Canton stands tall and holds off SMSA for impressive victory

Canton’s Rieley Hoffman had a career-high 25 points to help the Warriors beat SMSA on Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

HARTFORD, Feb. 16 – The Canton High boys basketball nearly beat Sport Science Medicine Academy on the opening night of the season. But the Warriors coughed up the lead in the final minute in a two-point loss to the Tigers.

Canton learned their lesson. The Warriors built up a 13-point lead only to see SMSA nearly erase it, cutting their deficit to just two points. But Canton played with poise, sinking eight foul shots in the final minutes of the game to hand SMSA its second conference loss of the season Tuesday night, 56-50.

Canton guard Rieley Hoffman had a career-high 25 points including sinking 12 foul shots while Cameron Lange added 11 points.

Canton (14-4, 10-4 NCCC) led throughout the game. The Warriors led by as many as 13 points, 35-22, early in the third quarter. Hoffman drove to the basket for two points and Jake Schaetzel scored underneath the basket to give Canton a 13-point lead.

SMSA (15-2) began to surge as the Tigers reduced the lead to 10 after three quarters with a slam dunk from Jonathan Hernandez finishing out the quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Tigers outscored Canton, 16-4 in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to two, 48-46.

Canton’s Cameron Lange scored 11 points in Tuesday night’s win over SMSA in Hartford. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

But Hoffman sank four foul shots, Luke Brown sank three and Ethan Burke sank one as the Warriors earned a gutty win in Hartford. Jonathan Hernandez led the Tigers with 11 points while Ryan Rivera added 10. Hoffman’s 25 points topped his previous career-high of 17 points a week ago in a win over Windsor Locks.

Canton has two games remaining in the regular season. They host Ellington on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the final regular season home game of the season and conclude the regular season on Monday, Feb. 22 when they travel to Hartford Classical.

Canton 56, SMSA 50
At Hartford
Canton (56) Rieley Hoffman 6-12-25, Azon Click 0-0-0, Luke Brown 2-4-9, Jake Schaetzel 2-0-4, Ethan Burke 1-3-5, Cameron Lange 4-1-11. Totals 16-20
SMSA (50) Keith Poitier 2-0-6, Ryan Rivera 3-4-10, Lorenzo Aikens 4-0-8, Daquan Carr 4-5-14, Jonathan Hernandez 4-3-11, Jeffrey Narcisse 0-1-1. Totals 17-13
Canton (14-4)    16  15  11  14  — 56
SMSA (15-2)      12  10  10  18  — 50
Three-point goals: Hoffman (C), Brown (C), Lange (C) 2, Poitier (S) 2, Carr (S)

Bill Brewster contributed to this article