Swarming Granby defense handcuffs Canton, lifts Bears to 12th straight win

Canton’s Jake Schaetzel (20) finds little room to move thanks to tight defense from Granby’s Fred Moffa in Tuesday night’s NCCC contest in Canton.

CANTON, Feb. 2 – There was less than a minute left in the ballgame and the Granby High boys basketball team had a 19-point lead over Canton. And there was Granby’s Conner Fallon diving to the floor trying to get a loose ball. He did.

Granby overwhelmed Canton Tuesday night in a 58-37 NCCC victory, beating the Warriors for the fifth straight time and for the sixth time in seven games dating back to 2010.

It was the 12th straight win for the Bears, who received 15 points from Connor Field and 11 points from Fred Moffa. Granby (12-1, 9-1 NCCC) scored just four points in the first quarter. It didn’t hamper their efforts.

“We’ve really stepped it up (defensively) the past few weeks,” Granby’s first-year coach Kyle Chaves said. “We’re really playing good team defense. We take a great deal of pride in our defense. We’re constantly playing good defense and that is where our offense starts.”

Cameron Lange scored 12 points for the Warriors (10-3, 7-3 NCCC) while Rieley Hoffman had nine points, primarily on hard drives through traffic in the lane. “We missed shots early but that is because nearly every shot was off balance,” Canton coach Craig Archambault said.

Granby’s Connor Field (4) blocks a shot from Canton’s Rieley Hoffman with two other Bear defenders closing in.

Canton lost its two previous contests by a combined total of five points and led in the final minute in losses to SMSA and Suffield. This contest was over in the third quarter. With a win, Canton could have positioned themselves to possibly contend for the league championship since they finish the season with another game with SMSA (12-1, 9-1).

“They outworked us,” Archambault said. “Granby wanted it more. They played more physical and they played great defense. They got every 50/50 ball. They played harder. It’s disappointing.”

From the start, Canton had a tough time getting open shots. Two Granby defenders were on the ball handler for most of the game. The Warriors had little room to breathe.

Canton led 5-4 after one quarter with both teams missing numerous shots, many within a few feet of the basket. In the second quarter, Lange had four points in a quick 6-0 run by Canton to give the Warriors an 11-7 lead. Lange scored on a nice feed from Hoffman, Hoffman scored on a 1-handed drive through the lane and Lange beat two defenders to the basket with 5:04 remaining in the second quarter.

Canton didn’t score another field goal until there was 2:09 left in the third quarter.

Granby’s Romelle Hardy scored on a drive to the basket with 2:14 left in the second quarter to extend Granby’s lead to four, 17-13. Hardy got a three-point play with 14 seconds left on a drive to the basket and a foul shot for a 20-13 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Granby opened the second half with a 13-1 surge to seize control of the contest with three-point goals from Field and Jaiden Delaire.

Granby’s Raymond Mooney (14) plays tight defense on Canton’s Cameron Lange with some help from teammate Fred Moffa.

The Warriors return to the floor Thursday night when they host Gilbert (0-11) in a non-league game beginning at 7 p.m. in Canton. Granby had a very big challenge Wednesday night when they host No. 17 Simsbury (10-3) at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Canton’s last win over Granby came in a non-league contest in 2010, 54-46. The last win by the Warriors in league play came in 2009 with a 61-47 victory. Since 2000, the Bears own a 19-7 edge in the series. … The 37 points was the second lowest offensive output of the season. The Warriors scored 27 in a 30-27 loss to Suffield on January 22.

Granby 58, Canton 37
At Canton
Granby (58) Connor Field 5-2-15, Romelle Hardy 4-1-9, Tyler Disabella 2-3-7, Jaiden Delaire 3-1-8, Raymond Mooney 1-0-3, Fred Moffa 3-5-11, Blake Windham 1-0-2, Kaivon Glover 0-0-0, Conner Fallon 0-0-0. Totals 12-17
Canton (37) Rieley Hoffman 3-3-9, Azon Click 0-0-0, Luke Brown 3-0-7, Jake Schaetzel 0-2-2, Ethan Burke 1-0-3, Cameron Lange 5-0-12, Cam Neely 0-0-0, Adam Eytan 1-0-2, Ryan Enns 1-0-2. Totals 13-5-37
Granby (12-1)    4  16  18  20 – 58
Canton (10-3)    5    8    5  19 – 37
Three-point goals: Brown (C), Lange (C) 2, Burke (C); Field (G) 3, Delaire (G), Mooney (G)