Canton wins to keep pressure on Locks; Mills rallies to beat Platt

Canton’s Ben Cuniowski (3) had a team-high 13 points in Friday night’s NCCC win over Bolton.

The Canton High boys basketball team did what they had to do on Friday night to move themselves in contention to possibly win another NCCC championship.

The Warriors beat Bolton, 43-38, to finish their NCCC campaign with a 10-2 record. The only team left in contention for the conference championship is Windsor Locks, who is 8-1 in the NCCC with three league games remaining.

The Raiders can claim the title for themselves with three victories next week. One loss by the Raiders will give Canton a share of their first NCCC title since 2018. Two losses by the Raiders will give Canton sole possession of the league championship.

Windsor Locks (12-2, 8-1 NCCC) hosts Rockville (10-9) on Monday night and travels to Somers (11-7) on Tuesday night. Locks closes out their NCCC schedule at Suffield (10-5) next Friday night. Windsor Locks is seeking their first NCCC title since 2001.

Canton (11-7, 10-2 NCCC) received a team-high 13 points each from Matthew Benedetti and Ben Cuniowski to beat the Bulldogs on Friday. Brandon Powell chipped in with 11 for the Warriors.

Canton still has a pair of non-league contests next week. The Warriors host Guilford on Monday at 7 p.m. in their final regular season game of the season at home. Canton closes out the regular season at East Hampton on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Canton 43, Bolton 38
At Bolton
Canton (43) Taylor Kim 1-0-2, Khalil Thomas 1-0-2, Ben Cuniowski 4-4-13, Brandon Powell 3-4-11, Jake Dean 1-0-2, Matthew Benedetti 6-1-13. Totals 16-9-43
Bolton (38) Mason 0-0-0, Tranr Buchanan 7-1-16, Ryan Orzolek 4-2-11, Colby Marsh 1-0-2, Josh Wagner 3-0-7, Andrew Borannau 1-0-2, Harrison Liemark 0-0-0. Totals 16-3-38
Canton (11-7)                 14  11  5  14  — 43
Bolton (9-10)                  11  5  10  12  — 38
Three-point goals: B. Cuniowski (Ca), Powell (Ca), Buchanan (B), Orzolek (B), Wagner (B)

Lewis Mills 67, Platt 61
BURLINGTON, Feb. 10, 2023 – Jon Schibi scored a game-high 24 points as the Lewis Mills boys basketball team erased a 12-point deficit to beat Platt, 67-61 in a CCC South game on Friday.

With the win, Mills (13-4, 4-2 CCC South) moved into a second place tie with Platt (13-4, 4-2). With the Platt loss, Middletown (10-6, 6-0 CCC South) clinched the CCC South championship with a 56-36 win over Maloney.

Mills trailed by 12 points after three quarters but stormed back with 28 points in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Charlie Joiner and Jack Stanislaw played excellent defense in the final quarter to spark the Spartans.

Connor McAtee had 20 points while Connor Evans had five points and 10 rebounds for Mills. Eli Pelletier, Jack Nestor, Gavin Daly and Chad Edmond contributed key minutes off the bench for Lewis Mills.

Makahi Anderson had a game-high 23 points to lead Platt.

Lewis Mills returns to action on Tuesday when they host Hall High at 6:45 p.m. in Burlington.

Lewis Mills 67, Platt 61
At Burlington
Platt (61) Deonte Torres 1-0-2, Justin Black 5-0-12, Makahi Anderson 9-4-23, Anthony Nimani 5-0-10, Josh Day 4-0-8, Jason Delevante 1-0-2, Jeremiah Rodriguez 0-0-0, Isaiah Summers 1-0-2. Totals 26-4-61
Lewis Mills (67) Gavin Daly 0-0-0, Jon Schibi 7-6-24, Eli Pelletier 1-2-5, Charlie Joiner 1-0-2, Jack Stanislaw 3-3-9, Connor McAtee 5-6-20, Jack Nestor 1-0-2, Chad Edmond 0-0-0, Connor Evans 2-1-5, Totals 20-18-67
Platt (13-4)                         18  13  20  10 — 61
Lewis Mills (13-4)             13  15  11  28 – 67
Three-point goals: Black (P) 2, Anderson (P), Schibi (LM) 4, Pelletier (LM), McAtee (LM) 4