Strong finishes make season exciting

There's an old saying that goes something along the lines of "it's not how you start it's how you finish."

Based on the way the basketball season is playing out, that very well may be the case.

Take a look at the boys team from Brien McMahon. They started off the year 3-5. Since then, they've won seven of nine, and were in prime position to grab the final spot in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference playoffs.

The girls team from McMahon started off similarly inconsistent, starting off the year 5-7, before running off win after win to finish 12-8 and in the FCIAC tournament at the No. 8 seed.

If the boys win on Wednesday at home against Stamford (after press time), both will have made the tournament on the final day, both making it as No. 8 seeds (both may have wound up facing St. Joseph as well).

And who knows what the Norwalk boys team could be capable of now that they qualified for the state tournament with a dominating win after three straight losses. If they pull out another win Wednesday and head into states on a winning streak with Evan Kelley playing like the best player in the county, the Bears could do some damage as well.

It goes to show though that judgements really can't be made until the season is over. Early in the season, McMahon (boys version) did not look like a team to be reckoned with. Captain Joey Tomberlin was battling a foot injury, and the top FCIAC teams popped up on the schedule one after the other. Now? A chance to make playoff noise is on the horizon.

The opposite could have been true for any of these teams as well. They all could have gotten their wins early in the season, struggled in the middle, but still made the playoffs.

But momentum and perception can go a long way toward determining who the best teams are. Who's to say that either one of the city's boys teams couldn't win a game in the state playoffs, or McMahon in the FCIACs if they make it there?

One team would have the superstar player (Kelley) and one team would have all the momentum in the world and a group of shooters that have been on fire the last two weeks or so.

It's not even like either team has to look far for inspiration. Anyone remember last year's state baseball playoffs and the run the underdog Senators went on then?

Maybe the city has another miracle run in them this winter.

-- Patrick McNamee can be reached at patrick.mcnamee@scni.com.