In Canton on Thursday evening, Canton 46, OFA 21
Story by Joe Roiger, Photos courtesy of Jay Berkman.
Ryan Jones’s 13 points and team defense helped the Canton Golden Bears varsity boys basketball team defeat the OFA Blue Devils 46-21 in a Section 10 Class B semifinal game on Thursday night in Canton.
In the battle between the top-seeded Golden Bears (18-3), who were undefeated in NAC Central Division play this year, and the fourth-seeded Blue Devils (5-15), Canton defeated OFA for the third time this season. The Bears held the Blue Devils to 9-for-31 shooting and never allowed more than 10 points in a quarter.
“We played really good defense,” said Canton head coach Troy Lassial. “Their best shooter took only three shots and we forced over 20 turnovers.”
In addition to leading all scorers, Jones, a senior guard and the NAC Central Co-MVP, added three assists and three steals to lead the way for the Bears.
“The boys came out firing on all cylinders and had confidence going into this game,” Jones said. “We got off to an early lead and never looked back by maintaining a high level of energy.”
Despite leading the team in points, Jones was held in check by OFA, as he only made three shots on 17 attempts. The Bears shot 30.2% as a team and were 4-for-21 from beyond the arc.
OFA found themselves down 21-7 with three minutes left in the second quarter, but the Blue Devils managed to score the last 5 points of the half to bring the game within single digits. The lead wouldn’t last long however, as Bears sophomore forward Zadok Roiger had two layups and a 3-pointer to push the lead to 28-13 with 4:56 left in the third. The Bears would maintain at least a 15-point advantage through the rest of the game.
“I really like to get out in transition,” said Roiger, who finished with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting. “My teammates did a good job of finding me when I was open.”
Jackson Ames added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Ethan Francey added six rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Bears, who have won 13 straight games dating back to December 23.
OFA was led by freshman Grady Pharoah who scored nine points. Ian Rose added five points and 10 rebounds. Canton will next match up against the second-seeded Potsdam Sandstoners at Maxcy Hall on the campus of SUNY Potsdam Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Section 10 Class B championship.
“Potsdam will be much tougher than they were earlier this season,” Lassial said. “We wouldn’t have beaten Potsdam if we played them today. We didn’t finish well at all. We got the shots we wanted but we didn’t finish around the rim.”
The Bears beat the Sandstoners in both regular season matchups, winning 47-42 at home and 43-34 on the road.
