Undefeated Canton dominates HMTCA on Senior Night

Canton High’s five seniors were honored with Senior Night ceremonies on Wednesday after the Warriors beat HMTCA. (Photo courtesy Craig Archambault)

CANTON, March 10, 2021 – The five seniors on the Canton High basketball team took a little risk earlier in this pandemic-shortened season. Some programs honored their seniors the first opportunity they got just in case a game of their season would get cancelled.

But the Warriors were willing to roll the dice and hold Senior Night activities later in the season.

All five seniors started on Wednesday night in Canton with Ryan McGoldrick tying a career-high with 15 points and Josh Burke sinking a game-high 25 points as the Warriors remained undefeated (7-0) with a 66-31 win over Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy (HMTCA) in NCCC West action.

Burke, McGoldrick, Colin Mackin, Silas Sawtelle and Nate Lincoln all started for Canton. Sawtelle had 11 points while Mackin had seven. Lincoln chipped in with three points.

“We wanted to give the kids as normal Senior Night as we could,” Canton High coach Craig Archambault said. “We were able to have the families (of the seniors) in the gym. The gym was decorated. We did everything normally but we had no student fans.”

Burke’s older brother, Ethan, surprised his younger brother at the game with a heart-warming hug. Ethan is currently attending the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Canton beat the visiting Phoenix (0-7) for the second straight game. The Warriors prevailed on Saturday night by a 60-47 score.

On Wednesday night, Canton played well defensively and gave up just 14 points in the first half as they built a 37-14 advantage. “We played really good defense,” Archambault said. “The kids were locked in and played hard.”

The victory allowed Canton to extend their team-record winning streak to 15 games. It is just the fifth team in the team’s history that the Warriors have begun the season with seven consecutive wins.

“At this point, we are truly taking it one day and one game at a time,” Archambault said. “We know something non-basketball related could end our season (through a contact tracing quarantine or a positive COVID-19 test) at any time. It is so hard to look ahead. We have to take it one game at a time.”

The Warriors return to action on Friday night when they travel to Hartford to challenge SMSA beginning at 6:45 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network. Look for SMSA to find the game.

Canton 66, HMTCA 31
At Canton
HMTCA (31) Nate Mayor 1-0-2, Seth Moore 5-1-13, Christian Smith 2-0-5, Eyad Answer 4-1-9, Beni Calderson 1-0-2. Josh O’Neal 0-0-0, Malike Warner 0-0-0. Totals 13-2-31
Canton (66) Brandon Powell 1-0-2, Isaiah Reece 1-1-3, Colin Mackin 3-0-7, Ryan McGoldrick 6-1-15, Silas Sawtelle 4-2-11, Nate Lincoln 1-1-3, Josh Burke 9-3-25. Totals 25-7-66
HMTCA (0-7)                     7    7  10    7  — 31
Canton (7-0)                     21  16  15  14  — 66
Three-point shots: Mackin (Ca), McGoldrick (Ca) 3, Sawtelle (Ca), Burke (Ca) 4; Moore (H) 2, Smith (H)

2021 NCCC West standings