Last-Minute Wildcat Magic Grabs the Win

A persistent Canton team tied the Suffield boys varsity with 23.1 seconds left on Thursday night. But the Wildcats knew exactly what needed to happen to seal the win: get the ball to their leading scorer, Eddie Danek.

Danek hit the decisive shot with five seconds left, the Warriors missed a desperation shot at the buzzer and the Wildcats walked away with a 55-53 victory during their Senior Night, which honored seniors in the basketball, cheerleading and dance programs.

The Wildcats (10-7, 7-6 NCCC) have won three of their last four games.

“I was a little surprised,” said Danek, who scored a game-high 19 points, adding the final two on an open 12-foot jumper. “I thought they’d be closer up. It wasn’t uncontested but I thought there’d be another guy or two on me.”

Danek, who was fed the rock by Steven Roncaioli, was surprisingly alone at such a pivotal juncture.

“We wanted to get him the ball. I thought the execution on that play was great,” said Suffield Coach Dan Gatto, who designed the winning play, a double screen. “He was able to get the ball.”

Danek made one of two free throws for a 53-51 Suffield lead with 2:40 remaining in the game. Canton (8-11, 5-10 NCCC) was patient during its next possession, trying to draw even in the conference game.

After the Wildcats successfully defended the Warriors’ possession they smartly played keep away with the ball. But Canton, having lost three in a row, did not allow Suffield to run out the clock and got the ball back with approximately 30 seconds left to play.

The Warriors, who lacked in height compared to the Wildcats, had trouble rebounding throughout the game. but when it mattered most, they grabbed two offensive rebounds to set up their game-tying basket. Josh Rivera came up with the last offensive rebound and Canton’s third shot of the sequence. His eight-footer tied the game at 53-53.

After Danek’s go-ahead basket, Canton’s Mike Pepin attempted a 35-footer at the buzzer that teased the teams and the fans, bouncing off the rim. Pepin made a similar buzzer-beater on Dec. 17 in Bolton for a 53-51 victory. Pepin was one of two Warriors to make three three-pointers and scored 18 points against Suffield. Patrick Sullivan added 11 on a basket and three three-pointers.

“We really scrapped,” Canton Coach Eric Deegan said. “That was nice, to see us really play hard at both ends of the court. We really hadn’t done that in our last few games. The intensity was there, probably all night.”

Deegan said his team was too careless with the ball. Canton was susceptible to Suffield’s pressing and traps throughout the game. Deegan couldn’t complain about the Warriors’ outside shooting, though. They made seven three-pointers, almost 40 percent of their offense.

“I thought they shot the ball just great,” Gatto said. “Their seven threes is more than we usually see.”

Canton often relies on their outside shooting skills.

“We have to. That’s our M.O.,” Deegan said. “We’re so short that we’ve got to get those looks. We did a great job of coming off our screens at the right time.”

Suffield held a 15-12 lead after the first quarte, but the Warriors outscored the Wildcats by two points in both the second and third quarters for a 40-39 lead entering the fourth.

Suffield, which saw 12 points put up by Andy Dodds, enjoyed six-point leads on two occasions. Danek grabbed a steal and drove for a layup to make the score 51-44 with a little less than five minutes to play. Yet, Canton rallied behind a three-pointer each from Sullivan and Pepin.

Colin Gurry, another effective perimeter shooter, also scored 11 for Canton.

Suffield was four of 12 from the foul line and two of six in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were four for five from the line.