It was a roller coaster season for the Canton boys’ basketball team. They started the year 3-0, then went 0-3, and it never seemed to slow down for them all the way through the district playoffs.
They finished the regular season 10-10, fourth in the highly competitive NTL Division-II, and earned a home game for the Class AA playoffs.
“Kids went through a lot this year with the pandemic,†said coach Brock Kitche. “I couldn’t be prouder of their resilience. I’m proud of the kids for making the playoffs for the third year in a row.â€
They split with district semifinalist NEB, while sweeping other district semifinalist Sayre. They also beat Montgomery, another playoff team, while nearly upsetting NTL Division-II champions and district finalists NP-Liberty twice in the span of a week.
Canton also beat NP-Mansfield on the road for the second year in a row, a difficult feat for even the best teams in the league.
In their district game they led most of the way only to lose it at the end to East Juniata, a team that made it to the district final.
“I’m hoping the end of the season will be a spark to fuel their fire for the off season,†said Kitchen. “Our seniors all stepped up and had great seasons, and we’re great leaders for the younger kids. We will return three starters, along with our sixth and seventh man for next year, but depth will definitely be an issue, which is why the off season will be so important.â€
Junior Isaiah Niemczyk turned into one of the best scorers in the league at 18.2 points per game, while also grabbing 9.4 rebounds per game. He was named to the All-NTL First Team.
Caiden Williams put up 12 ppl and 9.0 rag with Cooper Kitchen averaging just under 10 points per game as he led the team in 3-pointers made with 34. Both made All-NTL second team.
Seniors Cam Bellows, Brendan Matthews and Tyler Jannone all filled out their roles - particularly Jannone as a scorer - while Wesley Bellows, Conner Foust and Gavin Morse developed into solid role players off the bench.
With their top three players returning the Warriors look to be in the thick of the NTL Division-II race next season as well, but it won’t be easy, with the league once again sporting some quality teams.
“Congrats to the rest of the NTL on getting through the season, and many reaching the playoffs to represent our league,†said Kitchen.
