GROTON - Dave Cornish, the head coach of the New London boys basketball team, had heard that Kyaire Young had transferred into town from Queens, N.Y. last year but had yet to meet him.
And then Cornish got to see him play.
"I put him on the summer league team and put him with the young group, just to see how he'd mesh with them because we already had enough guys on the older summer league team," said Cornish about the 6-foot-5 forward. "And then I watched him and he threw down like three tremendous dunks. And he was the best player on the team.
"I'm like, ‘Okay, we've got something here.''
Young has helped change the game for the Whalers, as evidenced by his game-high 25 points in their 69-48 win over rival Fitch on Tuesday night, handing the latter its first Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I loss of the season.
New London (13-4, 2-2) was paced last season by the talented guard trio of then-seniors DaShaun Phillips and Savahn Warren as well as current senior J.J. Robinson. They led the team to the CIAC Division II final.
The Whalers still have good guard play, led by Robinson (nine points), but they're playing inside-out this season with Young being a dominant force who can slash to the rim and gobble up rebounds.
"I feel like I've brought energy," Young said. "I talk to my guys, bring them up when they feel down. ... I'm the piece that they were missing."
Cornish said, "He's a matchup nightmare for anybody in this league, to be honest with you (with) his size, what he can do. (He can) handle the ball, shoot the ball, defend (and) rebound."
Whalers' senior Jeremiah Ikpasa (13 points) also gave Fitch fits inside while senior guard Jamir Hall scored 10.
The Falcons beat New London the first time around 72-67 on Jan. 20.
The Whalers jumped the Falcons from the tip Tuesday night as they scored the game's first seven points and never trailed.
"They hit the glass," Fitch head coach Kareem Brown said about New London. "I thought we could have done a better job hitting the glass.
"We did a good job containing some of their guys but most importantly, they killed us on the glass."
Junior Cayden Simonds-Gaskin scored 24 for the Falcons (15-3, 4-1), and senior Xavier Goode added 13.
Fitch got as close as 43-40 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter, only to have Young end the period with a three-point play.
Young scored eight during a 12-0 run that pushed New London ahead 61-42 with just over four minutes left in the game.
Player of the Game
Kyaire Young, New London: The senior scored 10 of his game-high 25 in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a rout.
Quotable
"In this league, we should own the glass with these guys." - Dave Cornish, New London head coach.
New London 69, Fitch 48
NEW LONDON 16 14 16 23-69
FITCH 7 15 18 8-48
New London: JJ Robinson 4 0 1-1 9, Jamir Hall 2 2 0-0 10, Jeremiah Ikpasa 5 0 3-4 13, Kyaire Young 10 1 2-4 25, Isaiah Ikpasa 2 0 0-0 4, Akai Soria 1 0 2-3 4, Keyandre Dixon 2 0 0-0 4. Totals: 26 3 8-13 69.
Fitch: Cayden Simonds-Gaskin 3 4 6-6 24, Si'kis Reels 0 1 0-0 3, Xavier Goode 3 2 1-2 13, Charlie Gianacoplos 1 0 3-4 5, Joe Wronawski 0 0 0-0 0, Jemel Stone 0 1 0-0 3. Totals: 7 8 10-12 48.
3-point field goals: New London-Hall 2, Young. Fitch-Simonds-Gaskin 4, Goode 2, Reels, Stone.
This article originally published at Kyaire Young powers New London boys basketball over ECC rival Fitch: 'I've brought energy'.