The Canton High boys basketball team wasn't able to realize its championship aspirations this winter, but players, parents and fans still have a reason to smile. It was a season full of thrilling moments.
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* Against Granby in early January, Canton limited the Bears to just two field goals and four points in the final four minutes of regulation and OT and 6-2 junior center Brian McLellan grabbed a rebound which put it back in with 19.1 seconds left for a 63-61 Cantonvictory.
* In late January against Avon, Canton rallied from an early 10-point deficit and outscored Avon 20-2 over an eight-minute span in the second half to earn a dominating 21-point win over the Falcons 67-46 - its largest victory over Avon in 25 years.
* In February against Tolland, senior guard Joey Dionne hit a three-pointer at end of regulation to force OT where Rivers hit a bank shot at the buzzer to give Canton a 60-59 victory.
* In the NCCC Tournament, two late baskets from Windsor Locks didn't faze Canton who erased a four-point lead in the first OT and beat the Raiders, 76-68 in double OT.
* The Warriors began the season 16-1 and were ranked in the New Haven Register's top 10 basketball poll for three weeks, rising as high as No. 20. With a pair of dominant wins in the Class S tournament, Canton earned a spot in the Class S semifinals for the first time since 1982.
But the third-seeded Warriors (20-5) were denied a chance to play for a Class S title by a determined Cromwell High squad which earned a 73-66 victory in overtime in last week's semifinal game at New Britain High.
No. 10 Cromwell (18-8) erased a six-point Canton lead in the fourth quarter and the Warriors erased a three-point Panther lead with 3:31 left in the game.
It was a thrilling game in a steamy gym with screaming fans roaring with each basket.
"No one wanted to lose," said Rivers, who scored a career-high 29 points and the final 14 points for Canton. "Everyone wanted it bad."
Cromwell's 6-foot-8 senior Justin Martin (team-high 18 points) took over in the third quarter with six points and dominant play in the post, including seven blocks.
But Canton kept the pressure on the Panther guards and the Warriors' big men of McLellan, Matt Zukowski, Chris Robitalle and Matt Getz took turns playing Martin hard.
Canton led by two late in the third quarter before Zukowski hit a baseline jumper to increase the lead to four. Martin was called for goaltending early in the fourth to allow Canton's lead to balloon to six points, 47-41.
"We were never really able to get into a flow offensively and then Rivers took over," Canton coach Eric Deegan said. "Cromwell played really harddefensively."
Cromwell used its strength in the paint to trim the lead to one, 50-49 with 5:30 left and the race was on.
Cromwell took a three-point lead, 55-52, with 3:31 left when Tyler Burkhart sank a three-point shot from the top of the circle.
Rivers responded by calmly sinking a three point shotof his own 10 seconds later. Canton took a 57-55 lead with 2:27 when Rivers took a beautiful bullet passfrom Robitaille in the low post and laid it in off the glass.
Cromwell freshman Isiah Salafia hit a jumper with 1:11 to go to tie the game at 57.
In overtime, Rivers calmly drained a three-point shot after a nice feed from Dionne to tie the game at 62-62 with 2:26 to go. But Salafia picked up a loose ball near the top of the key and drained a crucial three-point shot with 2:15 left in OT to give the Panthers a 65-62 lead.
Cromwell sank 11 three-point shots, including two each in the third quarter, fourth quarter and OT. "The three pointers they made were the difference," Deegan said. "Those were back breakers."
Cromwell coach John Pinone said outside shots weren't part of the original game plan. "I like that they were confident and aggressive. I told them to have fun and shoot if they were open. We have guys who can really shoot the ball."
Rivers cut the lead to one with a jumper in the lane with 1:59 remaining. After Cromwell sank two foul shots, Rivers took a nice pass inside from Chris Robitaille and laid it in off the glass with 1:21 left to trim the lead to 67-66.
Cromwell extended the lead to two on another foul shot but on Canton's next possession, Rivers lost the ball driving to the basket with 39.1 seconds left. Two more foul shots by Cromwell extended the lead to four and a three-point shot from Rivers with 10 seconds left was off the rim. The Panthers sank eight of 10 free throws in OT.
"Our conditioning paid off," Pinone said. "We're in such good shape. We're not short on our shots. We have the energy still."
The Panthers were thrilled with the victory and felt fortunate to have outlasted Canton. "Canton is a very good team," Pinone said. "They have a lot of weapons. Rivers ... I tip my hat to him. He had a hell of a game. He doesn't look like he is going to laser you and then he hits a few big threes."
Jim Purcell finished with nine while Getz and McLellan had seven points each.
In the championship game, Cromwell fell to No. 12 East Windsor, 53-48, who won five straight games to win its first state title.
Cromwell 73, Canton 66, OT
At New Britain
Cromwell (73) Tyler Burkhart 3-2-11, John Schmaltz 7-2-22, Pat Boucher 1-3-5, Kurt Reinert 1-1-3, Isiah Salafia 5-2-14, Justin Martin 6-6-18. Totals 23-16-73
Canton (66) Joey Dionne 1-0-2, Dwayne Rivers 11-5-29, Matt Getz 2-1-7, Jim Purcell 4-1-9, Chris Robitaille 3-0-6, Brian McLellan 3-1-7, Matt Zukowski 3-0-6, Andrew Crowley 0-0-0, Luke Mentzer 0-0-0, Tyler Smith 0-0-0. Totals 27-8-66.
Halftime: Canton 29-28. End of regulation: 57-57
Three point shots: Burkhart (Cr) 4, Schmaltz (Cr) 5, Salafia (Cr) 2, Rivers (Ca) 2, Getz (Ca) 2
Records: Canton 20-5, Cromwell 18-7
