By: KJ Cardinal
DURHAM, NH – Trailing by seven points with under three minutes remaining, top-seeded Bedford closed the game on a 12-4 run to earn a come-from-behind, 51-50, victory over No. 6 Keene to capture the 2025 NHIAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship on Sunday night at Lundholm Gymnasium.
While the Bulldogs struggled shooting the ball all night, they were dominant on the glass and that proved to be the difference. Bedford shot just 30 percent from the field (18-60), 48.3 percent from the line (14-29) and 4.5 percent from three (1-22). However, the Bulldogs won the battle on the boards 53-32, including 27 offensive rebounds and 29 second-chance points.
Wiji Dak pulled down 14 boards, while Connor O’Rourke and Landon Ellsmore both grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs efforts on the glass. O’Rourke also paced the Bedford offense with 18 points and Ellsmore added 10.
Keene was led by a game-high 19 points from Javon Massiah.
The game was close throughout as the two squads played evenly in the opening quarter, 14-14. Keene would later take a five-point lead to the break, 25-20.
Bedford came out strong in the second half as they cut the Keene lead to two after three quarters of play, 34-32. The Blackbirds appeared to take control of the game in the beginning of the final stanza as they led 46-39 with less than three minutes on the clock.
With 2:55 left in the game, a three-point play by Ellsmore, off an offensive rebound nonetheless, started the final run for the Bulldogs.
A half court heave by Keene’s Kasen Abbott came up short as it grazed the front of the rim as time expired to give Bedford the win.
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