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Notre Dame-West Haven's Kadrian Reeves (2) drives past West Haven's K'naan Morris (11) during their match up Thursday, February 12, 2026 at Notre Dame-West Haven High School. (Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media)
WEST HAVEN - In the first meeting of the battle of West Haven on Dec. 23, Notre Dame boys basketball jumped out to a quick lead and won by 35 points. Round two was a bit different.
In a five-point game with less than five minutes to go, the No. 1 Green Knights went on a 14-4 run to defeat No. 6 West Haven 72-57 at Notre Dame High School on Thursday evening.
The Green Knights, who have not lost at home since 2018, won their seventh straight contest to improve to 16-3. Notre Dame also extended its in-state win streak to 29, with its last loss coming at Hillhouse in January 2025.
The Green Knights had to do things a little differently against their rivals Thursday when star Abdou Toure picked up his third foul with 2:39 left in the first quarter and his fourth foul with 2:17 left in the third.
With Toure out, Kadrian Reeves picked up the slack with a team-high 20 points.
"I have been saying it for a long time," Notre Dame coach Jason Shea said. "KK (Reeves) is one of the best three point guards in the state. We're not surprised by it. I think it's helped us the last five games without Abdou (Toure). We've been used to it, so I was very proud of him to step up in this game. He did a great job."
The frenetic pace of the Westies and the absence of Toure allowed West Haven to go into halftime even at 33. The Green Knights switched to a zone defense in the third quarter, and took a 55-49 lead to the fourth.
"Well, we came out in zone, which we haven't played much of all year, because of the foul trouble," Shea said of the third quarter. "I thought we did a decent job of just slowing the pace and fouling less. That allowed us to get out on the break more. I thought we did a nice job at halftime."
West Haven did not get closer, as Toure entered the game with 4:31 remaining and the Green Knights closed the contest with their decisive run.
"Like I said in December, we are going to be a better team the next time we see them," West Haven coach Tyrese Sullivan said after his team's 13-game winning streak was snapped, falling to 16-2. "When we see them again, we are going to be a better team, and when we see them again, we are going to be a better team. That's what I foresee.
"We'll be back. It's a regular season game that we wanted. I don't remember the last time anyone has won in here. The odds were stacked against us, and we were that close."
The Westies got as close as 62-57 on a bucket by Jordan Sirabionian, but the Green Knights scored the final 10 points of the game, including six by Landon Krygier to give him 1,002 points for his career.
Toure injured his quadricep in the first quarter against Branford on Jan. 21, sat the next four games, and returned to action in Notre Dame's last contest against Wilbur Cross.
The Notre Dame senior star, headed to Arkansas next season, finished with 11 points Thursday.
"We have enough depth," Shea said. "We showed that the last five or six games, but we have shown that in the past. We've had these situations before. This group has been together for years. We've played without (Toure) because of foul trouble, and we've played without him when he's been hurt. We don't like playing without him, but we can do it. There are plenty of guys out there who can step up and make plays."
Reeves scored the first six points of the game, as the Green Knights jumped out to an 8-1 lead. The pesky Westies got to within 20-18 on a pair of free throws by Loshon Roman, but baskets by Eli Ssenyange and Quincy Dormevil extended the Notre Dame lead to six points.
"It was a rival game," Reeves said. "We knew they were going to play hard. We came and responded to them playing hard first."
A basket by Reeves and a 3-pointer by Toure started the third quarter, before a 3-pointer by Roman got West Haven as close as 42-39. A dunk by Aaron Johnson got West Haven to within 47-44 with 2:55 left in the third, but the Westies never got within three points again.
"We have a lot of depth on our team," Reeves said. "We have eight seniors and some juniors. We just had to step up this game. Everybody had to step up."
Sirabionian had a game-high 24 points for West Haven, while Johnson finished with nine points.
Krygier finished with 11 points for the Green Knights, and Ssenyange added nine.
Player of the Game
Kadrian Reeves, Notre Dame:The junior finished with 20 points, including 13 in the third quarter when the Green Knights extended their lead.
Quotable
"We've got 10 or 11 guys who can really make a difference in a game. We trust those guys, and we just go with the hot hands on any given night. I thought they did try to push tempo, but we're comfortable with that pace too. Tonight, it was just better for us to get settled in." - Notre Dame coach Jason Shea.
Notre Dame-West Haven 72, West Haven 57
WEST HAVEN 18 15 16 8-57
ND-WEST HAVEN 24 9 22 17-72
West Haven: Brandon Bellamy 0 1 0-0 3, K'naan Morris 1 2 0-0 8, Jordan Sirabionian 7 0 10-13 24, Loshon Roman 1 1 3-6 8, Aaron Johnson 3 1 0-0 9, Trew Kitson 1 0 1-2 3, Ricardo Harris 1 0 0-0 2. Totals:14 5 14-21 57.
Notre Dame: Abdou Toure 2 1 4-4 11, Landon Krygier 2 1 4-4 11, Quincy Dormevil 3 0 0-0 6, Jonathan Jones 3 0 2-2 8, Kadrian Reeves 6 2 2-3 20, George Ganim 1 0 0-0 2, Eli Ssenyange 2 1 2-4 9, Tyrell Bryant 0 0 2-2 2, Jovan Lakaj 1 0 1-2 3. Totals: 20 5 17-21 72.
Team records: West Haven 16-2, ND-West Haven 16-3.
This article originally published at No. 1 Notre Dame-West Haven boys basketball shows depth in victory over No. 6 West Haven.
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