The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1942-02-26
RED DEVILS IN
1858 VICTORY
OVER HARTFORD
Five Man Team Averages
10 Points Per Man; Gott=
lieb WelI=Guarded

Hartford. Feb. 26-Five West Ha-
ven Red Devil ironlnen cut loose
with an unanswered drive down the
home stretch to knock off the Gems
80 to GO last night In the first of
their State Basketball league play
off series at the Hopkins Street
court.
Played at blistering pace all The
way, the game was replete with
sensational shooting and plays but
even more thrills came from a ding
dong duel of evenly matched clubs
which saw the lead change hands
almost as frequently as possession
of the ball for most of the final
half.
The battle went right down to the
final quarter for decision and it
was then that the visitors, playing
without relief, staged spectacular
rally that the Gems couldn't match.
In fact they faded badly and. in
the remaining minutes, the visitors
racked up points in machine gun
fashion to secure the wide margin
at the finish.
Good Guard
Beaten in three Of their four
meetings during the regular sea-
son, the Devils had the answer to
the Hartford problems last night in
George Fasulas, young guard from
New Haven, playing his second
campaign in the circuit.
Fasulas was assigned to handle
Leo Gottlieh, the Gems ace and to
say he did a whale of a, job would
be putting it mildly. He checked
Gottleib SO tightly that the former
New Yorker was held to II points
and got all four of his field goals
in the first half. The guarding
tenacity also hampered Gottlieb's
generally brilliant task of setting up
plays.
Fasula's great play was not linn
tied to defense, either. He handled
the ball Sticky and shook loose for
onehanderS often enough to rack up
18 points, third highest individual
total of the ball game.
Rocky Petrafessa and Chubby |
were the other Devils |
setting hot scoring pace. The
former threw in % points and
netted II. Dick Kelly
was high for the Gems with 10.
Move Ahead
The Devils swung quickly into
the lead and, after the Gems tied it
up at 15-all, spurted to hold a 81
Is advantage at the quarter mark.
They were ahead 1898 at the in
PERMISSION despite several local bids |
which fell short.
Then, at the start of the third
period, the Devils had their only
bad spell of the contest and the
Gems climbed up until Leo Levine
threw hoop for a 48-47 lead, the |
first of the night for the Savitt |
men. The lead changed hands six |
times before Malinconicos hoop |
put the Devils up 57-55 at the close
of the stanZa.
Fasulas opened the final period
with hoop and the rivals matched
points until Malinconico made it |
62-57. Levine came back with a
two-pointer, but the Devils threw
in six straight points to lead $3.50 |
when they called for time with Ais
left. Kelly got basket but Mucha
and Fasulas widened the gap and,
after Levine tailed the Gems final |
field goal, Petrafessa and Fasulas !,
rolled the score up to 80 before the |
whistle came.
The foul shooting was positively
brilliant. The Gems converted 13
out Of Is yet were surpassed by the
Devils mark of 16 out of 10.
The clubs clash in the second
game at West Haven Monday.
The Manchester Greens whipped
AL Towards Seven 43 to 80 in the