Tag: Bedford

Bedford breezes past Memorial

The Bedford girls held host Manchester Memorial to just 11 points over the final three quarters to breeze to a 71-22 victory on Friday night.

The Bulldogs were led by a game-high 21 points from Lyla Stein, with Sarah Muir and Kate Allard chipping in with 10 points apiece. The Crusaders were paced by 9 points from Torle Adumene.

With the win, Bedford improves to 2-0 on the season, while Memorial falls to 0-2.

Check out photos of the action by Cindy Lavigne of Lavigne’s Live Shots…

Bedford’s second-half surge buries Central

The defending champion Bedford Bulldogs began their title defense with an 85-59 win at Manchester Central on Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs came out the gates on a 13-0 run, however, they led by just four after one quarter and by six at the half. Bedford opened things up in the second half as they outscored Central 45-25 to cruise to the 26-point victory.

The Bulldogs were led by Luke Soden’s game-high 20 points, while Brady O’Connell (19) and Connor O’Rourke (16) also netted double-digits. Izaya Diaz led the Little Green with nine points.

Check out the highlights by our very own Tim Lee…

Check out photos of the action by Cindy Lavigne of Lavigne’s Live Shots…

Bishop Guertin rallies late to capture back-to-back state titles

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – Top-seeded Bishop Guertin used a 23-point fourth quarter to erase a 10-point deficit and capture back-to-back NHIAA Division I Girls Basketball State Championships with a 51-45 victory over No. 3 Bedford on Sunday at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

The Cardinals (21-0) started slow as they trailed by seven after one, by nine at the half and by 10 entering the fourth. BG put the clamps on the Bulldogs (19-3) in the final frame as they held Bedford to 2-10 shooting from the field.

Free throw shooting played a big factor as the Bulldogs were just 7-22 (31.8%) from the charity stripe, while Guertin was 19-25 (76.0%), including 13-17 (76.5%) in the fourth quarter alone.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Brooke Paquette with a game-high 24 points. Meghan Stack added 10 of her own for BG. Bedford was paced by 15 apiece from Kate Allard and Lana McCarthy, who also pulled down 14 rebounds.

For the Cardinals, the title marks the seventh in school history and the second straight.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…

Bedford wins first-ever state title

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – Top-seeded Bedford captured its first basketball state title in school history as the Bulldogs defeated No. 2 Pinkerton, 66-56, to come away with the 2023 NHIAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship on Sunday night at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

It was a back-and-forth affair early on in a game that saw eight lead changes and nine ties. Bedford (20-1) led 14-10 after the first quarter, but then trailed 25-23 at the intermission. The second half belonged to the Bulldogs as they outscored Pinkerton (20-2) 18-14 in the third and 25-17 in the final frame to away with the 10-point win.

Bedford’s Luke Soden poured in a game-high 26 points, while Aiden O’Connell (22 points) and Brady O’Connell (10) added double digits as well. Jackson Marshall paced Pinkerton with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Anthony Chinn (13) and Sean Jenkins (11) chipped in for the Astros.

Check out the full photo gallery…

Bedford closes out South to advance to finals

Top-seeded Bedford finished strong as the Bulldogs cruised past No. 4 Nashua South, 79-56, on Wednesday night in semifinal action of the NHIAA Division I Boys Basketball State Tournament at Exeter High School.

Bedford advances to the championship game where they will take on No. 2 Pinkerton on Sunday at the University of New Hampshire at 7:00 pm.

Both teams came out firing as South led after one quarter of play, 24-20. The Bulldogs then settled in defensively and cut the Purple Panthers productivity in the second quarter in half to tie things up at the break 36-36.

Leading by three entering the fourth, 51-48, Bedford flexed their muscle in the final stanza, winning the quarter 28-8 and rolling to a 79-46 win.

Caden Brown led Bedford with 21 points, while Luke Soden (18 points), Aiden O’Connell (17) and Brady O’Connell (11) all netted double-figures as well.

South was led by a game-high 23 points from Alize Roig Cortes, 14 from Josh Caruso and 12 from Zac Castonguay.

Bedford’s Brown, O’Connell and Soden caught up with Andy Romike after the game in the latest Romike Report…

Check out the highlights of the action by our Tim Lee…

Bedford comes from behind to down Portsmouth, advances to title game

Behind a game-high 24 points from Lana McCarthy, No. 3 Bedford defeated No. 2 Portsmouth, 64-60, in the semifinals of the NHIAA Division I Girls Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Londonderry High School. The Bulldogs advance to the title game where they will take on No. 1 Bishop Guertin on Sunday at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Portsmouth jumped out to a 15-12 lead after one quarter of play and pushed their lead to as many as nine in the second quarter before Bedford mounted their come back. The Bulldogs cut the lead to two at half and took a one-point lead going to the fourth on a buzzer-beater layup by McCarthy. The Bulldogs won the final quarter, 16-13, to come away with the win.

Kate Allard (14 points) and Lyla Stein (13) also netted double-digits for Bedford, while Portsmouth was paced by 22 points from Mackenzie Lombardi and 13 from Avery Romps.

[Portsmouth coverage is brought to you by Tropical Smoothie Cafe]

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

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Joe Tupper… 

Top-seeded Bedford survives OT scare from Trinity, advances to semis

By: KJ Cardinal

The top-seeded Bedford Bulldogs survived an overtime scare from eighth-ranked and defending champion Trinity, 93-91, on Sunday night in NHIAA Division I quarterfinal action.

The Bulldogs advance to the semifinals where they will take on #4 Nashua South on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.

If you like high octane offense, then this game was for you. The contest featured three players with 36 points or more as both teams combined for 184 points and 22 threes (Trinity 14, Bedford 8).

Tyler Bike got the offensive onslaught started as he pumped in 17 first quarter points, including five threes. Trinity took a 29-17 lead after the first stanza and later held a 45-35 advantage at the break.

Luke Soden carried the load for Bedford in the first half as he scored 21 of the Bulldogs 35 points, including three triples of his own.

Over the final 16 minutes of regulation, the Bulldogs would claw their way back as Aiden O’Connell netted 12 points in each of the final two quarters to help force overtime at 79-79.

The extra frame belonged to O’Connell as he poured in 10 points to lead Bedford to the dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Soden (42 points) and O’Connell (36) combined for 78 points to lead the Bulldogs to victory. For Trinity, Tyler Bike amassed 39 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Also netting double-figures for the Pioneers was DeVohn Ellis (16), Kevin Doherty (10) and Shawn O’Neil (10).

Check out highlights of the action by own Tim Lee…

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

Bedford eases to semifinals with win over Memorial

Third-seeded Bedford cruised to a 67-37 win over #14 Manchester Memorial on Friday night in quarterfinal action of the Division I girls state tournament.

The Bulldogs advance to the semifinals where they will take on #2 Portsmouth on Tuesday at 5:30 pm.

Lana McCarthy led all scorers with a game-high 19 points for Bedford, while Kate Allard (17) and Sydney Grogan (10) chipped in with double figures as well.

Madison Pepra-Omani paced the Crusaders with 13 points.

Check out the full gallery by John-Scott Sherburne…

Bishop Guertin downs Bedford, remains perfect

In a battle between two of the top teams in Division I, Bishop Guertin went on the road and came away with a pivotal 73-66 win over Bedford on Friday night. With the victory, the Cardinals improve to a perfect 16-0 on the season, while the Bulldogs fall to 14-2.

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