Category: Playoffs

SNHU captures NE10 crown,earns automatic NCAA bid

MANCHESTER – For just the third time in program history, Southern New Hampshire has been crowned Northeast-10 Conference champions as the No. 5 Penmen defeated No. 6 Southern Connecticut State, 75-60, on Saturday afternoon at the Stan Spirou Field House.

With the win, SNHU earns the league’s automatic bid to the Division II NCAA tournament. The Penmen will learn their seed and match-up at the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 11:00 pm.

SNHU used a 15-4 run in the first half and 15-4 run to start the second half to propel the Penmen to the victory.

Preston Santos paced the Penmen with 20 points, while Kurtis Henderson (16), Matt Becht (15) and Derrick Grant Jr. (13) also netted double-digits.

Becht was named the 2024 NE10 Championship Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the NE10 All-Championship Team by Santos.

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

UNH advances to semis with win over Binghamton

DURHAM – The No. 4 UNH Wildcats defeated No. 5 Binghamton, 77-64, in quarterfinal round action of the America East Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium. The Wildcats advance to the semifinal round and will hit the road to take on No. 1 Vermont on Tuesday at 5:00 PM.

UNH trailed the Bearcats by two at the half, 34-32, but the Wildcats used a 12-2 run near the beginning of the second half to to take a 46-40 lead and never look back.

America East Player of the Year Clarence Daniels led all scorers with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats. Trey Woodyard (17 points), Ahmad Robinson (12), Naim Miller (11) and Jaxson Baker (10) all netted double-digits as well for first-year head coach Nate Davis’ squad.

Check out photos of the action by KJ Cardinal…

UNH hosts Binghamton in America East quarterfinals

No. 4 UNH hosts No. 5 Binghamton today at 3:00 pm in the quarterfinal round of the America East men’s basketball playoffs at Lundholm Gymnasium.

The Wildcats and Bearcats boast identical 15-14 records, while both going 7-9 in league play. The two split their regular-season meetings with the home team winning each affair. UNH down Binghamton 64-58 back on Jan. 20 in Durham and the Bearcats bested the Wildcats, 87-74 on March 2 in Vestal, N.Y.

UNH is led by America East Player of the Year Clarence Daniels. The senior forward becomes the second player in UNH basketball history to garner the accolade. Daniels leads the league in scoring (19.6 PPG) and is third in rebound (9.3 RPG).

The winner of today’s quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals to take on the winner of the No. 8 Albany at No. 1 Vermont game.

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Keene State men, RIC women ousted from NCAA tourney

By Mike Whaley

It was Black Friday for the Keene State College men and the Rhode Island College women in their respective Sweet 16 rounds of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament.

No. 5 KSC fell apart in the second half to lose at No. 7 Guilford, 84-60, while the No. 3 RIC saw its undefeated season come to an end with an unusually bad shooting night to Washington & Lee, 61-55.

Keene led 29-24 in the first half, but an uncharacteristic season-high 21 turnovers led to a six-point halftime deficit (40-34). The Owls were outscored in the second half, 42-26. They end their season with a 26-3 record.

Octavio Brito and Jeff Hunter led KSC with 12 points apiece, Mason Jean Baptiste added 11 points.

The RIC women (29-1) played from behind most of the night against Washington & Lee, making just 28 percent of their shots, which included 3 of 23 from 3-point land. The Anchorwomen made only 4 of their 16 foul shots.

RIC trailed 45-33 after three quarters and was down 56-48 with 53 seconds to play, but was able to cut the lead to three (58-55) and had a chance to tie it in the waning seconds, but a 3-pointer was off the mark. Hinsdale junior Angelina Nardolillo was one of the few bright spots for the Anchorwomen. She led the team in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

Washington & Lee (29-2) was led by sophomore forward Mary Schleusner, who scored a game-high 34 points and pulled down a tournament record 33 rebounds, breaking her own record of 29 set earlier in the tournament.

Third quarter propels Pinkerton to title game

Top-seeded Pinkerton used a 26 point third-quarter to defeat No. 5 Trinity, 82-71, in semifinal round action of the NHIAA Division I Boys Basketball State Tournament on Wednesday night at Exeter High School.

The Astros advance to the title game and will face No. 3 Nashua North on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

Pinkerton’s Jackson Marshall was held to 13 points in the first half, but unloaded with 26 in the second half to lead all scorers with 39 points. Andrew Brander (22 points) and Charles Ludden (15) both netted double-digits for the Astros as well.

The Pioneers were paced by 22 points from Shawn O’Neil and 17 from Devohn Ellis.

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

Pembroke upsets Laconia, moves on to title game

No. 3 Pembroke held No. 2 Laconia to just 10 first-half points en route to a 44-35 victory in semifinal round action of the NHIAA Division II Girls Basketball State Tournament on Wednesday night at Salem High School

The Spartans advance to the title game where they will take on top-seeded Concord Christian on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

Pembroke poured in 18 points in the opening quarter to take a commanding 18-6 lead and the Spartans never looked back.

Annelise Dexter (14 points) and Anne Phillips (11) led Pembroke, while Laconia was paced by a game-high 27 points from Macy Swormstedt. The Sachems were without Mekhia Burton.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…

North knocks off Bedford, advances to title game

Third-seeded Nashua North upset No. 2 Bedford, 84-68, in the semifinal round of the NHIAA Division I Boys Basketball State Tournament on Wednesday night at Exeter High School.

With the win, the Titans advance to the title game where they will take on No. 1 Pinkerton on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

North jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead in a fast-paced first quarter before Bedford rallied to take a one-point lead, 21-20, after one. The Titans kept the pedal to the metal in the 2nd quarter with 20 points again, while holding the Bulldogs to 12 points. North led 40-33 at the break.

The second-half was once again a frantic pace. The Titans balanced offense outscored Bedford, 25-20 in the quarter. North closed things out in the 4th to come away with the convincing 16-point win.

A quartet of Titans netted double-digits: Robinson Rodriguez (26 points), Parth Miglani (24), Jaden Pena (18) and Luke Peters (10).

The Bulldogs struggled to put the ball in the basket all night, but were led by 14 points apiece from Niko Badoian and Austin Kasyjanski. Leading scorer Luke Soden (26 PPG) managed just 13 points for Bedford.

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

Pinkerton tops Londonderry, advances to final

Behind a combined 47 points from Sydney Gerossie (25) and Kaylee Dupuis (22), No. 2 Pinkerton defeated No. 3 Londonderry, 78-54, in semifinal action of the NHIAA Division I Girls Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Exeter High School.

The Astros advance to the title game to take on No. 1 Bedford on Saturday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

Pinkerton jumped out to a 22-13 lead after the 1st quarter and took a 32-26 lead to halftime. They pushed their lead to 12 after the 3rd quarter, 53-41 and poured it on in the final frame to roll to the 24-point lead.

Sammie Sullivan pumped in a game-high 26 points to lead Londonderry, while Kate Sloper added 11.

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Betsy Hansen…

Pelham downs Coe-Brown in a semifinal overtime thriller

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – In a game you didn’t want to see end and one that you hated to see either team lose, top-seeded Pelham needed overtime to defeat No. 4 Coe-Brown, 59-56, in semifinal action of the NHIAA Division II Boys Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Oyster River High School in Durham.

The Pythons advance to the title game where they will take on No. 2 Hanover on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

The Bears were ready to play as head coach Dave Smith saw his squad come out the gates quickly with 17 1st-quarter points and take a two-point lead after the opening eight minutes of action. The Pythons responded in the 2nd and took a one-point lead to the break.

Neither team could get separation from the other throughout this one as the largest lead either team held was a mere six points.

CBNA won the 3rd quarter by two points to take one-point lead to the final frame, 41-40.

The 4th wasn’t for the faint of heart. Pelham’s Zach James connected on a three-pointer with 2:48 left to give the Pythons a 51-47 lead. Coe-Brown wasted no time in responding as James McKane’s only basket of the game came just 26 seconds later to cut the lead to two, 51-49, with 2:22 left in regulation.

CBNA’s Connor Bagnell stole an inbounds pass with 38 seconds to go to give the Bears the ball with a chance to tie the game. After nearly turning the ball over to start the possession and getting an offensive rebound off a Quinn Salter miss, Coe-Brown called a timeout with 10 ticks remaining.

The Bears’ Ryan Kouchoukos drove the lane, beating James off the dribble, and was fouled from behind as his layup banked in to tie the game at 51-51 with 4.7 seconds left to play. Kouchoukos would miss the ensuing free throw and a Peter Hemmerdinger’s desperation three at the buzzer came up short for Pelham and this game was headed to overtime.

The extra session belonged to Hemmerdinger as he netted six points in overtime and opened up the scoring with a three-pointer in front of the Pelham bench with 3:09 left to play. He connected on a floater on the following possession to push Pelham’s lead to four, 56-52.

A pair of Bagnell free throws with just over two minutes to play cut the Pelham lead to two, 56-54. The Python offense would kill more than a minute off the clock before Adrian Villanueva was fouled with 50.7 seconds remaining. Villanueva made the first of two free throws to push Pelham’s lead to three, 57-54.

James and Hemmerdinger would each make a free throw down the stretch to put the game out of reach for the Bears.

The Pythons were paced by 17 points from James, while Hemmerdinger (14), Dom Herrling (13) and Connor Travis (10) all tallied double-digits as well. The Bears were led by 17 points apiece from Salter and Jack Matson and 16 from Bagnell.

Check out the full highlights by Tim Lee…

Oyster River was painted red and black last night as Coe-Brown showed up and showed out to support the Bears down the road in Durham. CBNA may not have come away with the victory, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of support or school spirit…

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

Bedford finishes strong to down Portsmouth

Top-seeded Bedford trailed by as many as nine points in the 1st quarter before putting the clamps on Portsmouth and rolling to a 62-35 win in semifinal round action of the NHIAA Division I Girls Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Exeter High School

The Bulldogs advance to the title game where they will they will take on No. 2 Pinkerton on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

The Clippers scored 16 points in the 1st quarter and took a 16-9 lead, but Bedford held Portsmouth to just 19 points the rest of the way to roll to the win.

Lana McCarthy led all scorers with 18 points for the Bulldogs, while Lyla Stein and Sarah Muir added 12 points apiece. Portsmouth was paced by 13 points from Avery Romps and 11 from Margaret Montplaisir.

Check out the full photo gallery by Betsy Hansen…