcourt of Donahue, Will DeFanti, who left the game briefly after banging his hip, and Cody Candelet.

"We got their A-game," Stonington coach Mike Reyes said. "We knew they would come after us after the last game. They frustrated us and got us out of sorts. They did a great job constantly pressuring the ball and not allowing us to get spaced and executing what we wanted to do."

The post-game trophy ceremony projected as much relief that the regular season is behind both teams than celebration or disappointment for winner and loser.

New London begins its quest for the program's eighth state title March 10 in a Class L second round game against the winner of Avon-Middletown. Class L features the state's only three undefeated teams in the regular season with New London, Maloney and Northwest Catholic, which lost in the Central Connecticut Conference tournament.

"It's going to be a tough road to get to the Class L finals, there are some roadblocks out there, including the second round game," Parker said. "My only concern is I wish we didn't have to play. I wish we could just be state champs. I wish we could just go to the finals. Seriously, there are some outstanding teams out there. It's going to be tough."

And tough for New London's opponents. Aside from featuring two Division I college prospects in Dunn and Childs-Harris, the Whalers can shuttle in quick guards in waves. Khaleed Fields, Special Rhodes and Doug Henton, meshing into the rotation more and more since transferring back to NL from NFA in late January, give Parker ammunition to ratchet up defensive pressure for the entire game.

"We tried to replicate New London's style by putting seven to eight players on the court in practice against our five," Reyes said. "Dunn and Harris are tremendous. They are so long and athletic. They're quicker than us and about a foot taller."

Having made its first ECC Final, Stonington, a team dominated by underclassmen, left Conway Gym with pride. This was a case where a team could feel great simply being in a final.

"We made a nice run and had a great week," Reyes said. "The semifinal win over Waterford was awesome - something the kids can remember for the rest of their lives."

While New London's mission is to return to Mohegan Arena for the final - the Whalers lost to Stratford there last season - Stonington looks to make a long run in Class M. The Bears have a tough opener Monday against Bloomfield.

"It would have been nice to win this or even stay in it," Reyes said, "but the first thing I talked about is that we have something more important starting Monday. Bloomfield is athletic and will try to press us. What better practice could we ask for to have played the best team in the state."

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