The question would always come at dinner time in the Patten household, and Norwell junior Jonah Patten always wanted to be ready with the right answer.HAMILTON – The Canterbury boys basketball team captured a third straight Class A sectional title with a 57-56 win over Lakewood Park in the Hamilton Sectional finals Monday.
“This is so exciting for me,” first-year Canterbury coach Scott Kreiger said. “This is what we talked about at the beginning of the year … playing our best basketball when the tournament comes around.”
Canterbury (15-8) will face host Triton (17-5) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Triton Regional semifinals.
Trent VanHorn led the Cavs with 22 points, Chase Moyle had 15 and Grant Sinn chipped in with 12, on four three-pointers.
The Cavaliers led by eight points entering the fourth but had the lead all but disappear when Lakewood Park (17-6) drew within 56-53 with 16 seconds left.
But Moyle hit 1 of 2 free throws for a four-point lead, 57-53, and a final three-pointer by Zac Crosby made it a one-point game as the final seconds ticked off.
After turning the ball over just three times in the first half, the Cavs had nine in the second half, including five in the fourth.
“We knew in certain situations, we had to keep our composure,” Moyle said. “Now we have to get ready for Triton on Saturday.”
Lakewood Park got 29 points from Blake Mann. But the Panthers hit only two three-pointers.
The defensive game plan for Canterbury was to switch on picks the Panthers set to free up their three-point shooters.
“For the most part, we did that,” said Kreiger, who led the Canterbury girls team to four state titles. “They got a couple but certainly not as many as they are accustomed to. We made them work for everything.”
Mann got a three-pointer in the third, while Crosby had the one at the end.
“We wanted to switch on the ball screens, and it was something we didn’t do when we played them earlier in the year,” said VanHorn of a 61-58 win over Lakewood Park in the regular season. “That made a big difference because they weren’t able get to those open threes. That was a great adjustment that we made.”
Canterbury held a 34-24 advantage at halftime but Lakewood Park won the second half, 32-23.
