Canton’s Nolan Endquist (14) brings down a rebound between Avon’s Brendan Mahoney (2) and Tommy Mango (5) in Thursday night’s non-conference game in Canton. Avon prevailed, 57-52.
CANTON, Feb. 12, 2026 – Close games have been hard to find for the Avon High boys basketball team this season in the competitive Central Connecticut Conference.
Avon beat Stafford by two points on opening night, dropped a four-point decision in overtime to Bristol Central in early January and lost to Berlin by six on January 13.
On Thursday night, the Falcons found themselves in a close ballgame with old rival Canton, who cut the lead to one point with 1:46 remaining. But the Falcons scored seven of the last 11 points in the game to beat the Warriors, 57-52 and keep their fading CIAC playoff hopes alive for another night.
Avon, which snapped a six-game losing streak, improved to 5-12 and needs to win their final three games against Simsbury, Bristol Eastern and Farmington to earn their first CIAC tournament bid since 2022.
The Falcons host Simsbury (8-9) on Friday night in Avon beginning at 6:45 p.m.
“We have played in (many) games like these in the last couple of seasons,” Avon coach Kris Pedra said. “It is in close ballgames where you are going to grow the most. You learn from your mistakes. You watch the video. We think the junior class will be very good next year and a game like this helps them.”
Six-foot-six junior Leo Indomenico led all scorers with 19 points with junior guard Sam Stinchon scoring 11 points and junior guard Brendan Mahoney and Jude Turner each getting eight points.
“Leo is 6-6 so he is a real asset for us,” Pedra said. “We had two juniors – Sam Stinchon and Brandon Mahoney – who really stepped up for us. It was a good battle.”
Avon’s Leo Indomenico (32) makes a block of a shot by Canton’s Brandon Morin in Thursday night’s game with Canton. Indomenico finished with a game-high 19 points.
Canton (6-12), which needs to win their final two games to secure a spot in the CIAC Division IV tournament, has played in many close games this season. But they’ve struggled to secure victories. This was their sixth loss by six points or less.
“We graduated a lot of leadership and we’ve really got to learn how to play in close games and win close games,” Canton head coach Dan Goscinski said. “We’ve been really competitive for the majority of the year. We just need to finish to win those close games.”
“We had our chances,” Goscinski said.
Twice in the final three minutes, Canton had nice passes into the post from James Canny but the ball bounced off the rim. Indomenico and Mahoney were usually there to pull down a key rebound.
Canton led by as many as four points while Avon led by as many as seven points.
The Falcons had a 48-41 lead with 4:20 remaining in the game after a deep three-point shot from Stinchon. But Canton responded with a burst to cut the lead to one. Jaiden Diaz hit a three-point shot and Brayden Keefe drove to the basket to cut the lead to two, 48-46 with 3:20 remaining.
Diaz got a steal at midcourt and was fouled. He sank 1 of 2 free throws to cut the lead to 48-47 with 3:17 left in the game.
With 1:46 remaining, Keefe hit the first of two free throws to cut the Avon lead to one, 50-49. He missed the second. The Warriors got the rebound but missed on the ensuing shot. Avon sank three free throws to extend the lead to 53-49.
After another steal from Nolan Endquist for the Warriors, Canny pulled down the rebound of his own missed shot and scored with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to two, 53-51.
Avon sank five of six free throws to secure the victory.
Keefe had 18 points to lead the Warriors while Diaz had 11 points. Jack Kempf came off the bench and drained three 3-point shots in the second quarter, finishing with nine points.
It was the fifth straight win by Avon over Canton with the last victory by the Warriors coming in 2016. The last game between the two old rivals was in 2022.
The series between the two schools dates back to 1959 and they were in the same conference – Northwest Conference or the North Central Connecticut Conference – for a majority of the time up to 2016 when the Falcons moved to the CCC.
Avon 57, Canton 52
At Canton
Avon (57) Jude Turner 2-3-8, Brendan Mahoney 4-0-8, Sam Stinchon 3-3-11, Jack Parker 1-0-2, Tommy Mango 2-1-5, Tristan Lee 1-2-4, Leo Indomenico 6-7-19. Totals 19 16-22 57
Canton (52) Jaiden Diaz 4-1-11, James Canny 3-0-6, Lucas Mainville 0-0-0, Brandon Morin 0-0-0, Brayden Keefe 6-5-18, Nolan Endquist 2-2-8, Jack Kempf 3-0-9, Wyatt Bernabucci 0-0-0. Totals 18 8 52
Avon (5-12) 8 15 13 21 — 57
Canton (6-12) 11 11 12 18 — 52
Three-point goals: Diaz (C) 2, Keefe (C), Enquist (C), Kempf (C) 3, Turner (A), Stinchon (A) 2
