Boys’ basketball team continues good stretch of play

The CHS boys’ basketball team had another good week of play last week, beating Attleboro on the road 69-65 and playing very well in a 64-52 loss to a tough Franklin team despite missing three regulars.

Senior Colby Gavigan (Mike Barucci photo)

The Bulldogs are now 8-5 and have seven games left before the playoffs.

Without Sam Larson, Anthony Bires, and Andrew Mansfield, the Bulldogs stood toe-to-toe for most of the game against the Panthers, who have won nine consecutive games, including a win over league leader Mansfield.

Canton had two slumps in the game and the Panthers took advantage of both, converting steals into fast breaks and controlling the offensive boards. The Bulldogs were down by just three late in the third quarter when Franklin reeled off an 11-0 run, caused by four consecutive Bulldog turnovers.

But the Bulldogs hung tough and were very much in the game at 53-48 with 3:28 left in the fourth. Unfortunately, they then went cold, mustering only four points the rest of the way.

Joe McCabe had an outstanding game for the Bulldogs, scoring 21 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Colby Gavigan had 14 points, and senior Demetrius Jean came off the bench to score seven points with two three-point shots. Sophomore Tristen Mullen also played well in extended minutes, contributing solid defense.

“Canton did a great job against us,” said Franklin head coach Dean O’Connor. “They play very hard and [head coach Ryan Gordy] is doing a great job over there. They matched our intensity, and it just came down to a couple of our runs. They will win a lot of games playing like this.”

Despite the loss, Gordy said his team is emerging as a resilient and mentally tough group.

“The thing I know about Franklin is how they have a winning program every year and how mentally tough they are,” he said. “We played just as hard as they did. We never gave up. The players are mentally tough, and I am very proud to be their coach.”

Canton’s win over Attleboro earlier in the week was its second on the road against a large school (Kelly-Rex) opponent. The Bulldogs trailed by a point at the end of the first quarter, but had a great second quarter to take a 35-27 lead at the half. They maintained the lead in the third quarter and then held on to win despite getting outscored 26-23 in the fourth.

McCabe had 17 points to lead a well-balanced attack. Bires added 15 off the bench and Scott Levy finished with 14. Chris Murray added 11 points, including eight of 11 from the free-throw line. Gordy also praised the defensive play of Mansfield.

“We got the stops we needed on defense and executed our offense very well,” he said. “We hit a lot of threes and shot very well from the free-throw line.”

Gordy hopes to get Larson, Bires, and Mansfield back for this week’s games, including a home game Tuesday against Sharon, an away game Friday at Foxboro, and a home game next Monday against Southeastern Vo-Tech.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Feb 1 2012. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.