Huge Home Victory for Boy's Basketball 63-59

In a nail-biting finish the Boy's Varsity Basketball squad proved their superiority over the Coventry Patriots Friday night.  The team rallied from a five-point deficit with minutes on the clock to a 51-51 draw to push the game into overtime. The rest is history, at least for a week or so. As the buzzer blared for the end of the 4 minute overtime period, the scoreboard read 63 Home - 59 Visitor, a comfortable lead by some student's standards, Will Briggs, a sophomore wearing a inflatable deer costume wanted to do a "Nah-nah-nah-nah Goodbye" chant with 30 seconds on the clock citing that a 3 point lead was "enough to win for sure."  Even though his fellow students dissuaded him from possibly jinx the game, it turned out that he in fact would be right, and the Coventry Patriots walked off to their cold bus in shame.
Will Briggs was not alone in dressing up for this occasion, a few seniors put together the costume theme to unify the crowd in a slightly different fashion than the previous blackouts and whiteouts. Student-Fans pulled out all the stops and came adorned in various inflatable costumes, a some other creative attires such as Pocahontas, a retro Tropics Jersey, The Crocodile Hunter, A Skier, A Knight, A toga-clad greek, and a handful of sombrero and poncho wearing friends from south of the border.

 The crowed kept alive the whole game never taking a seat, rallying the team though challenging times.
On the court there was an intensity like no other, Alex Daley a senior and co-captain of the team was relentless and tenacious with his defense, never giving his opponent more than an inch all game.  Ben Sullivan a junior put away two back to back three point shots early on to help give the warriors a nice cushion for most of the game. Despite not being able to convert many baskets in the first four minutes the Warriors set the tone for the intensity they would be playing at.  The team dominated possession, and  excelled defensively, but couldn't put in in the basket. Fortunately, that changed quickly and the first quarter wrapped up 16-5.  Throughout the second and third quarter the team played well and maintained the lead they established in the first quarter, closing out at 29-19 and 41-29 respectively.

The fourth quarter took a slightly different turn, an turn for the worst for the Canton fans. Coventry miraculously pulled it even to 46-46 then pulled ahead to 51.  Canton was down by five points, things di not look good for the Warriors.  By a string great plays Canton managed to bring it level and prevent the Patriots from scoring in the last 30 seconds.  As overtime came around tensions were high an the Coventry coach ripped off his tie in preparation for the heat Canton was about to bring.  2 points from Cam Lange, 4 points from Riley Hoffman the two star sophomores on the team set up a foundation for the Warriors.  The Coventry Patriots made the mistake of fouling senior Andrew Zukowski, 4 times and learned the hard way that "Z" does not crack under pressure, putting 6 in the net, and concreting the 63-59 win. Junior Co-captain Cam Daley was the lead scorer with 10 points, but this game was truly a team effort. For the seven boys that saw time on the court no one scored less than 6.

All in all, it was a game worth watching securing the boys a birth in the NCCC tournament.  Students are encouraged to make it out to the home games, as the players and coaches appreciate the home-court advantage.  Senior Terrence Brophy has been a key organizer for the School Spirit at the sporting events, if you are ever wondering when the next Wigwam will be forming, he is a great contact point.