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After losing all five starters among the eight departing seniors from last year’s Class S semifinalist, St. Paul boys basketball head coach Steve Phelps said he didn’t know exactly what to expect from this year’s squad.
Playing in a new league that the squad whose teams the Falcons had little exposure to in the past only added to the air of uncertainty.
But the Falcons took flight in their Naugatuck Valley League debut, going 12-8 during the regular season, and Monday’s victory over Westbrook in the first round of the Class S state tournament gave the team “Another couple of bonus days” to keep playing, Phelps said.
Tonight, No. 12 St. Paul (13-9) will again be looking to extend its season by at least a couple of days when it travels to Durham to face No. 5 seed Coginchaug (15-6), an 85-59 winner over University High School of Hartford on Monday night. The game starts at 7 p.m.
“We began the year without really any ... expectations,” Phelps said after Monday night’s victory. “We’re tickled that we practice [last] night and then advance to play [Coginchaug tonight].”
Coginchaug has not only had an up and down season this year, it’s also had an unpredictable recent history in state tournament play.
It was the top seed in Class S in 2007, losing in overtime to eventual state champion East Windsor in the semifinals, after sending home Terryville via a 12-point decision in the quarterfinals.
In 2008, Coginchaug upset top-seeded Coventry in overtime in the second round before falling to Capital Prep in the quarterfinals. Last season, the Blue Devils beat Grasso Tech in the first round before being ousted by Stafford 55-53 in the second round. Stafford lost to eventual state champion Cromwell in the quarterfinals, 90-63.
The teams did not play any common opponents this season.
After playing a close contest in the opening round, Phelps said his team should be even better prepared to face its second round foe.
“We leaned an awful lot [Monday] by being involved in a battle of a game,” he said.
The fan support was tremendous, he added, and the players responded well in what was for most of them their first significant state tournament action.
“A lot of kids in that situation for first time really gave us an opportunity to advance,” Phelps said.
As far as the coaching staff, it’s as pleased as the players are to add a few more days to the season.
“It’s a great group of kids to be around,” Phelps said.
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Athletics 
