After losing three starters to Covid-19 protocol and subsequently losing a 48-40 tilt Monday night against McMahon, New Canaan basketball head coach Danny Melzer was looking for a quick response from his team Thursday afternoon at Danbury High School.
Melzer received all of that and more.
The Rams came out of the gates strong and never looked back, scoring the first 15 points of the contest in a 56-34 win over the Hatters.
“We got off to a great start and we never let up,” Melzer told NewCanaanite.com. “I love the little things we did. Making shots is awesome but that comes and goes. You can’t count on that every night. But you can count on boxing out, playing good defense and wanting the game more than the other team.”
Senior co-captain Will Bozzella led the scoring with 16 points. Fellow co-captain Christian Sweeney added 12—all on three-pointers—and sophomore Jack Hladick also chipped in with 12 for the Rams who improved to 4-1 on the season.
Danbury was led by freshman Cameron Perkins and senior Kevin Vidmar, who had 7 points apiece. The Hatters fell to 2-4.
Christian Sweeney seen in action earlier this year
New Canaan stunned the Hatters with a virtuoso performance in the first quarter. The Rams seemed to be playing at a different intensity than Danbury – dominating the glass on both ends of the court, diving for loose balls and taking charges. The Hatters could simply not figure out New Canaan’s zone defense and spent most of the opening period forcing up long-range, off-target shots.
Meanwhile the Rams offense couldn’t miss. After Steven Panzano’s putback gave New Canaan a 2-0 lead, a pair of threes from Bozzella and one from Hladick, coupled with baskets from juniors Mike Sanseverino and Ned Brady gave the Rams a 15-0 lead after one.
Danbury finally got on the board at the 7:32 mark of the second quarter after two foul shots from Perkins. New Canaan countered with a 12-3 run over the next four minutes, extending to a 27-5 advantage with 3:30 left in the half.
Sweeney hit three of his four three-pointers on the night in the second quarter. Bozzella added a three and Hladick had a pair of buckets to send the teams into the half with New Canaan up 33-17.
The Rams put the game on ice in the third. New Canaan outscored Danbury 15-1 in the quarter, building an insurmountable 48-18 lead going into the fourth. Bozzella opened the half with a three and Panzano followed with a layup to make it 38-17 New Canaan. Bozzella sank two free throws and Sweeney hit one of two putting the Rams up 41-17.
“We talked at halftime about how we were going to get their best shot in the third quarter,” Melzer said. “We never really gave them a chance to get back in it.”
After Cushan Perkins ended the New Canaan run with a foul shot the Rams reeled off a 13-0 run over the remainder of the third and the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, taking a 54-18 lead. Danbury inched closer over the final six minutes against New Canaan’s reserves, who gained valuable varsity minutes against a perennial FCIAC powerhouse.
“It was a great team victory,” Melzer said. “We were in a really tough spot Monday night with a bunch of kids who never played varsity basketball before. Tonight we were better prepared just in a better place. I’m proud of the way our three seniors played tonight and I’m proud of the way the younger guys followed their lead. Everybody chipped in. Our guys coming back are going to be excited. This is a huge boost for us heading into a big game against Darien on Saturday.”
NEW CANAAN 56, DANBURY 34
New Canaan 15 18 15 8-56
Danbury 0 17 1 16-34
NC: Christian Sweeney 4 0-0 12, Will Bozzella 5 2-2 16, Steven Panzano 4 1-1 9, Jack Hladick 5 0-0 12, Mike Sanseverino 1 0-0 2, Ned Brady 1 0-0 2, Brendan Tiscornia 1 1-2 3. Totals: 21 3-4 56
D: Cameron Perkins 0 7-9 7, Charnez Perkins 1 2-4 4, Kevin Vidmar 3 0-0 7, Christian Nalbation 1 1-2 4, Cushan Perkins 0 2-4 2, Nick Smith 1 1-2 3, Kobe Caban 1 0-0 2, Dominic Cordero 1 0-0 3, J’ashon Little 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 13-21 34
3 pointers:
NC – Sweeney 4, Bozzella 4, Hladick 2
D – Nalbation, Vidmar, Cordero
Records:
NC – 4-1
D – 2-4