Classical beats Canton with late three-point shot to clinch share of NCCC title

Luke Brown drives to the basket in Monday’s NCCC loss to Classical Magnet in Hartford. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

HARTFORD, Feb. 22 – It’s been a season of close finishes for the Canton High boys basketball team. The Warriors let one get away Monday night as Hartford Classical erased a 12-point deficit and rallied for a 66-65 NCCC victory on a three-point field goal from Tyreice Woods with 15.8 seconds remaining.

With its 10th straight win, Classical (16-4, 13-3 NCCC) clinched at least a share of the NCCC championship. SMSA (16-3, 12-3) can earn a share of the league title with a win over Ellington on Wednesday.

Canton (14-6, 10-6 NCCC) led for the first three quarters of the game but the Gladiators rallied to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. It was test of nerves and poise in the fourth quarter as the lead changed 10 times.

Late in the fourth quarter, Classical had its largest lead of the game, four points, but Rieley Hoffman drained his third 3-point field goal of the game to cut the lead to one, 63-62. Canton’s Cameron Lange completed a three-point play to give the Warriors a 65-63 lead with under a minute to go.

Lange led all scorers with 22 points in the game, including three 3-point shots. Hoffman added 17 points for the Warriors while Ethan Burke scored 12. Malik McKenzie led Classical with 18 points while Woods scored 17.

Ethan Burke had 12 points in Canton’s loss to Classical Monday night in the final game of the regular season. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Canton got off to a fast start with a 10-2 run with baskets from Burke, Lange, Hoffman and Adam Eytan. A 9-0 Canton run in the second quarter with baskets from Luke Brown, Burke (three-pointer), Jake Schaetzel and Lange pushed the Warrior lead to 12 points, 24-12. Classical closed out the first half with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to six.

In the third quarter, Canton had a nine-point lead, 38-29 but Classical began to surge with a 17-9 run to close out the third quarter and reduce Canton’s lead to just one point, 47-46.

With the regular season complete, Canton awaits their assignment to play in the upcoming NCCC Tournament. The CIAC Class S tournament begins with qualifying on March 4 and first round play on March 7.

Hartford Classical 66, Canton 65
At Hartford
Canton (65): Rieley Hoffman 7 0 17, Luke Brown 2 0 4, Jake Schaetzel 2 4 8, Ethan Burke 4 3 12, Cameron Lange 9 1 22, Adam Eytan 1 0 2. Totals 25 8
Hartford Classical (66): Malik McKenzie 8 1 18, Leroy Collier 6 3 17, Tyreice Woods 6 2 17, Jameal Cushnie 4 0 8, Danny Campbell 1 2 4, T.J. Noel-Sullivan 1 0 2. Totals 26 8
Canton (14-6)       10  16  21  18  — 65
Classical (16-4)      8  12  26  20  — 66
Three-point goals: Hoffman (C) 3, Burke (C), Lange (C) 3; McKenzie (HC) , Collier (HC) 2, Woods (HC) 3

Bill Brewster contributed to this story.