Boys’ hoop eliminated in 2nd round of D3 tourney

All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately for the CHS boys’ basketball team, everything that went right in its first-round upset victory over Abington turned the other way last Wednesday, February 27, against fifth seeded Norton.

Senior Dexter Green (Mike Barucci photo)

Norton (15-5), well rested from a first-round bye, used its home crowd to seize the momentum and never trailed en route to a 55-39 win. Later in the week, the Lancers fell to No. 4 Rockland 50-34 in the quarterfinals of the Division 3 south sectional tournament.

In last week’s matchup, the Lancers harassed Canton early and allowed only two Bulldog players to reach double figures — leading scorer Sam Larson, who finished with 20 points, and key reserve Matt Kelley, who had 13. Norton led 19-8 at the end of the first quarter, 32-22 at the half, and 41-27 at the end of the third.

A Kelly three pointer cut the lead to eight with 4:22 left in the third quarter, but Norton head coach Marc Liberatore called a quick timeout, refocused the defense, and the Lancers went on a short run to bring the lead to 14 by the end of the period.

Liberatore said after the game that he had identified three keys to beating Canton after witnessing the team’s first-round win over Abington a few days earlier.

“We had to take away their three-point shots and we did that,” he said. “They are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the playoffs. [Larson] is a great player and we had to try and contain him. They got a little momentum in the third quarter, but we refocused with that timeout and we played a great fourth quarter.”

“We were tight and tentative right at the top of the game,” said CHS head coach Ryan Gordy. “We were still feeling the after effects of the Abington game. We had the good shots. We just were not making them. We struggled to put the ball into the net. This was a good growing experience for us. Our seniors were terrific the entire way with great leadership, and I think when they look back, they will remember the Abington game.”

The Bulldogs finished the season at 8-14, including a 1-1 mark in the playoffs. Three starters and eight other players from the 15-man roster are expected back next season, led by Larson and Tristin Mullen. Graduating this year are senior starters Dexter Green and Andrew Mansfield, as well as reserve players Brandon Pulido and Jonathan Gilmore.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Mar 7 2013. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.