Tenney’s Big Monday Highlights Huge Performances on Local Hardwood

Wethersfield senior Derek Tenney scored a school record 51 points in a 90-84 win over Bloomfield last Monday night.

Stealing a line from the incomparable Sergio Dipp, Wethersfield senior Derek Tenney was ‘having the time of his life’ last Monday night when he scored a school record 51 points in a 90-84 overtime victory over Bloomfield at WHS.  

“It was definitely a once in a lifetime night for me. I’ve never had a night like that before,” said Tenney, “I was feeling good the whole night and all the adrenaline kicked in, especially because the fans got louder as the game went on. The atmosphere got better, and it pushed me to keep going and my teammates helped out a lot.”

“The fact that we won made it less of an individual accomplishment and made it more of a team thing. It made me feel much better that all on my teammates were celebrating a win with me too.”

Tenney was incredible all night long, also grabbing 15 rebounds to help the Eagles earn their fifth win of the season.

“They started to double team me a little bit more in the second half, but we started moving the ball around more. If I got it back and had one guy on me, I was going to the hoop. It opened up a lot more once we started to share the ball more in the second half and our team as a whole started to score more.”

The teams needed overtime to settle the score and he broke the 50-point barrier at the free throw line in the extra session.

“We had a few easy buckets to start overtime and made our free throws at the end. We didn’t miss many free throws at all,” recalled Tenney, who made 18-20 foul shots and the team shot 90% from the line overall, “In overtime Noel Lopez stepped up, Dante Burgos got steals on defense and we kept getting stops which sealed the game for us.”

After 36 exhausting minutes, the senior swingman knew he had scored a lot of points but didn’t realize how many until they made an announcement over the loud speakers shortly after the final buzzer sounded.

“They announced it and all of my teammates came over and congratulated me. Once we got in the locker room we celebrated as a team and celebrated the win too. We went about it as a team and not as one individual.”

The memorable scoring night was the cherry on top of a must-needed win for the Eagles, who lost a lot of talent to graduation following last season’s tourney appearance and have struggled with injuries this winter. Tenney has seen his role expanded drastically this winter and he’s logging a lot of minutes on a nightly basis to fill the voids.

“Last year having two all-conference players and one that was an all-state player on the team, I was in the shadows a little bit and I didn’t have to do as much on offense or defense. The guys on the team were looking up to the other players, but now that the spotlight in on me and I’m just trying to do everything that I can to help the team out.”

Last season’s all-state player was Michael Mozzicato, who is now playing for Southern Connecticut State University. He had held the previous the school record, scoring 42 points against Windsor in last year’s season-opener.

“His dad came up after the game and he had Mikey on the phone. We were talking and laughing about it, that I broke his record. It was all love between us, there were no hurt feelings. I’ll only bring it up every once in a while,” said a smiling Tenney.

The 90 points as a team were also a season-high for the Eagles, who have shaken off an 0-3 start and are still in contention for a tournament berth. 

“I think this could be a turning point in our season. We’ve had some selfishness in the locker room and it’s shown during the games at points, but I think in the last game we shared the ball more and we got easier open looks,” added Tenney, “Every though I was scoring, my teammates were getting me open. They helped me get open and I was able to make the shots. They were never negative and they just kept telling me to do my thing. That helped keep me going.”

Tenney’s career night on the hardwood is due to the long hours devoted to the sport he’s played since elementary school. But believe it or not, basketball is his second passion behind baseball.

“I started playing baseball when I was really young. My dad played in college and he put a ball in my hands when I was younger and I just rolled with it.”

As a junior he was an all-conference third baseman for an Eagles’ baseball team that captured their first state title, trouncing Windsor 16-4 last spring.  

“We have a lot of retuning guys. Obviously we lost a few big pieces, we lost our best pitcher, but we have a lot of good pitching coming back. Our rotation looks deeper this year and we should have a really good team this spring.”

The multisport star has already committed to continuing his baseball career at the University of Hartford where he’ll play for head coach Justin Blood, who by the end of this spring will have the most wins in the program’s history.

“I had some interest from other colleges, but I never had any other official offers. UHart was my first one and coach Blood seemed real interested and he’s a really good coach,” stated Tenney, who is looking forward to the next challenge, “Obviously in high school it’s a little different. Some guys sign up for the sport for the fun of it but when you get to the next level, especially Division I, you know that every guy wants to be there. Everyone is competing every single day.”

But before he finishes his senior year on the diamond and leaves for Hartford, there’s some unfinished business of the courts.

The Eagles have four games remaining as they make a push at their seventh consecutive state tournament appearance.  

This Thursday, Feb 7 is a road game at New Britain, tipping at 6:45, followed by back-to-back home games vs Rocky Hill (2/12) and Tolland (2/15). The team finished the regular season at Newington (2/19).

Other Hardwood Heroes

Kya Mayo- (Middletown): Mayo had her best three-game stretch of the season, scoring a season-high 22 points in a win 63-54 win over Manchester and then added 13 more as Middletown outlasted Bristol Eastern 64-61 in overtime at MHS, helping the tourney-bound Blue Dragons earn wins nine and ten. The sophomore then scored a season-high 24 points in a loss to Plainville on Friday.

Mason Romano- (Newington): Romano helped lead a comeback against Windsor last Monday, scoring 34 point, but the Indians fell 84-82 to a Warriors team that hasn’t lost in the state of Connecticut this season.  The Indians got back on the winning track last Thursday with a 64-43 victory at Bulkeley, earning their 10th win on the season.

Vanessa Stolstajner- (Cromwell): Stolstajner had a dominant two-game stretch, totaling 50 points in convincing wins last Monday and Thursday. The junior scored 23 points and posted three steals in 64-42 win over Coginchaug Regional and then added 27 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks in a 72-40 victory over North Branford. The wins improved the Panthers to 14-2.

Riley Donovan- (Rocky Hill): Donovan scored 22 points, which include a thunderous dunk, in a 62-56 win over Hartford Public last Friday night. The senior’s efforts helped the Terriers overcome a large second half deficit to capture their fifth win of the year.

Gabe Charleston- (Cromwell): Charleston seems to get better each week and he continued to terrorize opponents last week, helping the Panthers win three more games and remain unbeaten at 16-0. The senior started with a 14 point, 10 rebound performance in a 54-38 victory over Coginchaug Regional on Tuesday and then had 10 points, six rebounds, and five blocks in a 78-35 win over Westbrook on Thursday. He capped off his brilliant four-day stretch with 17 points in a 71-32 win over North Branford on Friday.

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