Canton High coach Craig Archambault and his Warriors went 10-2 in the NCCC this season to earn a share of the league championship for the third time since 2017.
There was no roaring crowd just the excited cheers of a group of teen-age boys sitting around a computer screen.
The Canton High boys basketball learned Wednesday afternoon that their body of work in the North Central Connecticut Conference this winter was good enough to earn a share of the league championship.
Canton and Windsor Locks will share the NCCC championship this season. Both teams finished 10-2 in the league.
The Warriors (12-8, 10-2 NCCC) won a share of the league championship for the third time under head coach Craig Archambault and the first time since 2018. Windsor Locks won a share of the NCCC championship for the first time since 2001.
Windsor Locks (17-3, 10-2) could have won the championship outright with a win over Suffield (13-7, 8-4) on Wednesday but the Wildcats were able to secure a 61-55 victory, snapping Locks’ eight-game winning streak. The Raiders had won their last six NCCC contests.
Some of the Canton players watched the game online via the National Federation of High School feed that were set up during the pandemic.
“I am so proud of the kids,” Archambault said. “The identity of our senior class is defined by how they play. They never quit. They never give up. They are just big time gamers.”
Thanks to Canton’s 54-52 win over Windsor Locks on January 24, the Warriors will be the No. 1 seed in the NCCC Tournament that began on Wednesday night. Canton will host No. 8 Somers on Friday night in the quarterfinals.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league this year,” Archambault said.
It was a rough start this season for the Warriors. They won just one of their first five games and lost starting guard Luke Maher, when he was injured in a skiing accident.
But they found a way in a 52-41 win on the road over Somers in early January that began an eight-game winning streak and vaulted the Warriors back into contention in the league.
“We were down big but we came back and played well,” Archambault said. “The kids shared the ball and trusted each other. That was the turning point. Sometimes, it’s just one win that can get you going.”
In the win streak, Canton beat Stafford, 56-55 when Taylor Kim hit a three-point shot with 15 seconds remaining off a nice assist from Brandon Powell and the Warriors outlasted Coventry, 43-41 in overtime with Powell scoring 18 points and Khalil Thomas adding 11.
Powell had 25 points in the win over Windsor Locks with Matthew Benedetti adding a season-high 14.
The eighth win was a 55-48 win over Sports Medicine Science Academy (SMSA) with Benedetti tying his career-high 23 points, including nine points in the fourth quarter.
Canton dropped a 65-37 decision to Ellington but rounded out their NCCC campaign with a pair of victories over East Granby and Bolton to put the pressure on Windsor Locks.
Windsor Locks played five games in the final nine days of the season, winning four, losing just to Suffield.
Canton (12-8) had a challenging non-league schedule with games against Cromwell (18-1), Northwestern (16-3), Guilford (15-5) and Wamogo (17-2).
“Those games were to test us,” Archambault said. “I told them to treat each NCCC game like was the Super Bowl.”
Canton shared the NCCC title with SMSA in 2018 with a league record of 14-2 and won it outright in 2017 with a 15-1 record.
Final regular season standings
| NCCC 2023 | NCCC | Overall |
| x-Canton | 10-2 | 12-8 |
| x-Windsor Locks | 10-2 | 17-3 |
| SMSA | 9-3 | 14-6 |
| Ellington | 9-3 | 17-3 |
| Suffield | 8-4 | 13-7 |
| Coventry | 8-4 | 12-8 |
| Rockville | 6-6 | 10-10 |
| Somers | 6-6 | 11-9 |
| Bolton | 5-7 | 10-10 |
| Stafford | 4-8 | 9-11 |
| Granby | 2-10 | 3-17 |
| East Granby | 1-11 | 3-17 |
| East Windsor | 0-12 | 2-18 |
x-shared league championship
2023 NCCC Tournament
Wednesday, Feb. 22
First round
(8) Somers def. (9) Bolton
(10) Stafford def. (7) Rockville
Friday, Feb. 24
Quarterfinals
Game 3: Somers at (1) Canton
Game 4: (5) Suffield at (4) Ellington
Game 5: (6) Coventry at (3) SMSA
Game 6: Stafford at (2) Windsor Locks
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Semifinals at East Granby
Game 7: Winner game 3 vs. winner game 4
Game 8: Winner game 5 vs. winner game 6
Thursday, March 2
Championship, site TBA
Two semifinal winners
