TORRINGTON >> It rained 3-pointers in the Connie Donahue Gymnasium Tuesday evening on the way to an 85-40 Torrington boys basketball rout over visiting Woodland.
The Red Raiders (7-7) put down 12 treys from beyond the arc.
Seven of them came from senior guard Zak Mancini in the first half. His 25 first-half points launched Torrington to a 30-point halftime lead, 50-20.
Mancini earned the spotlight, in a first-half shooting duel with Woodland freshman Zack Bedryczuk.
Bedryczuk stuck the first three at 4-3 Torrington.
The pair traded long shots for most of the half. Mancini had the freshman beat 4-3 in the first quarter, then nailed one with a Hawk in his face in the final seconds of the half, pulling ahead 7-5 in the duel.
Bedryczuk went on for one more three in the final period, bringing his count to six and a team-high 18 points.
With a 30-point lead, Mancini had one more shot early in the third period, then sat with most of the other regulars for the rest of the game.
“(Coach Eric Mancini) just lets me go,” grinned Mancini when asked if he had a second-half shot count in which to try for the Torrington game-record nine 3-pointers, shared by four Raider alumni.
With or without the record, Mancini earned Woodland coach Tom Hunt’s applause.
“(He’s) one of the best shooters in the league,” Hunt said. “Other teams better realize that when they guard him.”
While Bedryczuk had all but five of his team’s points by the half, the rest of the Red Raiders gave Mancini spectacular help, especially on defense.
“We had a good practice yesterday,” said Coach Gamari. “We were energized. The kids were into it. The second unit was too.”
So, while the night’s two big shooters bombed away, Mancini and his teammates played ball-hawking defense, joined in for fast breaks and threes of their own.
At 15-8 in the first quarter, after Mancini’s third three, David White (14 points) hit a three, fed Jake Boccio for a five-footer, then turned a steal into a sprint to the basket, 22-8.
Sophomore Jordan Henneberry showed up looking more poised than he has all season, wrapping two three-point plays around a Mancini put-back in the second quarter.
“I knew I needed to help out because (senior forward Connor Finn) was sick,” said Henneberry.
Sick or not, Finn was a ball-hawking standout himself on defense.
With most of the Torrington starters on the bench for the third period, the second unit continued the whipping, 18-5.
Despite their great night, the Raiders are almost certain to feel Woodland’s pain Friday when they travel to No. 1 Sacred Heart in Waterbury.
The Hawks, 3-11, are home against Naugatuck.
Torrington 85, Woodland 40
At Torrington High School
Woodland 11 9 5 15 – 40
Torrington 26 24 18 17 – 85
Woodland (40): Eric Beutel 4-0-8; Tyler Collodel 1-0-2; Rich Rousseau 4-0-8; Jon Scirpo 0-1-1; Zack Bedryczuk 6-0-18; Jack LaPerriere 0-0-0; Dylan Sender 0-0-0; Brendan Rowley 1-0-2; Ryan Swanson 0-1-1; Totals: 16-2-40.
Torrington (85): Richy Rodrguez 2-0-5; Zak Mancini 8-2-25; Nick Dalla Valle 3-0-7; Jason Vinisko 4-0-10; Connor Finn 2-0-4; Joel Villaneuva3-1-7; Jake Boccio 2-2-6; Jordan Henneberry 2-3-7; David White 6-1-14; Totals: 32-8-85.
3-point goals: W – Bedryczuk 6. T – Rodriguez; Mancini 7; Dalla Valle; Vinisko 2; White.
Records: Woodland 3-11; Torrington 7-7.