Month: February 2023

Division I girls first round update

All but one of the first round games in the NHIAA Division I Girls Basketball State Tournament were played tonight and there were a pair of upsets.

Eleventh-seeded Manchester Memorial won in dramatic fashion over #6 Exeter, 46-45, in overtime. Exeter’s Emma Smith pumped in a team-high 23 points, including a game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime, but Memorial pulled it out in OT. Madison Pepra-Omani (26 points) got fouled on a three-quarter court heave, down 45-44 with no time on the clock, and made both free throws to secure the win.

Tenth-seeded Londonderry also pulled of an upset as they defeated #7 Windham, 51-34.

Eighth-seeded Dover and #9 Concord meet tomorrow at 6:00 pm to wrap up the opening round.

Check out the updated bracket…

Goffstown races past Blue Devils

Fourth-seeded Goffstown used a 24-point third quarter to defeat #13 Salem, 58-30, on Tuesday night in first round action of the NHIAA Division I Girls Basketball State Tournament.

The Grizzlies advance to the quarterfinals where they will host #5 Pinkerton on Friday at 7:00 pm.

The Blue Devils kept the affair low scoring in the first half and trailed 21-14 at the break, but Goffstown blew things open in the third behind 13 points in the quarter from senior Ava Winterburn. The Grizzlies outscored the Blue Devils 24-7 in the stanza and rolled to a 28-point victory.

Goffstown was led by a game-high 25 points from Winterburn, while Maggie Sasso also added 19 for the Grizzlies. Pacing Salem was Ayla Regan with a team-high 14 points.

Check out the full gallery of the action by Dave Beliveau…

Woodsville knocks off top-seeded Littleton

PENACOOK – Fourth-seeded Woodsville continued its quest for a third-straight Division IV title as the Engineers defeated top-seeded Littleton, 60-53, in semifinal action on Monday night at Merrimack Valley High School.

With the win, Woodsville advances to Saturday’s championship game as they will take on #6 Holy Family at Colby Sawyer College in New London at 3:00 pm.

The Enginers held Littleton to just 12 first-half points and took a 23-12 lead to the half. The Crusaders later trailed 40-29 entering the final quarter of play before cutting the lead to four in the fourth, but Woodsville hung on for the victory.

The Engineers were paced by a balance scoring attack as they placed four players in double figures: Cam Davidson (17 points), Connor Houston (15), Landon Kingsbury (12) and Jack Boudreault (10). The Crusaders were led by a game-high 18 points from Dre Akines.

Check out the highlights by Tim Lee…

Check out the full photo gallery by KJ Cardinal…

Holy Family wins epic two overtime semifinal

PENACOOK – In one of the most thrilling games in NHIAA tournament history, Holy Family’s Yves Mugiraneza hung in the air and connected on a last-second bucket to give the sixth-seeded Griffins an upset double-overtime victory, 86-84, over second-seeded Concord Christian on Monday night at Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook.

The Griffins advance to Saturday’s Division IV championship game and will take on fourth-seeded Woodsville at Colby Sawyer College in New London at 3:00 pm.

Mugiraneza was Mr. Clutch all night for the Griffins as he buried a three-pointer at the end of the regulation to force overtime and connected on a runner to force the second overtime, all before burying the game-winner. [WATCH ALL THREE BUCKETS]

Holy Family was led by 31 points from Sean Sullivan, while Mugiraneza (22) and Gabe LaCasse (20) also poured in 20+ points.

Brode Frink put the Kingsmen on his back as the sophomore pumped in an impressive 48 points to lead all scorers in the tough loss for Concord Christian. Austin Spurr chipped in with 17 of his own.

Watch the full highlights by Tim Lee…

Check out the huge photo gallery by our very own KJ Cardinal…

Perfection: Gilford completes perfect season, captures fourth-straight D-III crown

The top-seeded Gilford Golden Eagles completed the perfect season on Saturday night with a convincing 69-43 victory over #3 Mascoma Valley to come away with their fourth-straight NHIAA Division III Boys Basketball State Championship.

Jalen Reese poured in a game-high 24 points to lead Gilford, while Logan Grant (16), Isaiah Reese (14) and Sam Cheek (10) also netted double-figures for the Golden Eagles.

Mascoma was led by 17 points from Zach Thompson and 12 from Aidan Smith.

Check out the highlights by our Tim Lee…

 

Check out the photo gallery by Jeff Criss of Perfect Photos…

Trinity tops Timberlane

Behind a game-high 24 points from Tyler Bike, Trinity cruised to a 74-54 victory over Timberlane on Friday night.

Connor Hermann (13) and Devohn Ellis (112) both added double figures for the Pioneers as well. The Owls were led by 19 points from Trey Baker. 

Check out the full gallery of the action by Cindy Lavigne of Lavigne’s Live Shots…

Crusaders cruise to semifinals

Top-seeded Littleton came to play in the quarterfinal round as the Crusaders jumped out to 24-4 lead over #8 Mascenic and never looked back, cruising to a 54-36 home win on Friday night.

Littleton advances to the semifinals where it will be a rematch of the 2022 semis as they take on #4 Woodsville.

Check out Brayden Coute’s edit of the action…