Avon sophomore Nate Laszewski puts the ball in off basket with 2.9 seconds remaining to give Avon a 39-37 in the NCCC Tournament semifinals Wednesday in Hartford.
HARTFORD, March 4 – The Avon High boys basketball will play for a title in its final North Central Connecticut Conference game. The Falcons grabbed a spot in the NCCC Tournament championship game Wednesday night when sophomore Nate Laszewski scored with 2.9 seconds left to give Avon a hard-fought 39-37 win over Granby.
Avon (17-5) will face regular season champion Sport Medicine Science Academy (SMSA), which earned a spot in the NCCC Tournament final for the first time ever with a 54-42 win over Suffield. The championship game will Friday night at 7:15 p.m. at a neutral site. Granby (17-5) will play Suffield (14-8) in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.
Avon beat Granby for the third time this season and for the second consecutive game, the two teams played stiff defense that inhibited both squads. Nearly two weeks ago, the Falcons outlasted Granby 44-42. “We know every time we play them it will be a defensive game,” Avon coach Chris Vozzolo said. “We have to match them. I’m proud of our defensive efforts. It was a grind it out game and grinded out possessions.”
The Falcons scored just three field goals in the fourth quarter but it was enough. Laszewski, who had a game-high 19 points, scored the final five points for Avon. He took a nice pass in the low post from Zach Sterling with 5:14 remaining to give Avon a 36-34 lead.
Avon’s Alex Zacchio drives to the basket in Wednesday’s semifinal win over Granby.
Granby tied the game at 36 with 3:53 remaining on a jumper from freshman Ben Eke. Laszewski sank one of two foul shots with 1:40 left to give Avon a one-point lead. Granby’s Fred Moffa sank a free throw with 1:15 remaining to tie the game at 37-37.
Both teams struggled at the free throw line. Avon was 6-of-11 while Granby was 6-of-13.
Granby had the ball with less than a minute to go but Falcon guard Bryant St. Jean stole the ball after a double team by two of his teammate forced an errant Granby pass.
Avon ran the clock down to 13.1 seconds before calling their final timeout. On the ensuing play, Sterling again found Laszewski in the lane. Laszewski broke away from his defender, caught the ball and laid it up and off the glass with 2.9 seconds to give Avon a two-point lead, 39-37. A desperation shot by Granby at the buzzer was off the mark.
“We played great defense in the second half,” said Avon’s Alex Zacchio, who had nine points. “We capitalized on the steals we were able to get.”
Granby (17-5) led by five midway through the third period when David Eck drained a three-pointer for a 27-22 lead with 4:55 remaining in the period. The Bears were up by four, 31-27 with 1:08 remaining in the third but Laszewski drained a three-pointer with 38 seconds remaining and then St. Jean stole the ball at midcourt and drove to the basket for a layup as the buzzer expired.
That gave Avon a 32-31 lead after three quarters than the Falcons never relinquished. Granby did tie the game three times in the fourth quarter but never took the lead.
Now, Avon gets another shot at SMSA (21-2), who will be playing in its first NCCC Tournament final. The Tigers beat Avon, 56-46 in January led by Dwayne Benard with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Tiger defender Rashaun Mason had five steals.
Avon will need to take better care of the basketball if they want to win their first NCCC Tournament title since 2013. The Falcons are 8-5 in 13 previous NCCC Tournament title games. Avon will be leaving the NCCC at the end of the year and begin playing in the Central Connecticut Conference starting in September.
The Tigers are a quick, athletic team led by Benard. It will be good preparation for the Falcons, who will play Windsor (10-10) in the first round of the Class L tournament on Monday night in Avon at 7 p.m.
NOTES: Avon is 8-5 in NCCC Tournament championship games. … This is SMSA’s third year in the league. The Tigers won their first NCCC championship with an 16-2 record in the league, losing to Suffield and Granby in the regular season. Granby was second at 15-3 with Avon third at 14-4 in the league.
Avon 39, Granby 37
At Hartford
Avon (39): Bryant St. Jean 1-1-3, Ian McDonald 1-0-2, Bryan LaChance 0-1-1, Zach Stirling 1-0-2, Tim Patton 0-0-0, Jordan Williams 1-0-3, Nate Laszewski 7-4-19. Totals 15-6-39
Granby (37): Ben Eke 2-0-5, Connor Field 1-4-6, Jaiden Delaire 1-0-2, Tyler Disabella 0-0-0, Raymond Mooney 0-0-0, Tanner Gibson 0-0-0, David Eke 6-1-15, Fred Moffa 4-1-9. Totals 14-6-37
Avon (17-5) 11 10 11 7 — 39
Granby (17-5) 9 11 11 6 — 37
Three-point goals: Zacchio (A), Williams (A), Laszewski (A), Ben Eke (G), David Eke (G) 2
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