Boys’ hoop team has mixed week with win, loss

Senior captains Joe McCabe and Chris Murray have been two of the team's top performers this season. (Mike Barucci photo)

The CHS boys’ basketball team had a mixed week of play last week, beating North Attleboro at home 50-45 and losing on the road to a 7-1 King Philip squad 83-51.

Similar to their road loss to league-leading Mansfield a week ago, the Bulldogs started strong against KP, but in the end they could not compete against the Warriors’ superior height advantage.

KP, whose only loss is to Mansfield, has 14 players and 12 of them are six feet tall or more. Canton, by contrast, has only one player who is over six feet.

The Bulldogs managed to contain KP’s leading scorer, 6’8” senior captain Jake Layman, who was held to 15 points. But teammates Sam MacDonald led the balanced attack with 17 points, while teammate John Mullane added 13 points.

For the Bulldogs, Joe McCabe got off to a blistering start with 16 first-half points and finished with 23 for the game. McCabe fouled out at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and the last two fouls were disputed by Canton coaches. Prior to his exit, McCabe led a Canton rally that helped cut the deficit to 15 points at the end of the third quarter.

The Bulldogs were then whistled for several fouls as KP added to its lead. Both teams emptied their benches for most of the fourth quarter.

Canton surprised the Warriors with a well-executed offense and took an 18-14 lead into the second quarter. But KP gradually took over and led by halftime 34-26.

Despite the lopsided result, KP head coach Sean McInnis was impressed with what he saw from the Bulldogs.

“[Coach Ryan Gordy] is doing some good things over there, and Canton is going to be a great team in the playoffs,” he said. “He is building a good team.”

Gordy said his players executed the game plan well and “played to the best of their ability.” He questioned several foul calls in the fourth quarter, which he said helped swing the momentum back to KP.

For Canton, Anthony Bires came off the bench to score seven points, and Sam Larson added six points. Senior guard Demetrius Jean played well in the fourth quarter with a few rebounds and a three-point shot.

The win over North Attleboro marked the team’s first win over a Hockomock large school opponent in several years. It was a great night for Larson as the improving sophomore got off to a hot start and finished the game with 22 points. The Bulldogs took control in the second quarter, turning a 12-10 deficit into take a 24-15 halftime lead. The Bulldogs upped the lead to 11 at the end of the third quarter and then withstood a furious NA rally to win by five.

Besides Larson’s big night, the Bulldogs were aided by McCabe and Chris Murray, who finished with 10 points apiece.

Now 4-3 and almost to the midpoint of the season, Gordy said the team knows its identity and “what it is going to take to win.”

“From my view, I have to do a better job of developing our bench and getting more consistent performances from them,” he added.

This week, the Bulldogs began a stretch of five games in 10 days. They hosted Blue Hills on Monday, traveled to Oliver Ames on Tuesday, and will host Stoughton Friday night and Fairhaven Sunday at noon. The team will then travel to Attleboro next Wednesday, January 25.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 18 2012. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.