CHS boys basketball tops Randolph for season’s 1st win

Similar to what happened in late 2023, the CHS boys basketball team began jelling around the December holiday break and started to play a better brand of basketball following the Snowden Milton Holiday Tournament.

The Bulldogs finished third in the tournament this season and came close to qualifying for the final, losing by one point (53-52) to Hanover on Saturday but then dominating Randolph 72-37 on Sunday afternoon for its first win of the season.

This year’s roster consists of Derek Gerard, Wesley Mui, Stiles Tchouageum, Anthony Diletizia, JJ Faulk, Vlad Francoeur, Zach Sanon, Elias Palacios, Jack Feeney, Ryan Maxis, Miles Jereb, Chris Pirrera and Ben Secord. Team captains are Gerard, Mui and Diletizia, all seniors.

The Bulldogs have been competitive since their season opener on December 16. Despite losing by 20 to Attleboro, they bounced back to almost knock off Sharon, losing 48-43. The team then lost to Foxboro 62-53 followed by the one-point loss to Hanover.

Head coach Dan Kiser said there is only one member of the team, Diletizia, who has considerable varsity experience, with Mui also seeing some minutes last year. Kiser said he predominately has last year’s JV roster and the players are still learning how to play varsity basketball.

“The good thing is we have accomplished a lot in 27 days and the best is yet to come,” he said.

The win against Randolph was Canton’s most complete game of the season as they combined tenacious defense with good execution on offense. Faulk was Canton’s leading scorer with 15 points followed by Diletizia with 13. Also chipping in were Jereb with nine points, Francoeur with eight, Mui with seven, and Shannon with six.

Kiser said the team executed a strong full-court defense, which ignited the offense and led Canton to its highest point total of the season.

Hanover was a dogfight as the Bulldogs were challenged by a bigger, more physical team. Canton fell behind by 14 points but cut the deficit to five in the last minute of play. The Bulldogs had a shot to win the game in the last 20 seconds, but a three-point attempt at the buzzer fell off the iron.

Still, Kizer said the Bulldogs didn’t play with full intensity the entire game. “I would say maybe eight minutes of the 32, and that’s a lot of minutes,” he said. “I am happy we won our first game, but this was a winnable tournament for us.”

Diletizia led the team in scoring against Hanover with 25 points and was named to the all-tournament team. Francoeur added 12 points with Jereb chipping in six and Faulk finishing with four.

Even though Kiser was disappointed with the Hanover loss, he likes the energy that the team has displayed. “We are a versatile team, and we are learning how to play better,” he said. “I think what we need to improve is how to play under duress, how to move the ball quicker and how to make better decisions. We also can get better with perimeter shooting and in strength and conditioning.”

The Bulldogs have a few more road games before coming home on January 14 to host Taunton. They head to North Attleboro on January 3, then will travel to Milford on January 7 and Oliver Ames on January 10.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=130767

Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 3 2025. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.