Lewis Mills dominates Canton to advance to Holiday Classic final

Lewis Mills’ Gavin Daly drives to the basket during Thursday’s win over Canton in the Litchfield Hills Holiday Classic in Burlington.

BURLINGTON, Dec. 28, 2023 – It wasn’t an easy beginning to the season but that’s really OK with the Lewis Mills boys basketball team.

A year ago, the Spartans won 14 games, challenged for the CCC South championship and qualified for the Central Connecticut Conference’s post-season tournament for the first time. Mills finished tied for second in the CCC South with Platt at 5-2 with Middletown winning the division with a 7-0 record.

Mills got two challenging contests to open the season against East Hartford and Windsor before hosting Middletown in their home opener. Mills lost to East Hartford by three before dropping a 19-point decision to Windsor. The Spartans earned their first victory of the season last week with a 13-point win over Middletown.

Lewis Mills continued that momentum on Thursday with a dominating 67-26 victory over a young Canton team in the semifinals of the Litchfield Hills Holiday Classic. Mills (2-2) advances to Saturday night’s championship game against Suffield at 6:30 p.m. with an opportunity to win the tournament for the second consecutive year.

Suffield (2-2) got a game-high 22 points from Michael Coggins and 12 points from Chris Crozier to beat Wamogo, 54-45 in the other semifinal contest. Wamogo (1-2) will face Canton (1-3) at 5 p.m. in the consolation game Saturday at 5 p.m. at Mills.

Everyone got into the action Thursday night for Mills, which beat Canton for the first time since 2014, snapping a seven-game winning streak.

Tristan Mooney led the way with 13 points with Connor Evans scoring 12 points and Eli Pelletier adding 10. Freshman Tommy Dinunzio and Chad Edmond each had eight points for the Spartans.

The 41-point margin of victory is the largest ever between the two schools, who have been facing off on the hardwood since 1962. Previously, the most lopsided win was a 29-point decision by Canton in 1966.

“We still need to get ourselves going a bit offensively,” Mills coach Ryan Raponey said. “We’re solid at the defensive end but we didn’t finish at the rim and we missed open guys from time to time. In the second half, we played much better offensively.”

The game was tied 7-7 late in the first quarter before Mills took advantage of a few turnovers to score some quick baskets in transition and take a 13-7 lead after one quarter. A few quick jumpers in the second quarter helped Mills pull away.

Lewis Mills’ Tristan Mooney, left, and Thomas Dinunzio (14) battle for a rebound during Thursday night’s big win over Canton.

The Spartans had a 10-point lead at halftime, 26-16. But Mills forced numerous turnovers in the third quarter which led to multiple fast break baskets and the game got out of hand quickly.

Canton (1-3) has just one senior on their roster and two freshmen see plenty of time on the floor. Canton tried to play too quickly and Mills took advantage of numerous no-look passes that were intercepted. The Warriors scored just 10 points in the second half.

Michael Valenti scored 12 to lead Canton, which was held to 33 points in a loss to Rocky Hill last week. The 26 points against Mills was the lowest output by either team in the history of the 59-game series.

“When we play good defense, we had a good amount of steals (against Canton), it creates offense for us. When we rebound, we can also run the floor and get some easy basket,” Raponey said.

Lewis Mills 67, Canton 26
At Burlington
Canton (26) Tate Bemis 1-0-3, Jake Sidlosky 0-0-0, Brayden Keefe 0-0-0, Jayden Young 3-1-7, David Grabowski 0-0-0, Chase Ahlgren 2-0-4, Michael Valenti 5-2-12, Wyatt Bernabucci 0-0-0. Totals 11-3-26
Lewis Mills (67) Gavin Daly 4-0-8, Tristan Mooney 6-0-13, Eli Pelletier 4-1-10, Brett Harding 1-0-2, Tommy Dinunzio 2-4-8, Chad Edmond 3-1-8, Jack Nestor 2-0-4, Gage Kosak 0-0-0, Connor Evans 4-3-12, Max Dinunzio 0-0-0, Ethan Braddock 1-0-2. Totals 27-9-67
Lewis Mills (2-2)       13  13  26  15 — 67
Canton (1-3)                 7    9    6    4 – 26
Three-point shots: Bemis (C), T. Mooney (LM), Pelletier (LM), Edmond (LM), Evans (LM)

2023 Litchfield Hills Holiday Classic
At Lewis Mills (Burlington)
Thursday, Dec. 28
Lewis Mills 67, Canton 26
Suffield 54, Wamogo 45
Saturday, Dec, 30
Championship: Lewis Mills vs. Suffield, 6:30 p.m.
Consolation: Canton vs. Wamogo, 5 p.m.

Recent Litchfield Hills Holiday Classic champions
2023: Lewis Mills vs. Suffield
2022: Lewis Mills 51, Wamogo 49
2021: Canton 53, Wamogo 30
2020: No tournament, COVID-19
2019: No tournament
2018: Wamogo 63, Somers 56
2017: Shepaug 55, Oxford 52
2016: Wamogo 63, O’Brien Tech 46
2015: Shepaug 57, O’Brien Tech 55