First, East Windsor took the air out of the dreams of a championship showdown with Avon by outscoring Canton 14-5 in the final five minutes of a 55-53 loss. Then, league champion Avon played with championship-style intensity that has helped the Falcons win a share of the NCCC title four times in the last six years with a 64-51 victory last week.
But as the post-season began, there was plenty of room for optimism for Canton (18-3, 10-3 NCCC) and its chances to compete in the CIAC Class S tournament.
Last Saturday, the Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a thrilling 76-68 win in double OT over Windsor Locks in the quarterfinals of the NCCC Tournament.
After being limited to a season-low five points against Avon, guard Dwayne Rivers came out and scored a career-high 28 points. And Joey Dionne continued his second half surge with 14 points and two 3-point shots.
Dionne is averaging 14.8 points in the last six games where he has sunk 11 three-point shots. Over the course of the year, his average is 7.5 points.
"We came out with a lot more intensity," Canton coach Eric Deegan said recalling the Windsor Locks victory. "We moved the ball better than we have in the past few games."
Canton will likely be a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the Class S tournament that begins early next week. Another game with Granby could be on the horizon in the Class S tournament since both teams finished the regular season with a 17-3 record. Canton played Granby in the NCCC semifinals earlier this week.
But that is in the future, and the history of the CIAC tournament is littered with excellent teams that looked ahead and didn't take care of business in the early rounds of the tournament against hungry teams looking to salvage a disappointing season.
Last year, Canton was seeded 16th and beat top-ranked Old Saybrook in the second round of the Division IV tournament, 62-51. The Division IV champion a year ago was No. 26 Plainville.
On Saturday, the Warriors fended off the upset bid by Windsor Locks. Canton led the entire game, but Windsor Locks tied the score with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Canton held for the last shot but missed.
In the first OT, Windsor Locks took a four-point lead, but Rivers drove to the basket, sank a layup and was fouled. He hit the free throw to cut the lead to one. Then, Rivers stole the ball and fed a teammate to put Canton ahead. Again, Locks was able to tie the game to send it into a second OT.
But Rivers hit a driving shot and Matt Getz (13 points) hit a 15-foot jumper, and Canton opened up a six-point lead to secure the win.
"We played pretty well," Deegan said. "But we have to learn to play with the lead. Instead of playing not to lose, we have to play to win."
Last week against Avon, the Falcons made sure that Canton knew who was the league champion in a dominating 64-51 victory. The loss to East Windsor five days earlier clinched the title for Avon, but the Falcons played as if they had to beat Canton to win the championship.
Avon rebounded the ball at will and senior Tim Jurczak didn't score a single point, but he made a huge impact by sticking to Rivers wherever he went. He made Rivers work for every cut, every pass and every shot.
Dionne had a career-high 22 points and four 3-point shots in the game, but it wasn't enough. Avon led by just four at the half thanks to 12 first-half points from Dionne, but in the second half the Falcons moved the ball well and continued to find Andy Roell in the low post for easy baskets. Roell scored 20 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.
Canton cut the lead to seven with 5:05 left in the game, but an 8-2 run with two corner jumpers from a wide-open Roell, a Roell basket in the low post after a rebound and nifty pass from senior Dan Naddaff, iced the contest.
RANKED: For three weeks this month, Canton was ranked in the New Haven Register's top 10 basketball poll as compiled by sportswriters from across the state. The Warriors were ranked as high as No. 20 in the Feb. 12 poll with 14 points. They were ranked No. 21 in the Feb. 20 poll but dropped out after losing two games to East Windsor and Avon.
Writers at the Register didn't have details on Canton's last appearance in the poll. Chances are that Canton may have been ranked in 1980-81 when the Warriors finished the season 17-3 and went to the Class S finals or perhaps in 1977-78 when they beat Cromwell for the Class S championship. Further research will have to be conducted.
WRESTLING: Junior Mike Rossley (119) competed at the CIAC State Open wrestling tournament in New Haven last Friday and dropped a pair of decisions. He lost his initial decision to defending State Open champion Chris Lombardi of Bristol Central, 11-1. In the consolation round, Rossley was eliminated after being pinned by St. Bernard's Michael Daly in 2:41.
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