Avon Boys Advance to NCCC Finals With 33-24 Win Over Suffield

It was one of the strangest boxscores in the history of the North Central Connecticut Conference boys basketball tournament.

, averaging just over 50 points a game, scored just 33 points, had no player with more than six points, and committed a slew of mistakes against a team with a player who surpassed 1,000 career points as a junior, and which had knocked off the tournament's top-seeded team.

Yet somehow, Avon won by nearly double digits.

In a slow-paced, turnover-laden game, the Falcons held off , 33-24 Tuesday at Enfield High School to advance to the tournament finals Thursday.

The Wildcats led 10-9 after the opening eight minutes, thanks to five points each from Steven Roncaioli and leading scorer Eddie Danek. A 7-0 run over a 2:54 span gave Avon a six-point lead in the second quarter, but a three-pointer by Danek and a last-second hoop by Andy Dodds sent the teams to the locker room with Avon in front, 18-17.

Defense prevailed in the third quarter, as the teams combined for just nine points. Suffield was held to just three points in the final period, and the Falcons sank seven free throws, including three by Ryan Marioni, in the final 1:36 to nail down the victory.

"Avon played great defense this whole game, and especially in the fourth quarter," Suffield coach Dan Gatto said.

Danek, who scored 10 points in the first half, was kept off the scoresheet after intermission, thanks to aggressive defense by Colin Pavano.

"Our game plan was to stop an All-State-caliber player in Eddie Danek, and we did a great job," Avon coach Chris Vozzolo said. "Colin Pavano did a great job on him defensively, and our whole team was ready to help at any point. We've been very inconsistent all season long scoring the basketball, and we know we have to do it every night on the defensive end. Tonight we did it, and luckily we got enough points to win the game."

Pavano, Tyler D'Onofrio and Billy Stevens each tallied six points to lead the Falcons.

Avon (13-9) will travel back to Enfield High School for the title game to take on the host Raiders, who defeated Granby, 58-49.

Enfield and Avon split their regular season series, with each team prevailing at home. The Raiders took the season opener, 40-37 on Dec. 17, while the Falcons captured the rematch, 49-44 on Jan. 14.

Suffield (12-10) will compete in the Class M state tournament next week.