Granby Holds On to Nip Somers In NCCC Tournament

Nick Mazzotta canned four straight free throws late in the fourth quarter, giving the lead for good as the Bears held on for a 41-39 victory over in the opening round of the North Central Connecticut Conference boys basketball tournament Saturday at Enfield High School.

"Monstrous free throws - huge," Granby head coach Walter Hansen said. "Nick Mazzotta is one of our captains, a leader. He didn't have one of his best games, but he came out and knocked down those free throws when we needed him."

The back-and-forth affair saw eight lead changes in the second half. Granby had opened up a six-point lead just before halftime, but Somers came back and assumed a six-point lead of its own late in the third quarter.

"(Somers) fought their way back into the game, fought their way into the lead and we dug ourselves a hole, but we fought back," Hansen said.

Trailing 36-31, the Bears jumped ahead on back-to-back three-point shots by Carlin Champion and Rob Richards. Evan Woicik pushed the Spartans back in front with 4:06 remaining, but Mazzotta's free throws gave Granby a 41-38 advantage with 1:51 left.

Woicik sank a free throw to trim the margin to two in the final minute. After the Spartans got the ball back, Woicik took a shot at the buzzer which lipped the rim, enabling Granby to hang onto the win.

Woicik led all scorers with 15 points, including 12 in the second half. Champion was the only Bear in double figures, tallying 10 points.

Granby (13-8) won its fourth straight game, and will face host Enfield in the tournament semifinals Tuesday night. Somers (13-8) is idle until the start of the Class S state tournament.