Category: The Bash

Windham advances to Bash semifinals in dominant fashion

By Nathaniel Ford

Windham came away with a huge 87-53 victory today over Portsmouth Christian in the quarterfinals of The Bash. 

The Jaguars proved why they are one of the top teams at the tournament this year. They controlled the entire contest against the Eagles, thwarting any chance of a comeback at any point.

Windham jumped out to an early lead behind a 7-2 run in the first minute of the game. Portsmouth Christian put together a 7-2 run of their own, but two straight and-one baskets from Jack Begley killed all of the momentum they built. Begley led the way with 11 points, and Windham was up 24-13 entering the second. 

The Jaguars jumped out to open the quarter again, recording an 8-0 run in the first two minutes. And just like the first quarter, PCA responded immediately with an 8-2 run of their own to keep it competitive. The rest of the quarter was back-and-forth, and Windham entered the break up 44-27.

It was clear that it was a game of runs in this contest, and that trend only evolved in the second half. This time, it was PCA who strung together an early run, jumping on Windham 10-2 in the first couple of minutes, which cut the lead to single digits. 

Windham’s true colors showed once again when faced with adversity. The Jaguars did not roll over, and they did not panic. Instead, Caden Bouchard connected from beyond the arc on three consecutive possessions, which brought their lead back up to 17.

Bouchard led the Eagles on this massive run with his shooting, and his defense helped lead another huge run to end the quarter. They forced multiple PCA turnovers and capitalized in transition, ending the quarter on a 12-0 run and giving them a huge 70-44 lead entering the fourth.

This lead was too great to overcome, and the Jaguars ran away with a 34 point victory. Three-point shooting was critical to their victory, with Windham knocking down 11 from downtown. 

Leading the way for the Jaguars was 21 points from Bouchard, as well as 16 from Begley and 15 from Jackson Blanco. Portsmouth Christian was led by a game-high 23 points from Cai Summers, while Connor Hickey added 19 of his own. 

Windham advances to the semifinal round to face the Profile Patriots, who took down the Coe-Brown Bears earlier today in their quarterfinal matchup.

Check out the photo gallery by KJ Cardinal…

The Bash: Day 2 recap

That’s a wrap on day two of the 44th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash. Photo galleries from all games played at Farmington High School can be seen right here. You can also download high resolution images for free here.

Below is final scores from all 10 games along with the high scorers in each…

GAME 13
GIRLS: Sanborn 56, Portsmouth Christian 48
Sanborn: Emma Gillis 23
PCA: Ava Buchanan 24, Jaela Stockbower 11

GAME 14: FULL STORY
BOYS: Sanborn 76, Nute 30
Sanborn: Chase Frizzell 14, Brandon Sarette 11
Nute: Collin Hathorn 12, Picard 10

GAME 15
BOYS: Derryfield 43, Kennett 33
Derryfield: Jack Krasnof 14, Alex Comire 11, Alex Drake 10
Kennett: Tavon Porter 11, Daven Bailey 14

GAME 16: FULL STORY
BOYS: Windham 68, Noble 54
Windham: Caden Bouchard 16, Jack Begley 10,
Noble: Jamier Rose 21, Bryce Guitard 18

GAME 17
GIRLS: Franklin 60, Noble 40
Franklin: Lily Cornell 21, Kourtney Kaplan 18
Noble: Aubrey Brennan 20, Taylor Gnirk 16

GAME 18: FULL STORY
BOYS: Portsmouth Christian 61, Franklin 38
PCA: Cai Summers 20, Connor Hickey 18
Franklin: Zeke McCoy 28

GAME 19
GIRLS: Profile 56, Coe-Brown 50
Profile: Morgan Presby 13, Mya Brown 22
CBNA: Emma Lapierre 15, Hannah Meehan 14

GAME 20: FULL STORY
BOYS: Profile 71, Raymond 42
Profile: Josh Robie 35, Alex Leslie 15
Raymond: Dre Duffaut 10

GAME 21
GIRLS: Farmington 57, Raymond 35
FHS: Zoey Johnson 15, Shaylee DiPrizio 13, Jaelyn Prosper 10
Raymond: Sophie Huynh 15

GAME 22
BOYS: Farmington 78, Concord Christian 56
FHS: Demery Hadges 27, Shawn Murphy 16, Dylan Zappala 11, Aiden Place 10
CCA: Jaden Young 20

Robie leads Patriots to quarterfinals

By Nathaniel Ford

FARMINGTON – The Josh Robie show was in full effect, as the standout senior scored 37 points in Profile’s 71-49 victory over the Raymond Rams.

The Patriots showed today why they are true contenders, both at The Bash and in Division IV. To put it simply, they scored 10 less points today than their season average. And they scored 71. 

“We’ve got a really good squad in Division IV,” said Profile coach Mitchell Roy. The Endicott College alumni in his fourth year coaching for the Patriots. He took over a struggling squad and has brought them into contention in Division IV, sitting at an undefeated 5-0 record. 

Profile jumped out early, going on a 12-0 run in the first three minutes of play. It’s no secret that they can score in bunches. What they proved tonight is their defensive capabilities. The Patriots played inspired on their end, forcing plenty of turnovers and hustling all over the court. 

The game was out of reach after the first quarter. Profile was winning 27-2, and it was on both ends of the floor. Robie scored 15 points in the quarter alone, 9 of which coming from back-to-back-to-back three pointers on consecutive possessions. 

Raymond showed some life in the second quarter, opening it with an 11-2 run and cutting the Profile lead to 16. The Patriots stayed composed, and they rebounded with a nice run of their own highlighted by some huge baskets by Alex Leslie. 

Leslie recorded 9 points in the second quarter, and Profile kept a commanding 38-17 lead into the half. Despite Raymond winning the second quarter, The Patriots were still leading by over 20 points. 

The third quarter provided more back-and-forth play between the teams with Profile winning it narrowly. Robie had another double-digit quarter with 10 points, giving Profile a 57-32 lead entering the final quarter. 

The lead was already too big for a Raymond comeback coming into the fourth regardless of what happened. A 14-10 quarter in favor of Profile would finalize a convincing 71-42 win for the Patriots.

Profile was led by Robie’s 37 points, as well as a nice 15-point performance from Alex Leslie. Raymond had a balanced scoring attack led by 10-points from Drezell Duffaut and 8 points from Caden Claytor.

Profile advances to the quarterfinals to face a tough Coe-Brown team tomorrow at 2:00. Coach David Smith’s squad won the Team Sportsmanship award last year, and they return 2022 All-Tournament selection Quinn Salter. 

Raymond has been eliminated from contention, and they play Concord Christian tomorrow at 11:30.

Check out photos of action by KJ Cardinal…

PCA dominates in 23-point victory over Franklin

By Nathaniel Ford

FARMINGTON – The Portsmouth Christian Eagles cruised to a 61-38 victory over Franklin Golden Tornadoes and advanced to the quarterfinals of The Bash.

This was a battle between two Division IV teams. The Eagles are 5-1 on the season, while the Golden Tornadoes are sitting at 2-3.

PCA never trailed in this dominant showing on both ends of the floor. The Eagles went on an impressive 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the first quarter. They held Franklin scoreless until 4:48 left in the quarter, when Zeke McCoy made a free throw.

It took until 40 seconds left in the quarter for the Golden Tornadoes to record a field goal. This superb defense by Portsmouth Christian helped give them a massive lead. They finished the quarter leading 19-3.

Franklin showed some life on the offensive end in the second quarter, mostly through the play of Zeke McCoy. He scored 10 of Franklin’s 11 points in the quarter, all on consecutive possessions.

Despite this, PCA stayed composed on the offensive end and kept their large lead. They finished the half up 37-14, led by 13 points from Cai Summers, and 3 three-pointers from Wade Michaud.

The Eagles continued to dominate into the second half, extending their lead even more in the fourth quarter. Connor Hickey scored 10 points in the third quarter and was a large part of this PCA attack. Despite a 9-point quarter from McCoy, the Golden Tornadoes trailed 52-26 entering the fourth.

This massive lead was too much for Franklin to overcome, and the game ended in a 61-38 victory for Portsmouth Christian.

PCA was paced by 20 points from Cai Summers, while Connor Hickey (16) and Wade Michaud (11) added double-digits. Franklin’s Zeke McCoy carried the load with a game-high 30 points.

The Eagles advance to the quarterfinal round, where they will face Windham tomorrow at 12:45. Franklin falls out of the bracket and will play Kennett at 10:15 tomorrow morning.

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

Windham advances with win over Noble

By Nathaniel Ford

FARMINGTON – The Windham Jaguars battled to a 68-54 victory over the Noble Knights in the first round of bracket play at The Bash.

These two schools are the biggest at the Bash this year, both with over 1,000 students enrolled. This was also a battle between Maine and New Hampshire. 

“They average about 73 points a game, so we knew they could really score the ball,” Windham head coach Carson Desrosiers said. Scouting a team from another state is tough, but Desrosiers knew that the Knights could score the ball.

It looked like it would be all Noble early. “They got up 8-2 to start the game. No timeout by our coaching staff, trying to let our guys play through a bit of adversity, and they responded well,” said Desrosiers. The Knights hit two early three-pointers, but Windham stayed composed and did not panic.

Desrosiers’ squad answered quickly with a 9-0 run of their own, which brought them into the lead, and the quarter concluded with the Jaguars leading 19-16. Noble’s Jamier Rose had a game-high 10 points in the first quarter.

The Jaguars started the second quarter with an 8-0 run in the first 1:30, forcing a Noble timeout. Windham’s defense was on full display, holding the Knights to just two points through nearly five minutes of play, and only 7 points in the quarter, giving them a 33-23 lead into the break.

“They’re not used to the type of defense that we like to play. We knew we could overwhelm them with our physicality and quickness,” said Desrosiers. Shutting down Noble’s explosive offense was the key to winning this game, and Windham did just that.

The Jaguars hit big shot after big shot in the second half. Noble strung together a 7-0 run in the third quarter, and Windham’s Caden Bouchard responded with a massive three-pointer. The Knights started to build momentum to end the quarter, and it looked like they could carry it to the fourth and mount a comeback. Instead, Jack Koutrobis hit a buzzer-beater floater for the Jaguars, which extended their lead to 55-38 entering the fourth. 

This lead proved to be too large to overcome. Windham carried momentum in the quarter behind a huge dunk from Jack Murphy. Despite four Noble three-pointers late, the Jaguars stayed composed and finished with a 14 point victory. 

“They were ranked 5th in Division II in Maine last year, and that was a great test for us,” said Desrosiers. After two big wins to open their Bash debut, Windham looks to carry this momentum into the rest of the tournament.

Leading the way for Windham was Caden Bouchard, who finished with 16 points and four three-pointers. Jack Koutrobis (12) and Jack Begley (10) also added double figures. Noble was paced by a game-high 21 points by Jamier Rose and 15 from Bryce Guitard. 

The Jaguars advance to the quarterfinals and face the winner of Portsmouth Christian and Franklin tomorrow at 12:45. Noble is eliminated from contention and faces Nute tomorrow morning at 9:00.

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

Windham soars past Sanborn

By Nathaniel Ford

FARMINGTON – The Windham Jaguars handed the Sanborn Indians a 23-point loss, 80-57, on the opening day of the 44th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash in Farmington.

This game was a friendly matchup between Division I Windham and Division II Sanborn. This is Windham’s first year competing in the Bash.

“We didn’t know much about Sanborn. Finding film was tough, and they’re a Division II team,” said Windham head coach Carson Desrosiers. The Bash provides matchups across divisions, and this is a prime example of that.

The Jaguars controlled the game from the start. The first few minutes were back-and-forth, with Sanborn leading for the only time at 5-4. Windham proceeded to take charge, ending the quarter on a 17-7 run and finishing up 21-12 going into the break.

A big reason for this early lead was Windham’s offensive rebounding. “Sam Roidoulis, a freshman, was huge for us today with 4 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. We could get into a timeout and say that the freshman is providing energy,” Desrosiers said. Second-chance points were pouring in for the Jaguars.

The second quarter was close, with both teams trading baskets and the game remaining a nine-point difference, with Windham leading 34-25 heading into the break. Sanborn was paced by their two highest scorers combining for all but one point. Chase Frizzell had a game-high 15 points at halftime, and Dylan Rego added 9 at the break.

Rego is averaging 26 points a game, which is the third highest mark across Division II. “We treated him as a no-help player with all guys ready to help,” Desrosiers said. The Jaguars committed to shutting him down, as he is a big part of what makes Sanborn’s offense so dynamic.

The third quarter opened with a bang, as Windham threw down a transition dunk for the first basket of the half. Sanborn bounced back after the dunk, led by a 10-point quarter by Rego, but they could not pull closer than six points at any time. Windham went on a run towards the end of the quarter, and they entered the fourth up 56-44.

The Jaguars were finally able to blow the game open in the fourth, scoring seven points in just fifteen seconds early to thwart any chance of a Sanborn comeback. Windham carried momentum throughout the quarter, and finished with an 80-57 victory.

Windham was led by a balanced scoring attack led by four double digit scorers: Jack Begley (18), Caden Bouchard (16), Jack Murphy (12), and Tyler Jordan (10). Sanborn was paced by 20 from Chase Frizzell and 19 from Dylan Rego.

Windham looks to make waves in their Bash debut in their first bracket game against Noble on Wednesday at 12:15 pm. Sanborn looks to bounce back in their opener against Nute at 9:45 am Wednesday.

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

The Bash: Day 1 recap

Opening day of the 44th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash is in the books. Day one featured a whopping 12 games. Photo galleries from all games played at Farmington High School can be seen right here. You can also download high resolution images for free here.

Below is final scores from all 12 games along with the high scorers in each…

GAME 1
BOYS: Raymond 68, Franklin 26
Raymond: Dre Duffaut 22, Aidan York 15
Franklin: Jack Van Polen 6

GAME 2
BOYS: Concord Christian 61, Nute 37
CCA: TJ Charbono 13, Logan Duffy 12
NUTE: Scott Milliken 11

GAME 3
BOYS: Windham 80, Sanborn 57
Windham: Jack Begley 18, Caden Bouchard 16, Jack Murphy 12, Tyler Jordan 10
Sanborn: Chase Frizzell 20, Dylan Rego 19

GAME 4
GIRLS: Franklin 53, Raymond 26
Franklin: Kourtney Kaplan 33
Raymond: Mollee Messenger 9

GAME 5
GIRLS: Profile 47, Sanborn 40
Profile: Mya Brown 15, Kyah Knight 10
Sanborn: Emma Gillis 7

GAME 6
BOYS: Profile 65, Derryfield 56
Profile: Josh Robie 34, Alex Leslie 13
Derryfield: Jack Krasnof 23, Billy Gardner 14, Alex Drake 12

GAME 7
GIRLS: Coe-Brown 60, Portsmouth Christian 42
CBNA: Jennifer Noni 15, Hannah Meehan 11
PCA: Ava Buchanan 25

GAME 8
BOYS: Coe-Brown 67, Belmont 56
CBNA: Connor Bagnell 21, Quinn Salter 16, Jack Matson 13, Matt Flanagan 13
Belmont: Keegan Martinez 20, Michael Collette 12, Anakin Underhill 10

GAME 9
GIRLS: Kennett 48, Belmont 22
Kennet: Kaley Goodhart 18, Sam Sidoti 16
Belmont: Darci Stone 12

GAME 10
BOYS: Kennett 54, Portsmouth Christian 46
Kennett: Tavon Porter 19, Daven Bailey 13, Allen Noung 11
PCA: Wade Michaud 17, Cai Summers 15

GAME 11
GIRLS: Farmington 65, Noble 30
FHS: Zoey Johnson 22, Madi Ricker 16, Ryleigh Hogan 11
Noble: Taylor Gnirk 16

GAME 12
BOYS: Noble 88, Farmington 70
Noble: Bryce Guitard 28, Jamier Rose 26, Brady Tucci 12
FHS: Aiden Place 17, Shawn Murphy 15, Demery Hadges 13

The Bash returns Dec. 26-30

Ball 603 will once again be bringing you official coverage of New Hampshire’s largest holiday basketball tournament with the 44th Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball Bash presented by Dana’s Collision Repair at Farmington High School on Dec. 26-30.

The five-day event features 24 teams from two states, all four NHIAA divisions and a whopping 43 games. We will be bringing you live streams of all the action, along with photo coverage and video highlights of select games.

Check out the tourney schedule and brackets. Enjoy the show!




The Bash: Day 5 Recap

By: KJ Cardinal

The 43rd Annual Mike Lee Holiday Basketball came to a close on Friday night with the Coffee County (TN) girls and the Belmont boys coming away with the titles in two exciting match-ups in front of a packed crowd in Farmington.

GIRLS FINAL: COFFEE COUNTY 54, KENNETT 33
• PHOTOS | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
The Coffee County girls from Manchester, Tenn. were all the buzz coming into the finals, but Larry Meader had his quick and feisty Kennett squad ready to play and they did the 603 proud. The Lady Raiders would take home the title with a 54-33 victory, dethroning the two-time defending champions in the process.

The Eagles seemed to be un-intimidated by a Coffee County team that entered the game with a near 78-point average margin of victory in their first four games of the tournament. Kennett’s Catherine Chick really challenged Chloe Gannon on the opening tip and the Eagles became the first team in the tourney to prevent the Lady Raiders from scoring a three on their “Island” set play on the jump ball. It was a minor victory in the grand scheme of things, but seemed to instill confidence for Kennett right from the onset.

Channah Gannon connected on a quick jumper just eight seconds into the game to get the Lady Raiders on the board, but a three-pointer by Kaylee McLellan would give the Eagles a brief lead, 3-2, marking the only time Coffee Country trailed during a game at The Bash.

Kennett’s speed and ball pressure seemed to rattle the Lady Raiders at times as the Eagles held Coffee County to 30 points fewer points than any other team in the tourney. Kennett trailed 12-3 after the first quarter and later 20-3 in the second and the game appeared destined for another blow out like the other Coffee County contests. The Eagles had other thoughts, however, as they outscored the Lady Raiders 16-11 to close the half, sparked by two Hope Elias threes, and trailed by just 12, 31-19, at the break.

The Eagles were energized at the start of the second half and tied the stanza, 9-9, but the 4th quarter belonged to the Lady Raiders as they closed out the game on a 14-5 run to earn the title.

Coffee County was paced by 16 points from Channah Gannon and 11 apiece from Julie Ruehling and Natalie Barnes. Kennett was led by 9 apiece from Elias and Kailey Goodhart, while Sam Sidoti chipped in with 8.

GIRLS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Chloe Gannon, Coffee County (TN)
Mya Brown, Profile
Channa Gannon, Coffee County (TN)
Emma Gillis, Sanborn
Kaley Goodhart, Kennett
Kourtney Kaplan, Franklin
Kaley Mclellen, Kennett
Darci Stone, Belmont

Team Sportsmanship Award: Belmont
Individual Sportsmanship Award: Emaleigh Tarpley, Coffee County 

BOYS FINAL: BELMONT 56, PROFILE 46
• PHOTOS | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | ROMIKE REPORT
The boys title game pitted Division III Belmont’s size and length versus Division IV Profile’s speed and shooting. The size of Belmont’s front court proved to be too much as the Red Raiders defeated the Patriots, 56-46.

The Red Raiders jumped out to an early 15-6 lead after one and took a 29-20 lead into the break, but the Patriots responded with a 7-0 run to start the second half and get back into the ball game. That two-point margin, 29-27, however, was as close as Profile would get.

The Belmont big man duo of Anakin Underhill (19 points) and Keegan Martinez (18) proved to be the difference maker for Tony Martinez’s squad.

Junior sharp-shooter Josh Robie struggled to get it going offensively in the first half for the Patriots as he was held to just four points. He came into the game needing 17 points to reach his 1,000th and he would reach the milestone on a pull-up jumper in the 4th quarter and finish the game with 17. He finished the tournament with 123 points, which broke Tim Lee’s 25-year mark of 105 set back during the 1997 event.

Alex Leslie (13) and Karsen Robie (12) also netted double-figures for Profile.

BOYS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Anakin Underhill, Belmont
Jake Avery, Lin-Wood
Jordan Berko, Farmington
Ben Dougherty, Kennett
Hugh Hamilton, Coe-Brown
Jack Krasnof, Derryfield
Alex Leslie, Profile
Sam Reposa, Belmont
Josh Robie, Profile
Quinn Salter, Coe-Brown
Dominic Starr, Somersworth

Team Sportsmanship Award: Coe-Brown
Individual Sportsmanship Award: Gavin Forcier, Nute