Surviving at the End

Avon stayed in contention Friday night at Suffield mainly from outstanding foul shooting. But with a chance to tie with 3.6 seconds left by making both shots from the line, the magic suddenly disappeared for the Falcons.

Colin Pavano’s half-court shot at the buzzer hit the backboard and bounced off the rim to preserve Suffield’s 49-47 victory that avenged a 57-54 loss at Avon on January 8.

The Falcons had a two-game winning streak snapped. They made 14 of their first 17 free-throw attempts. Avon (9-7, 8-4 NCCC) was set up for a chance to tie or pull ahead, getting the ball while trailing by 48-46 with 17 seconds left. Jacob missed on a three-point attempt but Tyler D’Onofrio grabbed the offensive rebound and called timeout with 7.4 seconds to play. Forchheimer got the ball back and was fouled by Suffield’s Eddie Danek, who led all scorers with 25 points Forchheimer.

Forchheimer missed his first foul shot but made the second to trim the Falcons' deficit to 48-47. An immediate foul on the in-bounds play sent Andy Dodds to the line for Suffield; the Wildcats ((9-7, 6-6 NCCC) were 8-for-18 from the line overall. Dodds also missed his first shot and made his second second for a 49-47 advantage with 2.6 seconds to go. That set up Pavano’s desperation heave.

“In these close games, every point counts,” said Suffield coach Dan Gatto. “In these close games, we’ve got to learn how to finish better.”

The Wildcats were 5-for-11 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Suffield opened a 9-2 lead within the first four minutes of the game on two baskets and a three by Danek. Buckets by Falcons Chris Wallburg and Forchheimer made it 9-6 before Dodds hit a three and Tyron Williams fed Danek for another layup and a 14-6 lead.

Suffield stretched their advantage to 21-10 two minutes into the second quarter but that signaled a halt to the Wildcats’ best stretch of play for the game.

This was the second time in the two games between the teams in which the Wildcats got out to a quick and large lead. Avon regained the lead midway through the third quarter on a Pavano three-pointer that made it 27-26. But that was the Falcons' only lead of the game.

“We’ve been struggling out of the gate all season,” said Falcons coach Chris Vozzolo. “It’s a lack of focus. We’re extremely negligent. The first four minutes of the half we like to own. We did that well in the second half. But a couple of turnovers hurt us and a couple of defensive breakdowns, too.”

Suffield led by 34-29 to start the fourth quarter. The lead was up to nine points just over a minute into the quarter. Avon dropped the deficit to 6, as the score read 47-41 with a minute to play.

Forchheimer’s three-pointer made it 47-44 with 49 seconds to go. The rest of the scoring came from the foul line.

No Avon player reached double figures in points. Pavano and Billy Stevens each had nine points. D’Onofrio added eight and Forchheimer seven. Williams was the only other Wildcat in double digits with 11.

“I thought we took care of the ball better tonight than we did in our first game against them,” Gatto said. “We got good possessions, plus I thought our defense was better this time.

“They started to get out in transition more and we didn’t get back quick enough. I think that’s how they started to come back,” Gatto said.