Arkansas-Bound Toure Leads Notre Dame-West Haven Past East Catholic In CIAC DI Quarterfinals

NEW BRITAIN — In a battle between two top 10 teams in the state of Connecticut, the No. 6 Notre Dame-West Haven Green Knights defeated the No. 3 East Catholic Eagles behind Arkansas-bound Abdou Toure’s 28 points in the CIAC Division I quarterfinals.

A Packed Gym Was on Hand to See the Showdown

Friday night's game was held in a sold-out gym at New Britain High School because East Catholic's home gym lacked the space for such a large crowd. Toure and the Green Knights made their first trip up to the Central Connecticut area and performed well in front of the New Britain area crowd.

Tourre Got His Big Night Underway Early

Toure scored nine of his team’s 15 points in the first quarter as Notre Dame led East Catholic 15-8. Toure hit a three-pointer while being fouled and made a buzzer-beater three at the end of the quarter.

“Those plays were really important, those build momentum, we needed those,” said Toure. “That three at the end of the first quarter was big, and had momentum going into the second quarter.”

The Lead Grew to 10 in the Second Quarter

East Catholic scored the first four of six points to begin the second quarter before Notre Dame got five-straight points from Toure including his third trey of the first half, giving the Green Knights a 22-12 lead.

Toure had 18 points in the first half, as East Catholic senior Sincere Folk had 10, including a contested layup over Toure in the final minute of the half. West Haven led 30-21 at the break.

A Buzzer-Beater Pulls Notre Dame Closer at the End of Three

The third quarter was played evenly, with each team scoring 10 points. A buzzer-beater by Notre Dame senior Tyrell Bryant made it 40-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Notre Dame got a three from senior Landon Krygier to start the fourth, the Eagles responded with back-to-back threes from junior Rocco Reilly and senior Joey Montalvo, making it a six-point game.

Another three from Montalvo with around two minutes left made it a 48-42 game, but East Catholic never got the lead under six, and had to use multiple fouls in the last minute of the game. Notre Dame West Haven closed the game on a 12-5 run in the final minutes to earn a 60-47 victory.

Abdou Toure Looks To End West Haven’s Season In Semifinals

Following Notre Dame’s victory, they’ll face No. 2 West Haven for a fourth time this season, meeting in the Division I semifinals on either Monday or Tuesday. West Haven defeated No. 7 Ridgefield 66-56 in its quarterfinal matchup.

Notre Dame has won all three matchups against West Haven, including two regular-season matchups (77-42, 72-57) and a win in the SCC semifinals (75-52.)

Toure maintains a continued locked-in mindset as he and the Green Knights look to end West Haven’s season in the semifinals.

“I’m just trying to end their high school career, let’s just end them,” said Toure. “That’s my thought. We played them three times, it’s going to be hard beating a team a fourth time. We’re going into that game locked in like every other game. The last three games we’ve been locked in, playing hard, running the floor, making shots, making plays, and just, playing an all-around game.”