Sports

Sweeney Scores 1,000th Point; New Canaan Falls to St. Joe’s

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Tyler Sweeney would be the first person to tell you he’d trade every point he’s ever scored for a win. The New Canaan senior basketball star has seen more than his share of personal success over his four-year career—success that unfortunately hasn’t translated into wins for the Rams.

Even so, Sweeney—as he has been every game since cracking the New Canaan lineup as a freshman—was a huge bright spot in the Rams 58-42 Senior Night loss to St. Joe’s, netting the 1,000th point of his career. Sweeney became the first century scorer at New Canaan since the great Monroe Trout hit the mark in the 1979-80 season. He is only the fourth 1,000-point scorer in NCHS boys basketball history joining Wilky Gimore, Bill Saunders and Trout in that exclusive club (former girls basketball star Sara Mannelly also scored 1,000 points for the Rams).

Sports

New Canaan Basketball Falls to Ludlowe, 41-35

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In what has been somewhat of an up-and-down season for the New Canaan High School boys basketball team, Friday night’s 41-35 loss to Fairfield Ludlowe might have established a new low for the Rams.

Poor shot selection and execution, subpar rebounding and an uptick in turnovers sank New Canaan (3-10, 3-6 FCIAC), which lost its third consecutive contest. The Rams were unable to climb out of a hole they dug for themselves in the third quarter which saw Ludlowe (4-8, 3-5 FCIAC) outscore New Canaan 16-4, turning a two-point halftime lead into a 35-21 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. “I don’t know what went wrong tonight,” Rams head coach Danny Melzer told NewCanaanite.com. “I’ve never seen us not reflect a team that wants to do whatever it takes to win. Tonight we reflected a team that didn’t and I can’t put my finger on why.”

It wasn’t for a lack of opportunities.

Sports

Letter: Outgoing NCHS Boys Hoops Coach Thanks the Community

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It is a challenge for me to put into words how thankful I am for my four years in New Canaan. I coached great kids, I worked with great people, and I watched one class of boys grow from being timid freshmen to becoming young men. Just that–aiding in the maturation process of young people–is why my staff and I coach. “I’m from New Canaan,” I’ve told many kids over the years, “but where I’m from they call it Weston.” It is a common misconception that kids from these backgrounds, who sometimes have more than most, are immune to the problems of the world. In fact, they are exposed to far more complex issues and at far too young of an age.  For this, I will remember most vividly not the moments that required a backdoor cut or three-pointer, but instead the one-on-one talks with players in my office, the communication I maintain with alumni, and some of the parents that truly understood what it meant for their son to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Sports

Evans Steps Down as New Canaan Boys Basketball Coach

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After four years as the New Canaan’s boys varsity basketball coach, Mike Evans is stepping down, NewCanaanite.com has learned. Both New Canaan Athletic Director Jay Egan and Evans himself have confirmed that Evans resigned as of this afternoon, and that the players were told at the school. The reason for Evans’ departure has not been publicly disclosed. In an email sent to the NCHS basketball families earlier today, Egan stated:

“During his tenure New Canaan Boys Basketball has become a program that is well respected around the F.C.I.A.C. Interest and enthusiasm for basketball in New Canaan has significantly increased as result of Coach Evans’ influence. “I greatly appreciate all the work Mike has done with our program and the NCBA over the past 4 seasons.

Sports

New Canaan’s Chandonnet Headed for the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tourney

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Former New Canaan Rams basketball player Claude Chandonnet is headed to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament. The 2015 NCHS grad and Rams captain is a freshman shooting guard for the Denison University Big Red, who stunned the D-3 basketball world this past weekend by defeating perennial conference powerhouses Wittenberg, Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster to win the North Coast Athletic Conference title for an automatic qualifier in the NCAA’s. “At the start of the season we had meetings every week talking about what we were fighting for and what we wanted to leave for the season,” Chandonnet told NewCanaanite.com. “When the season started we decided we wanted to leave a legacy.”

And what a legacy it was. After and up-and-down regular season that saw the Big Red go 14-11, Denison pulled off an 81-75 win over Wittenberg in the quarterfinals before matching up against Ohio Wesleyan, the top seed in the NCAC and the No.