DeQuay Canton’s buzzer beater lifts Carlynton past Keystone Oaks

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | 12:01 AM

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The incredible turnaround season for Carlynton added another successful chapter on Tuesday.

Senior DeQuay Canton hit a short runner in traffic before the buzzer as the Cougars edged host Keystone Oaks, 66-64.

The game was tied with Keystone Oaks in possession, winding down for the final shot. Golden Eagles sophomore Owen Minford took the shot with 8 seconds left, a 3-pointer from the left wing that missed.

Carlynton sophomore Pierce Greiner got the rebound and hit Canton on the outlet pass. He split a pair of defenders, let fly with a short shot in the paint that was the game winner.

“Everybody on the sideline was yelling the time down,” Canton said of his game-winning drive. “I just thought to get the ball up the court. I had two options — to take the shot or dump it down to Chauncie (Mickens) — so I decided to take the shot and it went in.”

The win is the third straight for Carlynton (5-2, 11-4) as the Cougars solidified their hold on third place in Section 3-3A, trailing North Catholic and Seton LaSalle, but pulling away from Avonworth and Keystone Oaks.

What is amazing is the Cougars finished dead last in the section a year ago with a 1-11 record, 6-16 overall.

“It’s no surprise to me,” Canton said of his team’s success this season. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was in fourth grade, so I knew we could do it. We just had to get it all together and we did.”

While the finish was fantastic for Carlynton, the start was not.

Keystone Oaks, playing desperate basketball in an effort to snap a three-game losing streak, jumped out to a 20-8 lead after one quarter. Minford scored nine of his 13 points in the opening eight minutes.

“They were playing with a chip on their shoulder,” Canton said. “They’re a really good team. We just had to keep fighting and we did that to get the victory.”

The Cougars got back in the game with a big second quarter and ended up tying the game 32-32 at halftime.

Despite a strong start, one of the top scorers in the district was held in check as Keystone Oaks senior Frank Stumpo was limited to seven first-half points.

He ended up with 17 points with a 3-pointer in the third quarter putting him over 1,000 points for his career.

The game stayed close in the second half and KO seemed to be in control late in the fourth when they went into a four corners offense.

However, back-to-back turnovers allowed Carlynton a chance to tie the game at 64-64, setting up Canton’s late-game heroics.

The senior Mickens led all scorers with 22 points for Carlynton while the sophomore big man Greiner added 16 points for the Cougars.

“He had a career game,” Carlynton coach Michael Kozy said of Greiner. “Scoring 16 points was not something coming into the game that I was expecting.

“I told the boys in the locker room, we have a complete team, I believe. If one night this guy gets two points and this guy gets 15, then the next night, it might be the complete opposite.”

Senior Mark Ragan led Keystone Oaks (2-6, 6-9) with 19 points.

Tags: Carlynton, Keystone Oaks