Tag: Pelham

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…

Fast start propels Pelham past Hollis-Brookline

Pelham jumped out to a 21-7 lead after the 1st quarter and never looked back as the Pythons rolled past Hollis-Brookline, 69-44, on Friday night.

Pelham was paced by a game-high 20 points from Olivia Todd, 14 from Sophia Guinazzo and 12 from Grace Riley. The Cavaliers were led by 15 points from Emily Tebbetts.

With the win, the Pythons improve to 7-4, while the Cavs fall to 5-5.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…

Pelham rolls past Milford

Pelham jumped out to a 14-4 lead after the 1st quarter and never looked back as the Pythons defeated visiting Milford, 51-17 on Thursday night.

Olivia Todd (12 points), Grace Riley (11) and Sophia Joncas (10) all netted double-digits for Pelham.

With the win, the Pythons improve to 6-4 on the season, while the Spartans fall to 5-5.

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

Pelham advances to 7-1 with victory at Plymouth

By Jayda Davis

Pelham outscored Plymouth 23-7 in the 1st quarter and  held on to the lead throughout the game, securing a 65-47 win on the road on Monday night.

The Pythons were led by Zach James with 18 points, while Peter Hemmerdinger added 15, and Logan Dumont 13. Tevin Stone led Plymouth with 11 points.

With the win, the Pythons improve to 7-1, 2nd in Division II, as the Bobcats fall to 5-4 on the season.

Check out the full gallery of the action by John Scott Sherburne…

Pembroke wins thriller over Pelham in title game rematch

By Nathaniel Ford

PEMBROKE – In front of a huge home crowd, Pembroke pulled away with a 55-54 victory over the visiting Pelham on Friday night. 

This was a highly anticipated matchup between two top teams in Division II. Not only was it a title rematch from last year, but both teams were undefeated coming into the contest. 

“Last year, we graduated nine seniors and four starters, and usually when you talk about something like that, you talk about a rebuild. Pembroke gets a retool,” said head coach Mike Donnell.

It seemed like a rebuild would be needed this season, but the Spartans have proved that is far from the truth. Led by All-State guard Joe Fitzgerald, this squad has picked up some huge wins, and they continued that tonight. 

Pembroke jumped out early, starting with a 7-2 run to put them in the lead. Pelham bounced right back and showed that it would take a battle to win this game. This five-point lead would be Pembroke’s largest until the fourth quarter.

Pelham’s Zach James, an All-State player last season, is averaging 26 points a game and is one of the top shooters in the state. He showed that early in this contest, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. 

Along with James, Brady Hegan added 8 points of his own, and the Pythons led 19-16 heading into the second quarter. 

The second quarter was neck and neck the whole way. Pelham led early by five points, and following that, it was a one possession game for the rest of the quarter. The lead changed multiple times, and neither team could string together any big runs. 

A big loss for Pelham was standout guard Dom Herrling, who got into foul trouble and did not play the final five minutes of the half. Herrling is one of the top defenders in the state, and he is an outstanding point guard who makes tons of winning plays. 

Even without Herrling on the floor, Pelham did not roll over, and they were able to stay competitive. Behind a team effort, they were able to hold their lead and entered the break winning 32-31.

In the third quarter, James exploded for Pelham and carried them offensively. He knocked down two triples and scored the team’s first 11 points of the half. This extended the lead to nine points, which was the most by either team in the contest. 

“Our team is very resilient. These guys have been playing together for a very long time, and they showed their poise and never broke,” said Donnell. 

With a player like James starting to get hot and the Pelham lead extended to nearly double digits, it was looking like they might start running away with it. Instead, the Spartans remained composed and stayed in the game.

They closed on a 6-1 run, highlighted by a nice bucket by Fitzgerald to end the quarter. While they still trailed, they cut the lead down, and Pelhem held just a 44-40 lead entering the fourth.

Pembroke’s stellar defense was on full display in the fourth, holding their opponents scoreless through the first four minutes of the quarter and without a field goal for the first five. During this time, they were able to take the lead for themselves behind a couple of baskets from Fitzgerald. 

With two minutes left and a four point lead, Jacob Mather hit a huge three pointer for the Spartans, which looked like it could be the dagger. The crowd had started to get loud in the fourth, and this shot, which forced a Pelham timeout, almost brought the roof down.

Coming out of the timeout, Pelham made it a game again. Herrling got a basket inside, and then they forced a Pembroke turnover. Herrling came down and got another basket, cutting the lead to just three points. 

Pelham was so great to end games last year, and it looked like they were about to show up again and steal the game in Pembroke. However, they suffered a major blow with 50 seconds left, as Herrling got called for a reach and fouled out of the game. 

The Pythons fouled Fitzgerald, who made his first free throw. On the second, the Spartans were called for a violation. Pelham came down the floor, and Peter Hemmerdinger got free for an open look at the top of the key. He knocked down the triple and cut the lead to just one.

Pelham fouled again, and this time, Pembroke missed both at the line. The Pythons grabbed the rebound, and in transition, Hegan got free for a layup inside, which gave them the lead with around 30 seconds left.

Pembroke did not call a timeout, and they got up the floor quickly. Fitzgerald dribbled down the floor, took the game into his own hands, and drove to the hoop and got a layup. Star players need to make big plays down the stretch, and that is exactly what he did. 

On the other end, Hegan was fouled on the floor with four seconds left, giving the Pythons a baseline inbound. They found Justin Bowlan with an open look in the corner, but he was not able to connect on the triple, and Pembroke escaped with a one point victory. 

Pembroke proved their record was no fluke, avenging their loss last season and defending their home court. This squad is led by Fitzgerald, who was the only starter returning from last year’s team. Donnell speaks very highly of him, who is one of the captains on the team.

“He has really grown from his sophomore year. He’s always guarding their best player. He leads the team, and the boys know that if he doesn’t have a shot, he will find them. He’s a kid every coach wants to play for them,” he said.

Fitzgerald led the way for the Spartans with a game-high 25 points, including the game winner. Evan Berkeley (11) and Devin Riel (10) each added double figures as well. 

Pelham was paced by 22 points from Zack James. Dom Herrling and Brady Hegan scored 10 points each. They fall to 4-1 and look to bounce back next week in a massive game against 6-0 Manchester West at home on Tuesday. 

Pembroke moves to 4-0 on the season, and they look to continue their undefeated season on the road against Bishop Brady on Tuesday. 

Check out the full photo gallery by John Scott Sherburne…

Pelham completes run to D-II state title

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – Fifth-seeded Pelham completed its impressive run to the 2023 NHIAA Division II Boys Basketball State Championship as the Pythons defeated No. 2 Pembroke, 57-54, on Sunday morning at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

It was the first close playoff game Pelham participated in this postseason as the Pythons run to the title included a 31-point win over No. 12 Kingswood (78-47), a 20-point victory against No. 4 Manchester West (77-57) and a 38-point defeat of top-seeded Laconia (69-31).

The final was close throughout, however, as the game featured 10 lead changes and four ties. Halfway through the second quarter, the Pythons were faced with their biggest deficit of the postseason as they trailed Pembroke by eight with 4:44 left in the half. The Pythons chipped away to cut the lead to one at the break, 31-30.

The Spartans took the third quarter, 13-12, and a two-point bulge to the final frame. The Pythons responded over the last eight minutes to complete the comeback.

The victory marks the fourth Pelham title in school history, the second in Division II and the first since 2016.

Pelham (18-4) was led by 20 points from Zach James and 16 from Dom Herrling. The Spartans (18-3) were paced by a game-high 22 points from Mike Strazzeri and 13 from Joe Fitzgerald.

Check out the full photo gallery…

Kennett downs Pelham, advances to championship

KINGSTON – Behind a game-high 21 points from Kaylee McLellan, No. 2 Kennett defeated No. 3 Pelham, 54-40, on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NHIAA Division II Girls Basketball State Tournament at Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston. 

The Eagles advance to Sunday’s title game where they will take on No. 1 Bow at the University of New Hampshire at 1:00 pm. 

Sydnie Chin also notched double-digits in the scoring column with 10 for the Eagles, while Jasmine Becotte (14 points) and Sophia Joncas (11)  led the way for the Pythons.

Check out the full photo gallery by our Jill Stevens…

Pelham routs top-seeded Laconia in D-II semis

Fifth-seeded Pelham came out the gates firing and never looked back as they routed No. 1 seed Laconia, 69-31, on Tuesday night in semifinal action of the NHIAA Division II Boys Basketball State Tournament at Sanborn Regional High school. The Pythons advance to the title game where they will take on #2 Pembroke on Sunday at the University of New Hampshire.

Pelham steam-rolled the Sachems right from the jump as the Pythons outscored Laconia 24-6 in the first quarter and later led 38-17 at the half. The Sachems were also held to just two fourth-quarter points as Pelham cruised to a 38-point win.

The Pythons’ Zach James led all scorers with a game-high 34 points, while Dom Herrling added 17 of his own. Kayden Beck netted a team-high 17 points for Laconia. 

Pelham’s James and Herrling caught up with Andy Romike after the game in the latest Romike Report…

Check out the highlights by our own Tim Lee…

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

Pelham powers past West, advances to semis

Fifth-seeded Pelham went on the road and knocked off #4 Manchester West in convincing fashion, 77-57, on Friday night in quarterfinal action of the Division II state tournament.

The Pythons advance to the semifinals where they will take on #1 Laconia on Tuesday at Sanborn Regional High School at 7:30 pm.

Pelham started and finished extremely strong as they used a 19-6 first quarter and a 36-12 fourth quarter to cruise to the 20-point victory.

Zach James (27 points) and Dom Herrling (24) combined for 51 points to pace the Pythons in the win.

Aiden Scott-Beaulac led West with 15 points, while Tevin Edmunds (12) and Angel Castro (11) both netted double figures as well.

Check out the highlights by our Tim Lee…

Pelham plows past Plymouth, advances to quarters

Third-seeded Pelham cruised to a 69-17 victory over #14 Plymouth in Division II first round action on Wednesday night. 

The Pythons advance to take on #6 Milford on Saturday at 7:00 pm.

Jazmine Becotte poured in a game-high 28 points for Pelham, while nine other Pythons scored in the game as well. 

Check out the full gallery of the action by John-Scott Sherburne…