Losses starting to mount for CHS boys’ hoop

With a 4-6 record at the halfway point of the regular season, the CHS boys’ basketball team now has to win six of its remaining 10 games in order to make the Division 3 playoffs.

Junior Derrick Harris (Mike Barruci photo)

The Bulldogs are currently mired in a five-game losing streak after falling at home last week to both Franklin 75-48 and Foxboro 59-52.

In Friday’s loss to Foxboro (5-6), Canton led for three quarters but struggled in the fourth as a young but promising Warrior team closed out the game on a 23-8 run.

For the third consecutive game, senior forward-center Sam Larson — the Bulldogs’ leading scorer — had to sit out down the stretch due to foul trouble. To the Warriors’ credit, they managed to contain Canton’s other top scoring options, seniors Tristin Morris and Matt Kelley, while also finishing strong on the other end behind a taller lineup that grabbed several key offensive rebounds.

Larson finished with 16 points in the game, as did Morris, who hit four three-point shots. Kelley added 13, including two three-pointers. But that was essentially the Bulldog offense as the next leading scorers were center Scott Olshaker with four points and Ato Botsio with three.

“I told our team never to give up and stay strong,” said Foxboro head coach CJ Neely after the game. “No doubt Canton was the aggressor in the first half, and we had to do a better job on defense and rebounding in the second half and we did. We took the hard punches and bounced back.”

A disappointed CHS head coach Ryan Gordy said his team is now 2-2 in “50/50 games” — games in which both teams have comparable talent.

Gordy said the Bulldogs need to improve on that record while also noting that he needs to do a better job of adjusting to the referee’s style of calling the game. Gordy said the team had improved its play throughout the game but needs to finish stronger in the fourth quarter.

In the Franklin game last Tuesday, the Bulldogs fell behind early and never recovered. They committed more than 10 turnovers in the first half alone, while the Panthers (6-4) showed patience and consistently made the extra pass en route to scoring 75 points.

Morris led the Bulldogs with 16 points in the losing effort. Larson had 13, with most of his points coming in the fourth quarter, and Kelley added 12 points.

Canton was due to face undefeated Mansfield on the road on Tuesday and will play at Milford tomorrow night beginning at 6:45 p.m. The team will then host Fairhaven in a rare Sunday home game at 3 p.m., followed by an away game on Tuesday, January 28, against Oliver Ames.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 23 2014. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.