New Canaan Wins 1st Boys Hoop Title In 57 Years

UNCASVILLE, CT — New Canaan recovered from a shaky start, finding the range from 3-point land in the second quarter en route to a 55-39 win over Granby in the Division IV boys basketball finals Saturday morning at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Rams trailed 9-1 three and a half minutes into the contest, but a pair of treys by Ben Sarda and one from Alex Gibbens in the first 79 seconds of the second quarter propelled New Canaan into the lead for good.

Appearing in their first title game in 30 years, the Rams won for the first time since defeating Plainville 49-48 in the Class M final in 1962.

Granby led 15-9 after the first quarter before New Canaan found its long-range shooting touch. The Rams led 26-21 at intermission, and an 18-8 advantage in the third quarter put the game away.

Gibbens led the Rams with 13 points, Matthew Brand had 12 and Ryan McAleer contributed 11. Granby was led by Rowan Heinze with 13 points, while James Shelansky had 10.