Category: Playoffs

Hanover wins defensive battle versus Pembroke in semifinals

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – No. 2 Hanover held No. 3 Pembroke to just 24 points through three quarters of play and went on to win a defensive battle, 49-43, in the semifinals of the NHIAA Division II Boys Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Oyster River High School in Durham.

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

Hanover set the tone early on the defensive end of the floor, limited the Spartans to just four 1st-quarter points. The Bears led 11-4 at the end of one.

Pembroke found its groove a little in the 2nd quarter, behind seven points from Evan Berkley, and cut the Hanover lead to three at the half, 21-18.

The Bears defense was once again stifling in the 3rd quarter, giving up just 6 points to take a 31-24 lead to the final frame.

In the 4th, the tempo picked up, but the two played nearly even as Hanover went on to win by six, 49-43.

Pembroke had no answer all night long for Hanover big man Jaysen Oriel who finished with a game-high 18 points, while Roy Lucas added 12. Pembroke was paced by 16 points from Joe Fitzgerald and 12 from Berkley.

Check out the full game highlights by Tim Lee…

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

College hoop roundup: NCAA D-III tourney update

By: Mike Whaley

Hinsdale junior Angelina Nardolillo and the No. 3 Rhode Island College women’s team remain unbeaten after winning their first- and second-round NCAA Division III tournament games in their home gym. They’ll have more home cooking this weekend in the sectional as they host three teams Friday and Saturday.

The Anchorwomen (29-0) beat St. Joseph’s (Maine), 56-37, and St. John Fisher, 66-43, to advance to the Sweet 16. They meet No. 19 Washington & Lee (28-2) Friday night at 8 p.m., after the 5:30 p.m. game between Bates College (24-5) and No. 7 Wartburg (27-2). The two winners play Saturday in the Elite Eight game at 7:30 p.m. with the winner earning a berth to the NCAA Final Four in Columbus, Ohio, March 14-16. RIC is looking to return to the final four for the second year in a row.

Nardolillo had strong games in both wins. In the St. Joe’s victory, she had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while vs. St. John Fisher she totaled a team-high 19 points and pulled down nine boards. 

The final score of both games were deceptive. Against St. Joe’s, RIC jumped out to a 24-7 lead after the first quarter, but that lead evaporated. The Monks closed the gap to 32-28 in the second half before the Anchorwomen were able to pull away.

Versus St. John Fisher, RIC led by just 27-24 at the half, but used a 17-7 run in the third quarter to build a 44-31 lead and were not challenged from there.

The other N.H. connected game of interest involves the Keene State College men, the only N.H. team to qualify for either tournament. The Owls (26-3) hosted and won their first two games over Marymount (Va.), 82-76, and Eastern, 109-85. In the Marymount win, KSC got big games from Jeff Hunter (22 points, 16 rebounds) and Octavio Brito (22 points, 8 boards), while Spencer Aronsonand Nate Siow added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

In the second round, the Owls were led by Brito’s career-high 40 points, and 20 points and 14 boards from Hunter.

No. 5 KSC will play in the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, N.C., vs. No. 7 Guilford (24-4) Friday at 7:15 p.m. The first game is between No. 21 Williams and No. 23 Christopher Newport at 4:15 p.m. The two winners play Saturday at 7:15 p.m. for the right to advance to the final four in Fort Wayne, Indiana, March 14-16.

NHTI claims YSCC crown, No. 2 seed for national tourney

By Mike Whaley

CONCORD – The NHTI men’s basketball team swept through the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) tournament with three wins, all on their home court, to claim the automatic berth in the USCAA Division II national tournament, March 9-13, in Richmond, Va.

The Lynx (20-4) were the YSCC’s top seed and they did not disappoint with wins over No. 8 Paul Smith, 109-71; No. 4 Great Bay CC, 95-78, and No. 6 Central Maine CC, 80-78. In the championship on Sunday vs. Central Maine, NHTI trailed 43-33 at the half, but rallied in the second half to pull off the win. Tournament Offensive MVP Sterling Blakely led five players in double figures with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Also reaching double digits were Joseph Cantey (14) and Dahsan King, Richard Hartley and Rahsheen Caulk Jr. with 11 apiece. Tournament MVP Dontaveous Elder added eight points, seven boards and five steals, while Terrian Wester had eight points and 12 rebounds. CM’s Logan Myers scored a game-high 20 points. 

Central Maine had a 13-point lead (66-53) with 10:30 to play, but NHTI went on a 15-0 run as part of a bigger 27-12 surge to come from behind to win the game. CM upset No. 3 VTSU-Randolph and No. 2 SMCC to gain the championship game.

The Lynx will be the No. 2 seed at the national tournament, which opens Sunday. NHTI earns a bye and will play Monday against the Sunday first-round winner of the Southern Maine CC/Penn State Wilkes Barre game at 1 p.m.

In the semifinal win Saturday over Great Bay, King and Cantey scored 28 and 25 points, respectively, to pace the Lynx. Wester added 14 points and seven rebounds. Mpore Semuhoza led the Herons (18-8) with 25 points,  while Dover’s Kingley Breen added 21 and Theo Wolfe chipped in with 14. Great Bay was a borderline pick to the national tourney, needing to get to the conference final to likely punch a ticket there, which they were unable to do.

NHTI rolled over Paul Smith in the first round on Feb. 24 behind 23 and 22 points each from Cantey and King. Elder added 13 points and Wester had 10 points and 17 rebounds.

Check out the full photo gallery from NHTI’s big win on Sunday by Cindy Lavigne of Lavigne’s Live Shots below.

On the women’s side, YSCC champion Central Maine CC, UMaine-Augusta and SMCC all made it to the national tournament.

The all-conference teams were selected, and several NHTI and GBCC players were honored. On the men’s side, NHTI’s Wester and GBCC’s Breen made the first team, while NHTI’s Cantey and GBCC’s Wolfe were picked to the second team. Earning honorable mention was NHTI’s King.

For the women, GBCC’s Mary Paradis (Rochester) was named to the first team and teammate Madison Lovely (Fremont) was selected to the second team. NHTI’s Emma Broadstone was honorable mention.

📸 Cindy Lavigne, Lavigne’s Live Shots…

Trinity knocks off Exeter, advances to semis

No. 5 Trinity upset No. 4 Exeter, 78-65, on Saturday afternoon in quarterfinal round action of the NHIAA Division I Boys Basketball State Tournament.

The Pioneers advance to the semifinals where they will take on top-seeded Pinkerton on Wednesday at 7:30 pm at Exeter High School

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

Marshall nets 2,000th point as Astros roll past South

Pinkerton’s Jackson Marshall became just the 13th boys player in New Hampshire basketball history to eclipse the 2,000-point plateau as the top-seeded Astros defeated No. 8 Nashua South 101-83 in quarterfinal round action of the Division I state tournament on Saturday.

With the win, Pinkerton advances to the semifinal round where they will take on No. 5 Trinity on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. The location of the semis is still to be determined.

Check out the full photo gallery by Betsy Hansen…

Bedford tops Alvirne, advances to D-I semifinals

No. 2 Bedford punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 69-51 victory over No. 10 Alvirne in quarterfinal round action of the NHIAA Division I State Tournament on Saturday.

The Bulldogs advance to the semis where they will take on No. 3 Nashua North on Wednesday at 5:30 pm. The site is still to be determined.

Luke Soden led all scorers with a game-high 23 points for Bedford, while Niko Badoian (16 points), Brady O’Connell (14) and Austin Kasyjanski (11) all netted double-digits as well. Alvirne was led by 16 points from Garrett Hall and 13 from Evan Bettencourt.

Check out the full photo gallery by Todd Grzywacz of Stonewall Photography…

Strong second half leads Profile to D-IV title, perfect season

By: KJ Cardinal

NEW LONDON, NH – Top-seeded Profile outscored No. 2 Littleton by 14 in the second half to come away with the 2024 NHIAA Division IV Boys Basketball State Championship, 53-48, on Saturday afternoon at Colby Sawyer College.

The win puts a bow on Profile’s perfect 22-0 season, giving the Patriots their second state title in the program history (2004).

The Crusaders came ready to play as they led 12-11 after one and 24-19 at the half. Littleton managed to hold Profile’s Josh Robie, the division’s leading scorer, to just five first-half points.

Profile started the second half looking to push the tempo and back-to-back threes by Cayden Wakeham gave the Patriots the boost they needed. Robie pumped in 9 points in the 3rd and just like that, Littleton’s lead evaporated. Profile tied the game at 40-40 heading to the 4th.

The Patriots managed just two 4th-quarter field goals, both three pointers Josh & Karsen Robie, and then sealed the deal at the line.

Josh Robie finished with a game-high 22 points for Profile, while Alex Leslie and Wakeham chipped in with 16 and 8, respectively. Littleton was led by Kayden Hoskins’ 19 points, including five threes, and 11 from Mikey Rodriguez.

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

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Jill Stevens…

Defense leads Littleton to title, perfect season

By: KJ Cardinal

NEW LONDON, NH – Top-seeded Littleton took a page out of No. 3 Newmarket’s playbook as the Crusader defense stymied the Mules, 41-23, to capture the 2024 NHIAA Division IV Girls Basketball State Championship on Saturday afternoon at Colby Sawyer. With the win, Littleton puts the exclamation point on a perfect 22-0 season.

Newmarket’s calling card all season long has been defense and the Mules got a dose of their own medicine as they were held to their second-lowest scoring output of the season.

The Crusaders set the tone early, allowing just three points in the opening stanza, and never let up. Littleton led 19-12 at the half and then blew the game open with a 14-point 3rd quarter that gave the Crusaders a 15-point bulge, 33-18, heading to the 4th.

Julieanne Bromley led all scorers with a game-high 12 points for Littleton and Addison Pilgrim added 11. Newmarket was paced by 10 points from Kiara Rugora.

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

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Jill Stevens…

Bedford blows past Exeter to semifinals

Top-seeded Bedford held No. 9 Exeter to just 14 first-half point en route to a 74-32 victory in quarterfinal action of the NHIAA Division I State Tournament on Friday night.

The Bulldogs advance to the semifinals where they will take on No. 4 Portsmouth on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. The site for these semifinals is still to be determined.

Bedford was paced a game-high 20 points from Kate Allard and three other Bulldogs in double-digits: Lana McCarthy (13), Mel McCarthy (10) and Megan Muir (10). The Blue Hawks were led by 8 points from Jessica Melick.

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

Londonderry rolls past Alvirne to semifinals

No. 3 Londonderry rolled past No. 11 Alvirne, 51-36, in quarterfinal round action of the NHIAA Division I State Tournament on Friday night.

The Lancers advance to the semifinals where they will take on No. 2 Pinkerton on Tuesday at 5:30 pm. The location of the semifinals is still to be determined.

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