While the Lumberjacks completed that goal, their efforts of winning the program’s first sectional title since 2014 came up short on Friday night, falling to the Canton Golden Bears 56-33 at SUNY Potsdam’s gym.

“I think, as a program, we made the next step up,” Bennett said. “Last year we made it to the semis, and this year we made it to the championship.”

Canton, which had more than 20 kids on its roster in comparison to Tupper Lake’s nine, used its depth and size to perfection, jumping out to a 14-4 advantage after the first quarter. The Lumberjacks never came close, although they did rally late to narrow the Bears’ lead.

Canton forward Eyilayomi Odetoyinbo seemingly blocked every Lumberjack shot near the rim. On the other side of the court, the Golden Bears’ offense was solid, scoring double figures in each of the first three quarters.

Tupper Lake’s Garrett Pelkey, left, looks to make a play during Friday’s Section X Class C championship game against Canton at Maxcy Hall in Potsdam. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“I knew Canton was going to be hard. I know who they have,” Bennett said. “They are usually a (class) B. Last year they were the B champions, and they just barely slipped to the C’s, and they are the same team almost. I knew it was going to be a tough one, and I was hoping for obviously a better outcome but Canton came to play. (Odetoyinbo) is a game changer.”

Odetoybinbo finished the game with 8 points while his teammates Ryan Jones and Luke Wentworth scored 10 points each. With the win, Canton advanced to the Class C state regional playoffs, where the team will take on the winner of the Section II and Section VII champions.

While the Lumberjacks were seemingly outmatched from the start of Friday’s contest, the team never fully gave up.

Trailing 50-16 at the start of the fourth quarter, Tupper Lake put together a 17-6 run to end the game, with some big shots from Tom Peterson and Garrett Pelkey.

Peterson — one of two Lumberjacks named to the All-Northern Athletic Conference East Division team — finished with a game-high 17 points. Tyler LaPlante had a solid outing with 7 points, which included a three-pointer. Pelkey, an eighth-grader, nailed a three-point shot.

Tupper Lake’s Michael Corneau, left, attempts to drive past Canton’s Luke Wentworth during Friday’s Section X Class C championship game against Canton at SUNY Potsdam. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Michael Corneau, who also made the All-NAC East Division team, finished with 4 points and a team-high four rebounds.

The Lumberjacks finished the season with an overall record of 17-5. Bennett said while his players were upset with the loss, it’s nice to know that most of them will be returning to the team next season.

“Although Keegan (Dattoma) and Lorenzo (Galloni) gave a lot to our team this year, our highest points came from people that will be back next year,” Bennett said. “Eight hundred of our points this year — (Corneau and Peterson) both scored right around 400 — are back next year, which is huge.”

Canton 56, Tupper Lake 33

Golden Bears 14 13 23 6 — 56

Lumberjacks 4 6 6 17 — 33

Tupper Lake (42)

Galloni 0-0-0, Godin 0-2-2, Peterson 5-6-17, Dattoma 0-0-0, LaPlante 2-2-7, Corneau 2-0-4. McClain 0-0-0, Pelkey 1-0-3. Totals: 10-10-33.

Three-point goals: Tupper Lake (3), Peterson, LaPlante, Pelkey.