New London is denied

Mohegan - Stratford's Brandon Sherrod was standing on the free throw line, getting ready to shoot a pair of free throws with his team up three points and just 13.8 seconds left on the clock in the CIAC Class L state title game at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday night.

On the block, Kris Dunn, New London's wiry bundle of green and gold energy, stood, unaware that he had just picked up his fifth and final foul.

When the referee came over and flashed an open hand to signal five fouls, the sophomore shrugged off to the bench, where he would remain as New London's season ended with a 51-47 loss to the Red Devils before a crowd of 8,422.

While Dunn wasn't on the court as the second-seeded Whalers fell for the second time this year to unbeaten and top-ranked Stratford, he was New London's best player on the court all night long, finishing with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.

"It was a good experience, it was a good run," Dunn said. "I guess it was just their night to win it. They got momentum and played hard."

New London (25-2) had all the momentum early, starting the game on a 9-1 run and leading 20-7 early in the second quarter on a Nick Singleton 3-pointer. The Whalers held Stratford to just one first-quarter field goal and held the burly 6-foot-5 Sherrod, the state's Gatorade Player of the Year, to three first-half points.

But with Dunn and classmate Malcolm Simmons (10 points) on the bench with foul trouble in the second quarter, Stratford began to chip away.

"(Simmons and Dunn) on the bench for that time span made a difference." New London coach Craig Parker said. "Malcolm played a heck of a game. The first game, (Sherrod) ate him up in New London. For the most part (Saturday), it was a pretty even matchup."

Simmons, who had 17 points and nine rebounds in New London's semifinal win on Tuesday, never backed down from Sherrod, who finished with just eight points, but had 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.

"He's a big, physical guy and he has all the right moves," Simmons said.

Stratford (27-0) cut the lead to three points at halftime, but New London junior Torin Childs-Harris (11 points, six rebounds, five steals) made a pair of coast-to-coast driving layups to push the lead back to nine in the third.

With the lead, New London got bogged down in their halfcourt sets and didn't take care of the ball enough.

"I took a few crazy shots," said Childs-Harris, who was just 4-for-18 from the floor. "I think I tried to lead my team a little too much. As a team, there were a lot of things we could have done better and built on. … We've had a lot of troubles keeping leads this year. We were trying to make smart decisions, but we thought too much at times. I can't say I wish I had this game back because it's over. I just think I could have done better."

Stratford, the only team to beat New London this year after a season-opening win in December, took its first lead with 5:17 left on a three-point play by Russell Payton and never trailed again. The Whalers tied it on a Dunn jumper, but Singleton missed a 3-point attempt and they turned the ball over on two straight possessions. New London had a chance to tie it with 9.2 seconds left, thanks to the Red Devils making just three of eight free throw attempts in the final minute, but Johnson Benjamin missed a deep 3-pointer and the Whalers were forced to foul.

New London got points from just five players and only two off the bench.

"I thought we battled and played a great game against a great team," Parker said. "I said before, if they beat us again, I'll tip my hat to them."