Boys’ hoop team snaps 5-game skid, awaits playoffs
By Mike BergerThe CHS boys’ varsity basketball team ended its regular season on a high note, snapping a five-game losing streak with a 40-23 win at Fairhaven on Sunday.
Senior captain Chris Murray (Mike Barucci photo)
The win evened the Bulldogs’ record to 10-10 and gave Canton its highest winning percentage in many years. The Bulldogs will now practice for a full week during school vacation, including a scrimmage against Avon, as they await the announcement of playoff seedings on Friday, February 24.
Head coach Ryan Gordy said the .500 record accomplishes one of the Bulldogs’ major goals this season and also sets them up for a better first-round matchup than in previous years. Gordy said Canton could be seeded anywhere from 11th to 15th with the chance that they could even host a preliminary round game.
Gordy said while the Fairhaven win wasn’t “pretty” offensively, the Bulldogs did play great defense and held a lead throughout the game, including 8-6 at the end of the first quarter and 18-13 at the half.
Chris Murray scored 14 points to lead the attack, while the team also got a much better effort from the reserves, including Andrew Mansfield, Tristen Mullen, and newcomer Dexter Green. Green, a junior, played in only his second varsity game and eighth game overall after recuperating from a rotator cuff injury from football.
On Friday night, Canton fell on the road to Mansfield 71-58 in the Hockomock League crossover game, but to the Bulldogs’ credit, they were able to claw back into the game after an atrocious first half.
Down 36-18 to start the third quarter, the visitors embarked on an impressive run, fueled by Scott Levy’s defensive intensity (six steals) and Joe McCabe’s hot shooting hand. McCabe scored 14 of his 34 points in the quarter as the Bulldogs got it to within seven at 50-43.
The deficit was as low as five at one point, but Mansfield used its inside presence and size to regain the momentum by the end of the game.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs got excellent defense from the unit of Levy, McCabe, Murray, Colby Gavigan, and Sam Larson. McCabe was also impressive as a distributor, feeding his teammates for easy layups. Murray was equally impressive on both sides of the court.
After the game, Mansfield coach Mike Vaughn credited the Bulldogs for not giving up at the half and picking up the defensive intensity. “They had us playing on our heels,” he said. “We had to fight back. Canton did a nice job of neutralizing us.”
Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs lost at Stoughton 72-52 in a game in which junior guard Aaron Calixte scored his 1,000th career point.
The Black Knights led at the end of all four quarters, including 18-11 at the end of the first, 30-24 at the half, and 49-38 at the end of the third.
“Calixte is a big time player,” said Gordy. “He was a man on a mission to get his 1,000th point. He is a special player and we had no answers for him. We tried everything. We played well, but he was just too much.”
McCabe was the high scorer for the Bulldogs with 18 points, and Larson and Murray added 13 apiece.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11789
Posted by Mike Berger
on Feb 22 2012. Filed under High School, Sports.
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