Bunnell Boys High School Division III Champions
Jordan Ricketts Named Most Outstanding Player
By Wayne Thrall
Bunnell High School
Athletic Director
Bunnell 45, Lewis Mills 40
The fifth-seeded Bunnell entered Saturday’s CIAC Division III boys basketball title game with a 19-5 record, including tourney play. The second-seed Lewis Mills High School Spartans in Burlington (Regional School District 10 with Harwinton) entered at 19-4.
The title game, played at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, saw lead changed hands four times in the fourth quarter, the last on a putback by Bunnell junior Nathaniel Banton with 3:10 remaining. The Bulldogs (21-6) scored the game’s final six points.
In the third-quarter Bunnell lost a nine-point, third-quarter lead when the Spartans jumped ahead by one with 3:48 remaining when senior point guard Eli Pelletier drained a 3-point shot.
The Bulldogs did not cave. Instead, it was an opportunity to play their best defense of the season. Lewis Mills would not score from that point forward. Bunnell made stop after stop and found ways to generate enough points down the stretch to overtake the Spartans 45-40 for the second state title in school history.
Senior Jordan Ricketts, the game’s Most Outstanding Player, led Bunnell with 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting and also grabbed a team-best six rebounds. Jordan Pierce scored nine points and Karell Brown contributed seven.
