Canton Boys Basketball: Fairhaven 59, Canton 47

The first time that Fairhaven and Canton faced each other , the Bulldogs knew that victory would only be attained if they could stop Fairhaven’s All-Star scoring machine Adam Mullen. In that first meeting at Canton, the Bulldogs were successful, holding Mullen to only 18 points and taking a 55-50 victory.

This time, Mullen was unstoppable, only missing three shots on his way to scoring a game-high 35 points and leading the Blue Devils to a 59-47 win over Canton in a non-league contest.

It was the final regular season game for Canton, ending the campaign at 5-15 overall, 2-11 in the and 2-6 in the Davenport (small schools) Division.

Canton still qualified for the post-season Division-3 South Sectional Tournament, as it is a Division-3 program in basketball by going 4-4 against Division-3 opponents this season. However, the Bulldogs will enter the post-season losing 10 of their last 11 games and with a five-game losing streak.

“It would have been a great lift for us to win this last game and go into the (post-season) tournament with a little momentum and more confidence,” said Canton . “We played tough, as we do every game, but they had a hot shooter and he hurt us.”

Other factors leading to Canton’s defeat were that the Blue Devils outrebounded the Bulldogs and they also held an incredible 30-6 advantage in free throw attempts, and were highly successful throughout the game from the charity stripe. Canton was also in foul trouble throughout the game, with many key players forced to sit quality minutes.

Canton was led again by junior Joe McCabe (25 points), who along with junior Chris Murray (15 points) combined for 40 of the 47 points scored by the Bulldogs, but both players missed important minutes on the bench with foul trouble. Senior center Dominique Purvis also was in foul trouble, forcing Canton to go with a smaller lineup and get hurt under the boards.

Fairhaven’s Billy Lessa added 15 points while Canton got five points from junior Colby Gavigan and great defense off the bench from senior guard Alex Chery.

The game was very close through the first three periods, with Canton holding a 15-13 lead after the first quarter and the teams being tie, 24-24, at halftime. Fairhaven outscored Canton by a point in the third quarter, to cling to a 36-35 lead entering the game’s final eight minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Fairhaven took control, with the great shooting of Mullen, outscoring the Bulldogs, 23-12. In the final quarter, Fairhaven took full advantage of Canton’s foul trouble, as well, scoring 16 of its 23 points from the free throw line.

“We played a very tough schedule, this season, and despite our record, we played very well against strong competition and it will pay off for us in the tournament,” said Devoll.

Canton will now wait until Friday for its post-season seeding and first-round opponent.

Canton      15  9   11 12 - 47

Fairhaven  13 11 12 23 - 59