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Warrior boys look for a winning season

CANTON, Dec. 9 — The Canton High boys basketball took a step backward a year ago. After six straight winning seasons, the Warriors slipped under .500. Canton still qualified for the CIAC Class S tournament for a school-record seventh straight time but it was a short-lived appearance. Coach Eric Deegan hopes the Warriors (8-13, 5-11 NCCC) can get back on the winning side of the ledger but it won’t be easy.

“We don’t have the big inside guy that other teams do but I hope we’ll be able to rebound better and defend a bit,” Deegan said. Canton (8-13, 5-11 NCCC) has plenty of shooters. They weren’t afraid to put up three-point shots a year ago, sinking 116 from long range, one of the best performances in the school’s 90 years of basketball.

Junior Pat Sullivan led the way with 43 three-point shots, including seven in a win over Bolton when the Warriors sank 14 three-pointers as a team. Sullivan averaged 7.3 points a game. Leading scorer Michael Pepin, who sank 32 three-point shots and averaged 13.7 points a game, graduated along with Chad Huff, who averaged 8.7 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds a game.

But 6-foot-2 senior forward Colin Gurry, who averaged 10.4 points a game, drained 21 three-point shots and had 25 steals, returns along with 5-foot-11 senior guard Tim Gavin, who played only two games a year ago before getting injured in game three. “We need Colin and Tim to be the leaders of this team,” Deegan said. “As a team, we need to be assertive and not be satisfied with eight wins. We’re expecting a lot from them.”

Five-foot-9 senior guard Zach Powell, 6-1 junior Tyler Lange and 5-8 junior forward Jake Wood look to contribute initially for the Warriors along with sophomore guards Alexander Daley (5-6) and Andrew Zukowski (5-5).

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Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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