Raiders Bounced From Class M Tournament

The dream ended for the Enfield High School boys basketball team Tuesday, as they went down to top-seeded Career Magnet, 49-37 in the semifinals of the Class M tournament at Central Connecticut State University.

Postponed is probably a better word than ended, however, as all five starters will be returning to the Raiders next season for another run at a state title.

"The kids played their hearts out," Enfield head coach Cory O'Connell said. "Against Career, you need to execute the game plan to perfection. Some things got away from us: loose balls and second-chance points killed us. Here we were the little team from the NCCC and we held that team that rolled through the SCC to 49 points, so the defense was there. We just needed to hit a couple more shots."

Career (23-1) jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes, including a thunderous dunk by Kevin Hoff. Enfield rallied for a 7-2 run, keyed by a three-pointer by Paul Lima, but a dunk by Kenneth Armstead and back-to-back three-pointers by Earl Hassell and Brandyn Benson put the Panthers in front 16-7 after one quarter.

A turning point in the game came near the midpoint of the second quarter. Trailing 18-11, Hugh Lindo stole the ball for the Raiders and appeared on his way to a basket, but a bad break off his foot turned the ball back over to Career. Hoff converted at the other end of the floor and was fouled, and sank the free throw to give the Panthers a 21-11 lead. Career maintained a double-digit advantage the remainder of the contest.

A Benson three-pointer just before the buzzer sent Career to the locker room with a 33-18 halftime lead. The Panthers widened the gap to as much as 18 during the second half, and a late jam by Treyvon Moore put the exclamation point on Career's ticket to Saturday's championship game against Trinity Catholic at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Hoff led the balanced Career scoring with 16 points. Benson had 14, while Moore and Armstead each contributed eight.

Enfield's Tre Preston was game-high scorer with 20 points, with 14 coming in the second half. Paul Lima had 11 points, including a trio of treys, but was held scoreless in the final 18 minutes.

Enfield loses seniors Sean McGuire, Jeremy Chevalier and Anthony Gugliotti, but the return of starters Preston, Lima, Lindo, John Cerrato and Tony Romano gives the Raiders high hopes for 2011-12.

"We need to get in the weight room and get a little bit stronger," O'Connell said. "Against a team like this, it shows. We're pretty athletic, but I think our strength will determine how far we make it next year."