Surging boys hoop team moves atop Davenport

The CHS boys basketball team passed a big test last week, playing superbly down the stretch to beat an equally tough Foxboro squad at home 61-48 in a battle for Davenport Division supremacy. The Bulldogs then traveled to Stoughton on Friday night and beat the rival Black Knights 66-40.

Senior captain Tony Harris (Mike Barucci photo)

Now 9-1, Canton is currently a game ahead of Foxboro (10-2) for first in the division and is only one win away from clinching a tournament berth with a month left to play in the regular season.

In both games last week, the two-headed monster of Devin Foster and Tony Harris played outstanding two-way basketball, but the Bulldogs also got key contributions from several role players.

The Foxboro game was a defensive battle and the lead seesawed back and forth throughout most of the game. The score was tied at the half 26-26 and the Bulldogs led by one after three quarters before breaking the game open in the fourth.

Foster paced the team with 24 points and had several impressive drives, and Harris finished with 22 points and six rebounds. Other top performers included sophomore Kyle Fitzgerald and junior Ryan Lentol, who both played tough defense and chipped in with several offensive and defensive rebounds.

“It was a great game with two strong teams going after it,” said CHS head coach Ryan Gordy. “Each team has two great players — Foster and Harris for us and Brandon Borde and Joe Morrison for them. We will see them again in Foxboro.”

Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs also came away impressed. “Canton is very tough, a tough team to beat and well coached,” he said. “They took over in the fourth quarter and made a few more plays than we did. It was a great battle, a great Davenport battle.

The game came down to the final five minutes with Foster and Harris hitting two three pointers and then Foster driving the lane for two to give Canton a commanding 10-point lead with just over a minute to go.

The Stoughton win was also challenging as the Black Knights tried a “triangle and two” defense aimed at limiting Foster and Harris. Foster still finished with 19 points, but the high scorer for the game was senior guard Austin Maffie, who finished with 20 points while connecting on four three-pointers. Senior guard Jake Verille added 12 points and Harris was still a factor with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Canton led at all the stops: 17-16 after the first quarter, 30-26 at the half, and 50-38 after the third.

“Not many teams use a triangle and two, but we responded to it with Jake and Austin carrying us,” said Gordy. “Jake, in particular, played great, setting up the defense.”

Canton was due to face another big test on Tuesday with a scheduled trip to face 10-1 Franklin, the current leader in the Hockomock’s Kelley-Rex Division. The Bulldogs also play a rare Sunday game at home this week with a 3 p.m. tip-off against Taunton.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 27 2018. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.