New London claims ECC title

You don’t plan for moments like these, they just happen.
The clock was ticking down toward 10 seconds and the 1,500 gathered in the Waterford High School gym stood waiting for the inevitable.
The 10 players on the court will re-play those waning seconds over the years and remember what they did. They’ll think about what they could have done as the crowd rose in unison waiting for the inevitable New London time out.
New London’s Torin Childs-Harris stood 10 feet inside halfcourt with the ball, NFA’s Anthony Clarke was watching his every move with the Wildcats trying to protect a one-point lead. New London coach Craig Parker finally brought his hands together to signal for the time out with 10 seconds left and his focus fell on Childs-Harris.
The sophomore with the silky smooth touch was not about to disappoint his coach or the New London faithful as he caught the in-bounds pass, dribbled inside the 3-point line and lofted up a perfect 15-foot jump shot that found only net, the go-ahead basket that the Whalers needed with six seconds left that led to New London’s 51-48 win over NFA in the Eastern Connecticut Conference boys basketball championship game Friday night.
“We made the decision, if they were going to sit back off of us, we were going to hold the ball until 10 seconds to go and put it all on the line,” Parker said.
NFA coach Neal Curland felt like he had no choice but to go with the flow.
“We were happy with that,” Curland said. “We weren’t going to try and chase them and foul them because we had the lead. If you go out and guard them tight and try to get a five-second call, they’re going by you because they’re quicker than we are.”
Parker decided that Childs-Harris had to be the man since his best outside shooter, Nick Singleton, was not with the team due to family issues.
“It was designed for me to shoot the 3, but no one came out,” Childs-Harris said. “I turned around too late to shoot the 3, so I thought if I drove to the middle and threw a floater that I would get it. I was waiting my whole life for a shot like that.”
Though the winning play wasn’t drawn up on the spot, it might as well have been.
“That play we had for the game-winner, ironically, we just put it in two or three days ago and that’s the first we’ve run it all year,” Parker said. “It could have been a 3-pointer had he been wide open but he made a good decision, made a move, pulled up with a kid in his face and made the tough shot.”
Curland could only compliment Childs-Harris afterwards.
“That was a big-time play — a great shot, off the dribble, guarded, 15-16 feet with a guy on him, leaning a little bit.”
The game wasn’t over yet. There were still 5.9 ticks of the clock left as NFA called for a time-out immediately after Harris made his shot. The time-out didn’t help as the Wildcats threw away the in-bounds pass and were forced to foul. Teaurean Nolan hit two free throws to give the Whalers a three-point lead. NFA’s Wes Murphy did get off a shot just before the buzzer just inside half court, but it bounced off the rim and harmlessly to the ground.
“It is (a little sweeter than a year ago) because of the circumstances (the missing players, which also included Lamont Singleton and center Sylvere Vanterpool),” Parker said. “For these kids to not to let that affect them and keep their focus on the game — this has a special meaning (Friday night).”.
For his efforts, Childs-Harris brought home the Tournament Most Valuable Player Award as he led the Whalers with 22 points. Freshman Kris Dunn added 13 to the New London (22-1) effort.
“It’s like a dream come true,” said Dunn, who was named to the All-Tournament team. “I didn’t think I was going to help win it, because I’m a freshman.”
Mike Mailhot led the Wildcats (19-4) with 13 points and Darryl Ferguson returned to the NFA lineup after being too ill to play in the semifinals to score 10 points, grab eight rebounds, block four shots and alter a host of others. Both Mailhot and Ferguson were named to the All-Tournament team along with Woodstock’s Kyle Senick.
“It took a great shot to beat us and that makes it harder for the kids and for me, too,” Curland said, “but I’ve coached in a lot of games and for them, this is their one chance, the seniors, so it’s really hard.”