Boys’ basketball clinches D3 playoff berth with 3 wins in 7 days

Senior captain Scott Levy gets his shot off surrounded by three Blue Hills defenders. (Mike Barucci photo)

It was a very successful week for the CHS boys’ basketball team as the Bulldogs won three out of four games and also qualified for the Division 3 south sectional tournament.

As of Sunday night, Canton had a 7-4 record with nine games remaining and was still undefeated against Division 3 and 4 opponents.

Last week, Canton beat Blue Hills at home 45-42, upset Oliver Ames on the road with a comeback victory 69-66, lost to Stoughton at home 61-38, and dominated Fairhaven at home 60-40.

Now that the team has qualified for the state tournament, head coach Ryan Gordy said the team is setting a new goal of finishing with a .500 record or better. The last time CHS topped the .500 mark for the season was in 1996.

“We are out to improve each game,” said Gordy, “and although each game is very important to us, the OA win was a good win for us because it was on the road, we came back to win, and it was against a good, tough opponent. I would say the biggest improvement this week has been the development of the bench. Our second unit is productive and contributing valuable minutes.”

Leading the second unit is senior Anthony Bires, and lately, junior center Andrew Mansfield, senior guard Demitrius Jean, and sophomore guard Tristen Mullen have seen a lot more action. Freshman guard Paul Swart scored his first varsity points against Stoughton and contributed six more in Sunday’s win over Fairhaven. Gordy said Swart, who projects as the team’s “point guard of the future,” will split time between the JV and varsity teams after being promoted from the freshman squad.

The Bulldogs closed out the week with a flourish on Sunday with a convincing 60-40 win over Fairhaven as a pressing, swarming Canton defense collected 16 steals, including 13 in the first half. Canton built a 50-24 lead by the end of the third quarter, and Gordy then turned to his second unit for the entire fourth quarter.

The starting five played very well, led by McCabe with 21 points and Sam Larson with 12. Scott Levy, Colby Gavigan, and McCabe each had each more than three steals.

The other major highlight of the week was the comeback victory against Oliver Ames. OA led at the half 31-30, but Canton forged ahead at the end of the third quarter (51-46) and held on for the three-point win. McCabe had an excellent shooting night, finishing with 19 points, and the Bulldogs also got major contributions from Larson with 13 points, Levy with 10, and Chris Murray, who tallied nine points, including a decisive basket with 36 seconds left to seal the win for Canton.

On Friday, Stoughton (9-1) used its quickness, athleticism, and height to take a commanding halftime lead of 31-19. The closest Canton could get in the second half was 11 midway through the third quarter as Bires hit several baskets. Gordy said Canton had some good looks at the basket but had a cold shooting night.

“We missed shots we usually make,” he said. “[Stoughton junior forward] Aaron Calixte is as good a guard as I have seen and he hurt us with 21 points.”

Earlier in the week against Blue Hills, the Bulldogs prevailed in a tight game as McCabe hit a three-pointer down the stretch and Murray and Mansfield scored in the last minute of the game. Murray led the team with 15 points and McCabe added 13. Mansfield played his best game of the year as he hit for nine points, blocked a few shots, and was active on the defensive boards.

This week Canton was due to visit Attleboro on Wednesday and then host Franklin on Friday.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 25 2012. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.