Month: December 2024

December 31, 2024December 31, 2024

Instant Classic: Coe-Brown captures Bash crown in overtime

By: KJ Cardinal

FARMINGTON, NH – In a tournament that featured many one-sided affairs, the title bout of the 45th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash was anything but that as Coe-Brown Northwood Academy battled Belmont in an instant classic overtime contest at Farmington High School. When the final buzzer sounded, the Bears came out on top, 66-64.

The Bash championship marked the first for CBNA at New Hampshire’s largest holiday tournament since 1992 and their third overall.

Coe-Brown and Belmont battled back-and-forth throughout, with neither team able to gain much separation at any point in the game. The opening quarter was an offensive onslaught as both teams were trying to figure the other out defensively. The Bears led 21-20 after the opening stanza, but a strong second quarter for the Red Raiders gave Belmont a 37-34 lead at the break.

Belmont’s Keegan Martinez pumped in 18 points in the first half, but he was held scoreless for the third and fourth quarters. The Red Raiders were plagued by foul trouble throughout with Martinez and the lightning-quick Treshawn Ray saddled on the bench for significant time in the second half.

The Bears capitalized as they slowly battled their way back. Trailing by three with under two minutes left to play in regulation, Coe-Brown’s Grant Hayes buried a straight-away three to tie the game at 57-57. The two teams would remain scoreless for the final 1:40, thanks in part to a monstrous block by Jack Matson on a driving Martinez with four seconds left in the 4th. After a Belmont timeout, the Red Raiders had a clean look at a deep three for the win, but the bid came up just short and the game headed to overtime.

In the extra frame, Coe-Brown had a balanced attack with four players scoring and the Bears went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe to squeeze out the win.

Martinez led all scorers for Belmont, while Ray added 18 of his own. The Red Raiders were playing without injured Anakin Underhill, The Bash MVP from two seasons ago.

CBNA was paced by Hayes (19 points), Matson (15) and Ryan Kouchoukos (14). Matson was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and was joined on the All-Tournament team by…

MVP: Jack Matson, Coe-Brown
Matthew Flanagan, Coe-Brown
Ryan Kouchoukos, Coe-Brown
Keegan Martinez, Belmont
Treshawn Ray, Belmont
Connor Dixon, Hinsdale
Cayden Wakeham, Profile
Cai Summers, PCA
Chase Frizzell, Sanborn

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by KJ Cardinal…

The Bash – Belmont Boys vs. Coe-Brown (12.30.24) – KJ CARDINAL

171 photos

December 31, 2024December 31, 2024

The Belles of The Bash: Farmington girls win first crown since 2009

By: KJ Cardinal

FARMINGTON, NH – When the final buzzer sounded on The Bash a season ago, the Farmington girls found themselves on the losing end of a one-point title game. The Tigers appeared to have kept the receipt on that feeling as they ran roughshod on the field at this year’s event to come away with the title at the 45th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash at Farmington High School.

Farmington defeated Portsmouth Christian Academy, 61-42, on Monday night in front of a packed house at The Jungle to capture its first Bash crown since 2009. The Tigers have now won nine titles in tournament history, breaking a tie with Kennett for the most championships in the event’s existence.

The Tigers dominated the state’s largest holiday tournament from the onset, winning their four games by an average margin of 28.5 points per game. They did so with wins over Division II Sanborn and Coe-Brown, a victory over D-III Raymond and the final triumph against D-IV foe PCA.

In the final, Farmington came out the gates hot on both ends of the floor and took a commanding 20-6 lead after the first quarter of play. The Tigers got eight points in the opening stanza from 6-foot junior Anna Cardinal to set the tone against the undersized Eagles squad.

PCA wasn’t about to rollover, however, as the Eagles chipped away at the Tigers lead and trailed by 11 at the half, 29-18.

The second half belonged to Farmington as sophomore Zoey Johnson pumped in eight third-quarter points and freshman Shaylee DiPrizio closed out the fourth with seven of her own to put a bow on the dominant victory.

DiPrizio finished with a game-high 19 points and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Johnson tallied 16 of her own and joined DiPrizio on the All-Tournament Team, alongside senior Madi Ricker (8 points). Cardinal netted 12 points on the night, with 10 of them coming in the first half.

For the tourney, the Tigers had four players nearly average double-digits as DiPrizio (19.0 points per game), Johnson (16.5), Cardinal (9.0) and Ricker (9.0) led Farmington throughout the five-day event.

PCA was paced by Ava Buchanan’s 17 points, while Jaela Stockbower added 10 of her own. The duo were also named to the All-Tournament team along with Emma LaPierre of Coe-Brown and Kourtney Kaplan of Franklin.

The Belmont girls were awarded the Team Sportsmanship Award and PCA’s Tilly Arico received the Bill & Betty Vachon Award for individual sportsmanship.

Check out the full photo gallery of the event by KJ Cardinal…

The Bash – Farmington Girls vs. PCA (12.30.24) – KJ CARDINAL

160 photos

December 29, 2024December 29, 2024

The Bash: Day 4 Recap

By: KJ Cardinal

Semifinal Sunday at The Bash is in the books and host Farmington and Portsmouth Christian Academy will play for the girls title, while Belmont and Coe-Brown will meet for the boys crown.

The semifinals themselves weren’t really all that close as three of the four games were decided by 19 points or more. In both of the boys semifinals, the Division IV teams (Profile & PCA) hung around in the first half of their games, but the bigger D-II and D-III squads (CBNA & Belmont) pulled away in the second half. The closest semifinal on the day saw the host D-IV Tigers defeat D-II Coe Brown by eight points.

Belmont was playing without Anakin Underhill, but the Red Raiders got massive contributions from Keegan Martinez (32) and Treshawn Ray (19), while Brady Thurber stepped up and netted 11 points.

Behind big man Jack Matson, the Coe-Brown boys make their first appearance in The Bash title game since 1992 when the Bears downed host Farmington for their second title in tourney history.

In the PCA-Franklin girls semifinal, it was the Ava Buchanan and Kourtney Kaplan show as Buchanan poured in 30 points for the Eagles, while Kaplan dropped 29 for the Golden Tornadoes.

The Farmington girls return to The Bash final for the second-straight year and will be in search of their first title since 2009. Last year the Tigers lost the championship game in a rock fight to Kennett, 28-27.

As anticipated, Sunday’s semis were played in front of a packed house at The Jungle at Farmington High School and Monday’s finals should be the same.

Monday’s title game schedule is as follows:
GIRLS: Portsmouth Christian Academy vs. Farmington, 5:30 pm
BOYS: Belmont vs. Coe-Brown, 7:00 pm

USEFUL LINKS: Photo Galleries | Day 4 Video Archives

BOYS: Belmont 85, Portsmouth Christian 60
Belmont: Keagan Martinez 32, Treshawn Ray 19, Brady Thurber 11
PCA: Cai Summers 26, Zealand Marquis 11

GIRLS: Farmington 51, Coe-Brown 43
Farmington: Shaylee DiPrizio 18
Coe-Brown: Emma LaPierre 17

BOYS: Coe-Brown 57, Profile 32
CBNA: Jack Matson 22, Matthew Flanagan 10
Profile: Cayden Wakeham 12, Daryion Faustin 11

GIRLS: Portsmouth Christian 60, Franklin 41
PCA: Ava Buchanan 30
Franklin: Kourtney Kaplan 29

GIRLS: Kennett 45, Nute 33
Kennett: Abigail Hynes 18, Marlie Liebenow 15
Nute: Penny Meehan 8

December 28, 2024December 28, 2024

The Bash: Day 3 Recap

By: KJ Cardinal

Following day three of the 45th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash, the semifinal match-ups are set for Sunday.

The big surprise of the day was the Profile boys knocking off Raymond, 61-57. The Rams were coming off their hard-fought win over Concord Christian in the quarterfinals, but the defending champion Patriots proved to be a tough out yet again. Profile connected on 10 threes to come away with the big victory.

The boys AND girls squads from Coe-Brown and Portsmouth Christian Academy are both still alive. Combine those fan bases that traditionally travel well for The Bash with the host team Farmington girls still in the mix and Sunday should be a well-attended affair.

The Belmont boys won a tough contest against Sanborn, but the Red Raiders may be without big man Anakin Underhill on Sunday. The Bash MVP from two years ago, Underhill was sidelined with a right elbow injury and his status is currently unknown.

On the boys side, Profile and Coe-Brown will meet at 4:30 pm with Belmont and Portsmouth Christian squaring off at 7:30 pm. For the girls, it’s PCA and Franklin at 3:00 pm and Farmington and Coe-Brown tipping off at 6:00 pm.

SCHEDULING NOTE: Sunday’s schedule gets underway with a girls consolation game at noon between Nute and Kennett, but then there is a break until the semifinals start at 3:00 pm.

USEFUL LINKS: Updated Schedule | Updated Bracket | Photo Galleries | Day 3 Video Archives

DAY THREE RECAP
BOYS: Portsmouth Christian 81, Farmington 72
PCA: Cai Summers 31, Zealand Marquis 23
Farmington: Demery Hadges 22, Noah Elwell 19, Lucas Watson 10

BOYS: Belmont 75, Sanborn 62
Belmont: Keegan Martinez 30, Treyshawn Ray 26
Sanborn: Chase Frizzell 27, Dylan Rego 10, Dillon Simes 10

BOYS: Coe-Brown 73, Hinsdale 52
CBNA: Grant Hayes 16, Jack Matson 12, Bruce LaPierre 10
Hinsdale: Connor Dixon 21, John Winter 14

BOYS: Profile 61, Raymond 57
Profile: Cayden Wakeham 25, Jackson Clough 14, Daryion Faustin 12
Raymond: Drezell Duffaut 27, Aidan York 12

GIRLS: PCA 53, Kennett 37
PCA: Ava Buchanan 32
Kennett: Abigail Hynes 14

BOYS: Derryfield 64, Inter-Lakes 32
Derryfield: Sam Fazelat 15, Nate Boudreau 13, Liam Caesar 12
Inter-Lakes: Riley Maher 13

BOYS: Nute 46, Franklin 33
Nute: Silas Picard 14, Adrian Huff 10
Franklin: Harrison Kaplan 16

BOYS: Concord Christian 61, Kennett 49
CCA: Jaden Young 16, Isaac Kirby 15, Logan Duffy 12
Kennett: Daven Bailey 16, Jayden Jackson 12

GIRLS: Sanborn 45, Nute 25
Sanborn: Maya Thompson 17
Nute: Hannah Cartier 7

GIRLS: Belmont 60, Raymond 30
Belmont: Bailey Perkins 19, Maddie Carrier 10
Raymond: Avery Dean 10

December 27, 2024December 27, 2024

The Bash: Day 2 Recap

By: KJ Cardinal

Day two of the 45th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash has concluded and of the 11 games played on the day, only two were decided by less than 27 points. While it was a day of routs, fans were also treated to the best game of the tournament so far as the Raymond boys outlasted Concord Christian, 75-69, in a very entertaining back-and-forth affair.

One rout that was somewhat surprising was Belmont’s dominant 36-point victory over the Kennett boys. The Red Raiders look to be the team beat on the boys side and have a big time quarterfinal match-up with Sanborn tomorrow at 6:00 pm.

Check out tomorrow’s slate and how the brackets are shaping up at the links below and a recap of day two as well.

USEFUL LINKS: Updated Schedule | Updated Bracket | Photo Galleries | Day 2 Video Archives

DAY TWO RECAP
BOYS: Farmington 68, Inter-Lakes 41
Farmington: Demery Hadges 14, Keltin Moulton 14, Lucas Watson 11
Inter-Lakes: Jake Ambrose 8

GIRLS: Farmington 80, Raymond 19
Farmington: Shaylee DiPrizio 21, Zoey Johnson 16, Anna Cardinal 14, Madi Ricker 11, Makayla King 10
Raymond: Meadow-Miah Mitchell 12

BOYS: Raymond 75, Concord Christian 69
Raymond: Drezell Duffaut 32, Aidan York 17
CCA: Isaac Kirby 22, Jaden Young 17, Luke Farland 10

BOYS: Coe-Brown 68, Epping 28
Coe-Brown: Jack Matson 20, Ryan Kouchoukos 13
Epping: Henry Hodgkins 6

GIRLS: Coe-Brown 62, Belmont 28
Coe-Brown: Eilah Crawn 15, Hannah Meehan 10, Emma LaPierre 11
Belmont: Bailey Perkins 12, Maddie Carrier 11

BOYS: Belmont 67, Kennett 31
Belmont: Keegan Martinez 22, Anakin Underhill 13, Treshawn Ray 13
Kennett: Bo Noung Jr. 17

BOYS: Hinsdale 66, Nute 38
Hinsdale: Connor Dixon 17, Chris Colon 14, John Winter 12, Jack Clark 10
Nute: Silas Picard 13

BOYS: Sanborn 83, Franklin 32
Sanborn: Dylan Rego 18, Brian Nadeau 14, Brandon Sarette 13, Chase Frizzell 11
Franklin: Nthan Holmes 9

GIRLS: Franklin 43, Sanborn 34
Franklin: Kourtney Kaplan 25
Sanborn: Maya Thompson 12

BOYS: Portsmouth Christian 66, Derryfield 33
PCA: Cai Summers 27, Zealand Marquis 18, Hoaming Zhu 12
Derryfield: Blake Moskov 10

GIRLS: Portsmouth Christian 52, Nute 7
PCA: Ava Buchanan 13, Emma Anderson 12, Jaela Stockbower 10
Nute: Bella Colby 3

December 26, 2024December 30, 2024

The Bash: Day 1 recap

By: KJ Cardinal

Day one of the 45th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash is in the books and it was one of the most competitive opening days in recent memory. Five of the 11 games were decided by 10 points or less, with Hinsdale’s 48-45 win over Inter-Lakes being the closest contest of the day.

The close games ended up pushing game times back and the final contest of the night, which was originally scheduled to tip off at 8:15 pm, didn’t tip off until 9:47 pm. All told, day one featured nearly 14 hours of hoops and day two tips off on Friday at 8:00 am.

USEFUL LINKS: PHOTO GALLERIES | VIDEO ARCHIVES

The day one recap and the day two slate are posted below…

DAY ONE RECAP
BOYS: Farmington 57, Profile 50
Farmington: Noah Elwell 15, Demery Hadges 14, Lucas Watson 13
Profile: Cayden Wakeham 18, Everrett Locke 14, Jackson Clough 10

GIRLS: Farmington 58, Sanborn 31
Farmington: Zoey Johnson 28, Shaylee DiPrizio 12
Sanborn: Ashlyn Gallant 8, Ashton DiRienzo 8

BOYS: Sanborn 63, Concord Christian 47
Sanborn: Chase Frizzell 36, Dylan Rego 15
Concord Christian: TJ Charbono 12

BOYS: Portsmouth Christian 89, Wilton-Lyndeborough 41
Portsmouth Christian: Cai Summers 28, Zealand Marquis 12, Jackson Malone 12, Zech Beal 10
Wilton-Lyndeborough: Ben Jacob 20, Harry Krug 15

BOYS: Hinsdale 48, Inter-Lakes 45
Hinsdale: Connor Dixon 14, Chris Colon 11, Grady Jutras 10
Inter-Lakes: Alec Adorno 15, Jackson Downs 13

BOYS: Belmont 76, Raymond 40
Belmont: Anakin Underhill 21, Wyatt Carroll 17, Treyshawn Ray 16, Keegan Martinez 11
Raymond: Drezell Duffaut 11, Jacobi Cumberbatch 10

GIRLS: Coe-Brown 50, Kennett 22
Coe-Brown: Eilah Crawn 14
Kennett: Abigail Haynes 10, Marlie Liebenow

BOYS: Kennett 60, Coe-Brown 56
Kennett: Daven Bailey 15, Tristyn Jones 13
Coe-Brown: Matthew Flanagan 15, Bruce LaPierre 11, Jack Matson

BOYS: Epping 67, Nute 57
Epping: Blake Snyder 20, Cameron Kavanaugh 16, Henry Hodgkins 14, Grayson Davis 13
Nute: Brady Barbin 14, Jackson Lafogg 11, Silas Picard 10

BOYS: Derryfield 54, Franklin 44
Derryfield: Nate Boudreau 10, Sam Fazelat 10
Franklin: Matt Nason 12

GIRLS: Franklin 48, Nute 11
Franklin: Kourtney Kaplan 28
Nute: Azlyn Picard 8

DAY TWO SLATE
Girls: PCA vs. Nute, 8:00 am
Boys: Derryfield vs. PCA, 9:15 am
Girls: Sanborn vs. Franklin, 10:30 am
Boys: Frankin vs. Sanborn, 11:45 am
Boys: Nute vs. Hinsdale, 1:00 pm
Boys: Kennett vs. Belmont, 2:15 pm
Girls: Belmont vs. Coe-Brown, 3:30 pm
Boys: Epping vs. Coe-Brown, 4:45 pm
Boys: CCA vs. Raymond, 6:00 pm
Girls: Raymond vs. Farmington, 7:15 pm
Boys: Inter-Lakes vs. Farmington, 8:30 pm

December 24, 2024December 24, 2024

Strong-start propels Gilford past Conant

GILFORD, NH – Gilford outscored visiting Conant 28-5 in the first-half en route to a convincing 53-35 victory on Monday night.

The Golden Eagles came out firing with an efficient offensive attack and relentless defense to stymy the Orioles.

Conant found some rhythm in the second half, but the deficit was too great to overcome.

Mark Uicker and Henry Sleeper led Gilford with 10 points apiece, while the Orioles were paced by 8 points from Ben Sawyer.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improve to 3-1 on the season, while Conant falls to 1-3.

Check out the full photo gallery by Danielle Cook of DC Sports Photos…

Conant Boys at Gilford (12/23/2024) – DCSports

102 photos

December 22, 2024December 22, 2024

Groveton cruises past Profile, moves to 4-0

By: Stefan Duncan

BETHLEHEM, NH – Groveton secured its fourth win of the season on Thursday night in dominating fashion with a 63-11 win at Profile.

The game was controlled by the Eagles from the start, as Groveton jumped out to a 25-2 lead after one quarter of play and never looked back. The Eagles were led by Delaney Whiting’s 21 points, while the Patriots were paced by Kyah Knight’s 4 points.

With the win, Groveton moves to 4-0, while the Patriots fall to 1-3.

Check out the full photo gallery by Shirley Nickles…

Groveton Girls at Profile (12.19.24) – Shirley Nickles

67 photos

December 22, 2024December 22, 2024

Groveton survives in OT at Profile

By: Stefan Duncan

BETHLEHEM, NH – Groveton secured its third win of the season on Thursday night in an overtime thriller at Profile, 43-39.

In a tight game throughout, both teams were knotted at 37-37 at the end of regulation. The Eagles were able to pull away in the five-minute extra frame as they held the Patriots to just two points.

Hunter Parks led Groveton in the win with 16 points, followed by Brody Platt with 10. For Profile, Cayden Wakeman and Daryion Faustin led the team with 11 points apiece.

With the win, the Groveton Eagles improve to 3-1, while the Profile Patriots fall to 0-4.

Check out the full photo gallery by Shirley Nickles…