Berlin Boys Crush Platt 78-50

The last time Platt faced Berlin at Gibney Gymnasium the teams needed double overtime to settle things. Tuesday’s Class L first-round matchup turned out to be the antithesis of that contest.
 
Max DeLorenzo had 23 points, Mike Rector added 21 and fifth-seeded Berlin rolled to a 78-50 victory over No. 28 seed Platt in Berlin.
 
Tom Undercuffler chipped in 10 points for the Redcoats (18-5), who scored the first eight points of the game and led 22-5 after one quarter. Berlin, which will host No. 12 seed Waterford on Thursday, shot 75 percent (15 of 20) in the first half and led by at least 20 points for most of the game.
 
That was the product of flawless execution in the half court. The ball rarely touched the floor, as the Redcoats dissected the Panthers’ man-to-man defense.
 
“These kids love playing with each other,” Berlin coach Mike Veneziano said of his team’s court awareness. “This is the most unselfish group I’ve ever coached. They really look to make the extra pass all the time and that’s the reason for our success. We don’t have a kid scoring 35 points a game.”
 
Berlin's balanced attack turned the game into a blowout early. It was a much different outcome then their Jan. 14 meeting when Berlin prevailed 42-38 in double overtime (they also won the rematch 51-30 on Feb. 11).
 
“The first time we played them they played a very good 3-2 (zone),” Veneziano said. “It was something we hadn’t seen. They actually covered the corner with the wings and it gave us a lot of problems.”
 
This time it was Berlin’s 3-2 zone that gave the Panthers fits.  Caleb Edwards had 15 points and Tyshon Shields scored 12 before fouling out late for Platt (8-13), whose first five possessions resulted in three missed shots and two turnovers.
 
“The 3-2 has been our bread-and-butter all season,” Veneziano said.
 
The most discouraging thing for Platt was it knew what was coming.
 
“We’ve practiced two week against the 3-2 and they just came out flat on offense,” Platt coach Chris Hanson said.
 
The Redcoats, meanwhile, had their inside and outside game working.  Rector had three 3-pointers and DeLorenzo, who’s headed to UConn on a football scholarship next season, scored 14 points to help Berlin to a 40-17 halftime advantage.

“Offensively this was the best we played,” Veneziano said. “Sometimes we struggle scoring points. Michael gave us a big lift hitting those early 3-pointers. I think that loosened everybody up.”
 
So what does a coach say when the game is basically over at halftime?
 
“I kept it very positive at halftime,” Hanson said. “I told them just go and play defense hard. They are going to let you back in the game; it’s a game of runs. Unfortunately it was just too much (to come back from). ”