Boys hoop opens season with exciting home win
By Mike Berger
Junior captain Devin Foster will be a key cog in the Bulldogs’ offense this season. (Mike Barucci photo)
The CHS boys varsity basketball team opened the 2017-18 season with an exciting 53-50 win at home over Attleboro last week. The Bulldogs then traveled to Mansfield to take on the defending Kelley-Rex Division champions and gave them a battle before falling in the end, 67-59.
CHS head coach Ryan Gordy has been encouraged by the team’s start and is excited by a roster that has embraced the notion of “positionless basketball.”
“We don’t have a true center, but we have a lot of highly skilled athletes who can play the perimeter or pack it down the middle,” he said. “We are a three-point shooting team. We spread it around the court and we have space to penetrate. It’s a fun brand and exciting to watch.”
Against Attleboro, Canton led at the end of the first three quarters and withstood a late Bombadier rally in the fourth despite going cold from the field. Tony Harris led the Bulldogs with 18 points, followed by Austin Maffie with 11 points, Devin Foster with 10, and Jake Verille with nine.
The Bulldog defense also excelled in the matchup, holding Attleboro’s 6’6”, 250-pound sophomore center Qualeem Charles to 10 points.
At Mansfield Friday night, Canton led at the end of the first period 18-17, trailed at the half 32-28, but pulled ahead 47-44 after three periods.
The fourth quarter saw increased intensity from both teams, but Hornets forward John McCoy took over the game, scoring 13 points as Gordy was forced to switch defensive assignments with Harris in foul trouble. Harris led the team in scoring with 23 points and Foster chipped in with 13.
“Mansfield has won the league six straight years and Friday night they taught us how to execute down the stretch in a tight situation and how to close out a game,” said Gordy. “It was a lesson for us, but we are trending upward.”
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37846
Posted by Mike Berger
on Dec 23 2017. Filed under High School, Sports.
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