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Prep Pounds Ludlowe in Fairfield Tourney

Don't look now, but the Fairfield Prep boys basketball team is 5-0 — and it's just getting warmed up. For a team with more questions than answers entering the 2010-11 season, first year head coach Leo Redgate has a high-tempo squad that wore down the competition in the first round of the annual Fairfield Holiday Classic.

Tied with Ludlowe at 38 after three, the Jesuits came alive in the fourth quarter behind an electric performance by senior Robbie Bier, who scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the final frame. A raucous Prep crowd was on its feet the entire game, motivating the Jesuits to a 60-49 win.

"I told the guys when it was tied that it was our game," Redgate said. "Our guys are in great shape so we finish strong. We have very good chemistry, and we're really coming together as a team."

Ludlowe got off to a rocky start, but quickly and ferociously climbed back into the game in the third quarter. The Falcons scored 10 points on five straight possessions in just under 40 seconds. Kevin Bentivegna hit two three-pointers, drawing a foul on the first to complete a four-point play. Ludlowe had suddenly built a 35-29 lead.

Prep had seen enough. The Jesuits soon employed a full-court press on Ludlowe and ramped up their speed. Prep finished the quarter on a 9-3 run to tie the game. Its energy never waned in the fourth quarter, led by Bier's point explosion.

"The nerves got to me and the whole team I think for a while," Bier said. "Once we got to the fourth quarter, I settled down and shot the way I'm supposed to."

Prep will take on Notre Dame-Fairfield in the final of the Fairfield Holiday Classic for the second straight year to defend its town title Thursday at 8 p.m. The Jesuits have scored at least 60 points in all five of their games this season.

Ludlowe falls to 1-3 and will take on FCIAC rival Warde in Thursday's 6 p.m. consolation game.

Who are you rooting for in the town match-ups?

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