Second half explosion lifts Granby past Canton

Canton’s Brandon Powell puts up a shot in Friday night’s loss to Granby in NCCC play. Powell led the Warriors with 18 points.

CANTON, January 14, 2022 –The Granby Memorial basketball team had a two-point lead over Canton at halftime of Friday night’s North Central Connecticut Conference game.

But the Bears scored 18 of the first 22 points of the third quarter to turn a two-point lead into a 16-point cushion and rolled to a 70-48 win over the Warriors. Granby’s Justin Phillips scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter as the Bears improved to 6-1.

Brandon Powell scored 18 points for Canton (3-5, 0-3 NCCC), which dropped their third straight game.

The visiting Bears (6-1, 4-0 NCCC) controlled the glass with key rebounds and fast breaks to help them run away from Canton in the third quarter. Granby scored the first nine points of the third quarter.

Leading by four, Ralph Rossi got the rebound and put it back up in the to net to extend the lead to six. Teammate John Bell stole the ball and drove to the basket to push the lead to eight points, 35-27.

Canton called timeout but it didn’t stop the surge. Out of the timeout, Bell drained a three-point shot to give Granby a 38-27 lead.

“We’ve had those moments when we can score in bunches quickly,” Granby coach Walter Hansen said. “If we’re playing hard on defense, running in transition and getting the ball moving, we’re tough to stop in those situations.”

And the fourth quarter was the Justin Phillips show. He sank seven field goals, including five from three-point range.

“Justin is a weapon, “Hansen said. “Sometimes, he shows up in the third quarter or fourth quarter but that kid can light it up. When he is on, he is just fun to watch.”

Granby’s Justin Phillips had a game-high 29 points and drained seven 3-point shots in Friday’s win over Canton.

Rossi added 17 points for Granby, which rebounded from their first loss of the season on Wednesday to Bloomfield, 73-64.

Granby controlled the glass with rebounds in the second half and controlled the game as a result.

Isaiah Reece had nine points on three 3-point shots while Matthew Benedetti had six points.

“To hand with them in the first half was a positive but we just couldn’t hang with them in the second half with their skill,” Canton coach Craig Archambault said.

It was 13-13 after one quarter and 27-25 after two quarter.

“We fought hard and played hard,” Archambault said. “In the first half, we moved the ball the best that we’ve done (this season) with the drive and kick (back out) and making that one more pass.”

Reece had all nine of his points in the first half, including a pair of three-point shots in the first quarter.

Canton returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to East Windsor while the Bears travel to Suffield on Tuesday night.

Granby 70, Canton 48
At Canton
Granby (70) Declan Lynch 2-0-5, Russel Brown 0-0-0, Justin Phillips 11-0-29, Josh Brown 0-1-1, Liam Heinze 2-2-6, Jack Steele 2-0-4, Andrew Guilliano 1-3-5, John Bell 1-0-3, Ralph Rossi 7-3-17. Totals 26 9-12 70
Canton (48) Khalil Thomas 2-0-4, Juan Alicea 1-0-2, Brandon Powell 6-6-18, Matthew Benedetti 3-0-6, Isaiah Reece 3-0-9, Connor Nadeau 2-0-5, Luke Maher 2-0-4. Totals 19 6-10 48
Granby (6-1)                     13  16  20  21  — 70
Canton (3-5)                     13  14    9  12  — 48
Three-point goals: Phillips (G) 7, Lynch (G), Bell (G), Reece (C) 3, Nadeau (C)